Weapons of mass consumption
Buyer beware!
Quality growth is a key factor for Bhutan’s role towards development. We find ourselves in an unusual position between preserving tradition and the environment or striving for globalization. It is imperative that Bhutan take a stance but which one? What does this mean for our small egalitarian society?
Globalization is now constant, if not irrevocable. Globalization has an impact on shifting cultural trends. It is well established that the environment and culture of the countries in which reforms are implemented, influence the effectiveness of the reforms. Even in countries that were thought to be relatively similar in terms of development, there were noticeable disparities in how consumer behaviour changed. In a country such as ours, values such as personal, psychological and communal networks continue to influence the future of consumerism in Bhutan.
To translate the demographic dividend into economic growth and maintain the pace, Bhutan’s human capital development must be accelerated in order to take advantage of the remaining dividend period. To improve their employability while instilling their tradition, the expanding working-age population must be supplied with suitable practices and values.
Our attitude toward consumerist chains reflects an odd balance of ideas. Asian consumers will redefine the world. We should be well aware of the growing population hungry for consumption, which will be the starting point for the new era of the global economy. Goods and items will continue to be created in the East, but a growing share of them will be marketed to the Asian middle class. For the next many decades, the emergence of the Asian consumer will be a dominating economic trend.
Fashion is one of the primary drivers of consumerism. Fashion encompasses not only clothing, but also any product that helps us to show our identity by being distinct, new, and enhanced. Fashion is so important to modern consumerism that it’s difficult to envision a civilization without it.
The expansion of Asia’s middle-class population has been fueled by the region’s economic boom over the last three decades, which has been fueled mostly by greater productivity and enhanced industrial capabilities.
Fast fashion
Something has changed in the fashion industry over the previous two decades. Clothing has grown more affordable, trend cycles have accelerated, and for many of us, shopping has become a monthly, if not weekly, affair. The retail malls and online world are dominated by fast fashion and major global chains. But what influence does it have on people and the environment?
Fast fashion is a business model that involves mass-producing low-cost, “of-the-moment” things and selling them at a cheaper price. Fast fashion is based on two main themes: “low-cost speed and style” and “disposable and limited durability.” It also reflects the increased need among consumers for speed and value in retail. It implies that, rather than having to wait for new seasonal collections (spring/summer), customers can get their hands on a continuous cycle of trend-driven clothing all year long. Because of the rapid rate at which garments are created, consumers are discarding a large number of clothes, resulting in a massive volume of textile waste. The advent of “quick fashion” in the worldwide market is a reflection of Western society’s consumer culture, where “fast fashion” is low-cost replica clothes of high-end designer names.
What can you do to reduce your footprint?
- Buy less, buy better: This is why some clothes are expensive. Because they are made sustainably so that they can be used for a long time and they do not add to textile waste.
- Sell items that are still in good condition to thrift stores
- Host a clothing giveaway in your neighbourhood
- Donate to shelter and nonprofit organizations.
- Buy clothes that have recycling programs. Brands like North Face will take back old clothes which will be recycled into usable materials again.
- Continue to educate yourself and research for alternatives.
Fast fashion, or the creation of low-cost clothing to fit the latest trends, appears to be an easy solution to satisfy our short-term desire for a wardrobe of outfits to pick from in the modern period. Fast fashion firms like Zara and H&M can generate a steady flow of new apparel items that are manufactured, worn, and returned by outsourcing their supply chains and underpaying factory workers.
However, fast fashion is problematic in many ways. Every stage of the fast-fashion supply chain has significant environmental consequences, from agriculture and petrochemical production to manufacturing, logistics, and retail. Toxic chemical use, water contamination, and other harmful environmental effects are among these expenses. Take, for example, the production of polyester textiles, which produces around 706 million tons of greenhouse gas.
The fashion industry is also the second-largest consumer of water and produces 20 per cent of global wastewater, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Occasions
The type of items that people buy is one way that consumerism can have an impact on the fashion industry. They purchase items for special occasions, holidays, or simply because they want to. The majority of the time, they don’t stop there, and it’s not just clothes. They generally purchase matching jewellery, shoes, and even bags or handbags. It can get a little out of hand at times. Every year or season, most, if not all, designers offer a new line of clothing. Introducing a new line of apparel each year or season encourages fashionistas to buy clothes they don’t truly need. While some perceive this as beneficial to the economy or harmless, others say it fosters mindless consumption. The danger we face is that of what other countries are going through at this very moment. Nondescript growth and modernisation are making their way into Bhutan.
“Reject modernism, embrace tradition”
How can this be possible in midst of our new economy? It is imperative that we rethink our choices and reevaluate country policies.
Impact of COVID-19
Human behaviour is pushed in many directions by a critical situation, with certain aspects of behaviour being irreversible. Because the COVID-19 pandemic is not a typical crisis, several methods were implemented to restrict the disease’s spread, including complete and then partial lockdown. New consumers are migrating online for supermarket shopping, boosting digital commerce — a trend that is likely to continue post-outbreak. Our need for the fundamental needs of existence takes precedence at times like this. For many merchants, who have long been grounded in brick-and-mortar storefronts, this represents a cultural shift. The consumer experience is fast changing from one based on the transactional process of in-store shopping to one based on long-term, meaningful connections.
The conventional view of economic development is that the remainder of the world’s population will gradually move up the consumption ladder. Clearly, the environmental consequences of the global development of mass consumption in terms of resource use and waste are enormous. Consumerism, on the other hand, not only satisfies our cravings but also does irreparable harm to the planet. Today’s demand for commodities is growing faster than our planet’s ability to supply them. If our appetite for consumerism continues to grow, we may soon be forced to forego fundamental necessities because our demands will not be met.
Consumerism is a phrase that describes the consequences of connecting personal satisfaction with the acquisition of material goods and consumption. Today’s world is dominated by consumer culture. Consumption pervades our daily lives and shapes our daily schedules. Consumption’s values, meanings, and costs have become an increasingly significant element of our social and personal lives. The news media is the primary force enforcing our activities in this manner. Information about consumption abounds in the news media, not just in the form of advertisements, but also in the form of news about enterprises, lifestyles, and economic statistics. None of this, however, explains how we got to be a culture that identifies freedom with the ability to consume whatever we want and as a way of self-fulfilment.
