Overconsumption and Its Impact on the Environment

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Consumerism and the Mining of Minerals
Greed from Unscrupulous Merchants and Advertisers
Capitalism Fuelling Overconsumption
Overconsumption and Environmental Degradation
Recommendations for Intervention
Adopting a Green Marketing Technique
Conclusion
References
Appendix

Introduction

Humanity has benefited from abundant natural resources for its wants and needs. However, our “must-have” society is using the planet’s resources at an alarming pace and wreaking havoc on the environment. Environmentalists, economists, and scholars believe the current pace of consumption will create a scarcity of natural resources, and a time will come when humankind will exhaust them. Strangely enough, Mahatma Gandhi predicted this nearly a century ago. This essay critically examines Gandhi’s statement, “The Earth has enough for every man’s need, but not enough for every man’s greed.” The purpose is to examine the statement’s applicability in light of global mineral production and consumption, emphasizing the Canadian resource industry. The essay will also examine the link, and impact overconsumption has on the environment.

The global economy is defined by the ironic culmination of mania of mindless consumption representing modern life in the globalized society. The result is depleting natural resources at an alarming pace, increasing temperatures, altering precipitation patterns, severe weather occurrences, and rising sea levels influencing the climate. Human activity and hyper-consumerism have been identified as the primary causes. As such, there is an urgent need for intervention that involves mindset change and conscious consumption.

Consumerism and the Mining of Minerals

Canada’s abundant natural resources make most of its land susceptible to industrialization. Canada has been a global leader in producing uranium, nickel, potash, asbestos, and titanium for many years (Rebello et al., 2021). Canada is also a top ten producer of gold, zinc, copper, silver, cadmium, and other essential minerals (Withgott et al., 2017). With abundant resources and a culture of consumption, Canada is susceptible to abuse by unscrupulous mining companies. As in Figure 1, the companies may take advantage of high commodity prices and consumer demand to influence the government to approve industrialization with minimal accountability. In consumerism, large-scale consumption of goods and services indicates a prosperous economy and a high development rate for relevant nations (Steenberg et al., 2019). Over the last several decades, global production of commodities has increased due to industrialization.

The growth in demand has triggered an increasing desire for the production and consumption of non-essential products, which has had a negative impact on the environment. The majority of environmental problems are the result of domestic use that is characterized by greed (Wiedmann, 2018). Even though household consumption substantially impacts climate change, it has gotten the least attention (Withgott et al., 2017). The gap is mainly attributable to the difficulty of adopting change since consuming habits have become so ingrained in the human fabric that any modification would need an overhaul of the whole civilization. Moreover, there is a significant risk of severe economic disruption, in addition to the increased possibility of a decline in product demand, which may lead to an economic recession or depression.

Greed from Unscrupulous Merchants and Advertisers

Mahatma Gandhi’s statement on greed mirrors the behaviour of most current customers. Trends indicate that many individuals acquire a mind-boggling number of products that are utterly unnecessary to human health and pleasure (Boulianne, 2022). As in most industrialized nations, it is startling that firms selling coloured, sweetened water with more harmful than beneficial features make billions. Pepsi and Coca-Cola, for example, are available even in the most distant regions of the planet (Jorgensen, 2019). Advertising is the greatest and most influential thought-control effort ever launched by such organizations. Statistics indicate that substantial financial efforts are made to entice consumers to acquire items they do not need, transforming them into purchasing machines (Davenport et al., 2014). Shopping is no longer a need but rather a sort of amusement, a compulsive habit over which individuals have little control over capitalists acting unconscientiously.

Capitalism Fuelling Overconsumption

Capitalist economies are characterized by the relentless pursuit to maximize shareholder wealth, often at the price of ecological stability. Enhanced marketing unconsciously influences people’s decisions toward greed and overconsumption (Mirza, 2020). Moreover, the industrial revolution’s innovations, particularly in machinery, led to a rise in production, which necessitated the creation of markets for the items. Consequently, material ownership via purchasing goods and services emerged as a way of life in many regions of the globe (Wiedmann, 2018). This culture is prevalent and promotes spending on non-essential consumer products such as automobiles, clothing, and electronic devices. As the number of non-essential products and services continues to increase against the background of an advertising-saturated market, it is guaranteed that consumers will always be in quest of something better, as the number of non-essential goods and services continues to grow.

In such a market environment, advertising is one of the many consumer contact methods, and most marketing techniques are designed to promote product consumption. Consumption is often motivated by the universal human desire for superiority among consumers to be distinctive (Mirza, 2020). However, it is essential to note that cultural and societal positions limit this desire to seek uniqueness and that product promotions use this weakness across cultures to increase sales. Advertising campaigns use diverse societies’ values in that, to reach individuals of various cultures and socioeconomic standings, the campaign is designed to correspond with the values of the target society. Notable is that marketing methods that appeal to customers’ need for distinctiveness are more successful in high-status groups whose members lean toward independence than in low-status groups whose members lean toward dependency (Mirza, 2020).

Since hyper-consumption is caused by the acquisition of non-essential goods and services, Mahatma Gandhi’s comment about greed is refined to a demographic context like contemporary consumerism. The drive for self-actualization via consumer mind control is unquestionably the domain of high-status individuals in society. Advertising methods are persuasion-based and aim to influence a person’s purchasing choice based on their ability to pay, as opposed to a necessity. These habits result in excessive consumption and waste due to an oversupply of unnecessary items. The desire for material wealth that does not match individual needs is a characteristic of a greedy society. In most cases, these items are supplied at the cost of the environment.

Overconsumption and Environmental Degradation

Today, the global economy is driven by consumer economics, which directly impacts every element of people’s lives. In most economies, the way individuals consume reflects their culture, attitudes, and behaviour (Oluwasanmi & Ogunro, 2018). In the last three decades, the introduction of the internet has revolutionized not just earlier communication technologies but also transportation and manufacturing processes (Sanders, 2021). Technology has improved the mobility of both people and products, and its knowledge has intensified and enlarged consumerism, resulting in hyper-consumption among the populace. Hyper-consumption has been made possible by the enhanced efficiency of networked devices like computers, phones, and tablets.

The relationship has also expanded the influence of advertising on consumption patterns manipulation. First, the gadgets themselves, as well as their peripherals and other attachments, are objects of consumption since they quickly become obsolete owing to continual, fast developments. Rapid turnover of these items results in pollution from plastics and other harmful chemical waste. Secondly, technology has ensured that domestic appliances and devices are computerized, resulting in a loss in their lifetime and durability; this dematerialization continues to encourage increased and rapid consumption (Mirza, 2020). Therefore, increased consumption and a higher propensity for things to become outdated have substantially increased pollution and waste.

Due to its goal to ensure maximal output of products, services, and profits, the capitalist system has facilitated an irrational and nonsensical logic of unfettered growth and wealth accumulation. The tendency stems from capitalism being based on requiring short-term profit, fostering a gap that encourages environmental destruction (Mirza, 2020). In such a scenario, ecological equilibrium is destroyed, and it is clear that partial reforms are insufficient. Instead, the pursuit of profits must be replaced with environmental and social rationalities, which, in essence, require a paradigm shift.

Recommendations for Intervention

Consumers must acknowledge that actual demands may be distinguished from fraudulent needs. The populace must be aware of the influence of advertising as a system that manipulates consumption-oriented brain processes. As a consequence of uncontrolled consumption, an unprecedented buildup of waste would lead to ecological catastrophes caused by the depletion of natural resources and environmental damage. This consumer utopia has become an ecological catastrophe necessitating mass sensitization. Businesspeople must be wise enough to consider the welfare of humanity and the state of the earth. The only way to restore sanity is for local communities, civic societies, and democratic governments to recapture the authority ceded to multinational companies.

Adopting a Green Marketing Technique

Adopting green marketing initiatives may aid in the resolution of overconsumption problems. Companies should communicate that the market must consume less and consider the items utilized and the necessity for recycling with care (Ottman, 2017). The change in messaging and the ethical basis for customer communication may alter the attitudes and beliefs of customers toward selecting sustainable goods and environmental stewardship. Customizing a green marketing plan for a specific audience is the most effective technique to keep customers interested in eco-friendly goods and services. However, sustainable principles may still influence a company’s product design and manufacture even if they are not prominently highlighted in their marketing, so long as this philosophy permeates the whole supply chain.

Conclusion

Due to waste buildup and pollution, the capitalistic system has become more unsustainable, resulting in the rapid depletion of our natural resources along with a shift in the global climate. The greed statement by Mahatma Gandhi is relevant to the international consumerist inclinations that are producing an ecological imbalance. Consumption is undeniably the product of a capitalist society intent on profit maximization. At the core of the culture is the unrestricted production and proliferation of products and services, the vast majority of which are of a luxury type and are thus fictitious requirements. Advertising plays a significant part in this cycle. Today, the expanded supply of capitalist society’s goods beyond those essential for existence has led to the formation of demand in reaction to the provision of illusory requirements at the expense of the environment. The changes in ecology are triggering large-scale disruptions in the natural environment. To promote an economically and environmentally conscious society, overconsumption must be minimized.

References

Boulianne, S. (2022). Socially mediated political consumerism. Information, Communication & Society, 25(5), 609-617. Web.

Davenport, T. H., DalleMule, L., & Lucker, J. (2014). Know what your customers want before they do. Harvard Business Review. Web.

Jorgensen, F. A. (2019). Recycling. MIT Press.

Mirza, M. (2020). The anxiety of being Australian: Modernity, consumerism, and identity politics in Michelle de Kretser’s The Lost Dog. The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, 55(2), 190–203. Web.

Oluwasanmi, O. O., & Ogunro, V. O. (2018). Green marketing, green consumerism, and environmental sustainability in the Nigerian petroleum industry: An overview.Joseph Ayo Babalola University International Journal of Social and Management Sciences, 6(1), 228–242. Web.

Ottman, J. (2017). The new rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, tools, and inspiration for Sustainable Branding. Routledge.

Rebello, S., Anoopkumar, A. N., Aneesh, E. M., Sindhu, R., Binod, P., Kim, S. H., & Pandey, A. (2021). Hazardous minerals mining: challenges and solutions. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 402 (1), 123–474. Web.

Sanders, N. R. (2021). Supply Chain Management A Global Perspective. Wiley.

Steenberg, J. W., Duinker, P. N., Creed, I. F., Serran, J. N., & Ouellet Dallaire, C. (2019). Alternative scenarios for the future of the Canadian boreal zone1. Environmental Reviews, 27(2), 185-199. Web.

Wiedmann, T. (2018). Eutrophication’s neglected drivers. Nature Sustainability, 1(6), 273–274. Web.

Withgott, J., Brennan, S., Murck, B. & Laposata, M. (2017). Environment: The Science Behind the Stories. Toronto: Pearson Canada.

Appendix

Figure 1: Derelicts in Canadian mining sites (Boden et al., 2018)

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