We live in a consumerist culture, where we value accumulation and abundance. Over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, capitalism has preserved its momentum by ‘molding the ordinary person into a consumer with an unquenchable thirst for more stuff’. Almost everything we do involves materials that have been extracted, processed, transformed, bought, sold, taxed and subsidised. And we continue to buy.
#ConsciousConsumption aims to bring awareness to the impact and importance of our purchasing power and our consumer habits. We have the power to challenge this cycle and create a sustainable pathway for the future. We’ll explore the history of our overconsumption and relationship with plastic, how we interact with global supply chains, the innovations changing the way we purchase, and the effects of media and advertising on consumers.
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KEY TERMINOLOGY
Global Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. While it has produced immense wealth and economic growth in nearly all regions of the world, it has also prioritized profits over people and harmful consumption practices over the needs of our planet.
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development represents a shift from our current system of inequitable capitalism to one that prioritizes prosperity for all, while remaining conscious of its environmental impact and sustainability for future generations.
Sustainable Consumption
Sustainable consumption is about systemic change, decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation and applying a lifecycle thinking to how we use goods and services, taking into account all phases of resource use in order to do more and better with less.
Greenwashing
Greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about how a company's products are more environmentally sound.
Agenda 2030
The Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It is based on a collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to be a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all". The SDGs were set up in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly and are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.
Learn more here.
Global Supply Chains
Global supply chains are networks that can span across multiple continents and countries for the purpose of sourcing and supplying goods and services