Measures to safeguard public health during the coronavirus pandemic might jeopardize hard-won environmental protections against waste from single-use plastics. Read this article to find out more.
Category Archives: The Stuff of Consumer Culture
Study: Wanting Things Makes Us Happier Than Having Them
Studies show that the thoughts of buying something new can provide as much pleasure as having that new purchase in the hand! And, for the materialistic, the happiness gained from a new purchase is short-lived.
The Global Cost of Electronic Waste
E-waste, used and frequently discarded computers, tablets, smartphones and other electronics, is the fastest-growing municipal waste stream in the United States. Read this opinion piece about the causes and possible solutions to this mounting environmental threat.
This Clothing Line is Saving Textile Waste and Paying Fair Wages
At Zero Waste Daniel, New York-based designer Daniel Silverstein creates fashion that is both environment-conscious and socially responsible. Watch this short video to find out more.
Are We Consuming Too Much Information?
Feeling overwhelmed by all the information on the internet? That “foggy” sensation in your brain after hours of pointing, clicking, tapping, and swiping has a name. It’s called information overload. Read this article to learn more about it.
What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery?
Find out why winning the lottery may not change people’s lives the way we would expect.
Ad Council’s Challenge: Persuade Skeptics to Believe in Covid Vaccines
Learn why product marketing may be crucial to public health.
Buying begets buying: how stuff has consumed the average American’s life
Living beyond our means and having an attachment to possessions is something we’ve become accustomed to. We can put a false value on owning things, imagining a happiness that simply cannot be obtained through materialism.
The Invisible Way That Marketers Set the Menu for Your Thanksgiving Feast
The foods we literally consume at Thanksgiving are based not in history, but in consumerism itself.
The Mask Barons of Etsy
While the coronavirus has led to complications for many workers, some Etsy sellers have made a fortune selling cloth masks to consumers. Read more about the hard work and luck that went into making millions off of a perfect storm of circumstances.
What Is Fast Fashion — and Why Is It a Problem?
Your recent clothing haul may have more environmental costs and ethical concerns than you might expect. Read more about how fast fashion has a hidden cost many don’t know they are paying.
Big Food Is Boosted by All Our Pandemic Snacking
While some companies are struggling during the pandemic, major snack companies are bringing in unforeseen profits.
Overpopulation, overconsumption – in pictures
See images from a new book documenting the ecological and social results of overpopulation and overconsumption throughout the world.
Following Garbage’s Long Journey Around The Earth
What happens to the stuff you no longer need? In this interview, author Edward Humes describes the huge amount of trash created in the United States and explains where it goes when we throw it away.
How the Virus Transformed the Way Americans Spend Their Money
See eye-opening graphs of the many ways consumer spending shifted in response to COVID-19.
This is why everyone is hoarding toilet paper
Grocery shopping during a pandemic is already a strange experience involving sanitizing carts and maintaining social distance. But why does it also include whole aisles of empty shelves where toilet paper should be?
Self-control, smells and how our spending is affected
Studies have shown how materialism, loneliness, and even smell affect how consumers spend money. As you read this article, think about your own decision-making when it comes to shopping.
Matty Benedetto is the master of unnecessary inventions
Normally, an inventor strives to create products that fill a need and solve a problem. Matty Benedetto does the opposite. Watch a video showing his delightfully useless creations.
10 Companies That Completely Reinvented Themselves
Did you know that a major cell phone manufacturer used to make rubber boots? Or that a well-known gasoline company used to sell seashells? Check out this slideshow to see how some companies have transformed themselves.
Are We Genetically Inclined To Be Materialistic?
Culture can help people to learn to share freely. Listen to this report comparing people in modern economies like those of the United States to hunter-gatherers.