Trend versus Truth: Unmasking Consumerism in a ‘Sustainable’ World

Essay question: In the context of global sustainability efforts, explore the role of consumerism in shaping economic practices. How do trends like fast fashion and drop-shipping impact the economic and environmental landscapes of developing countries? Additionally, discuss how ESG metrics influence corporate profitability and sustainability practices across different economies.

In the 19th century, the average American only owned a few outfits in their wardrobe. Today, brands like Shein drop 2000 new items per day [1] and Americans buy an average of 64 items of clothing annually [2]. Following industrialisation and mass production, modern consumerism has become preoccupied with materialism, status and competitive consumption [3]. Yet beneath this shift in individual consumption behaviour, there lies a societal trend of corporations manipulating consumers into a culture of disposability.

Consumerism ideology theorises that consumption in large quantities enables economic growth in developing countries [4]: over the past 40 years, China’s industrialisation has caused the number of people under the International Poverty Line to fall by almost 800 million [5]. Nonetheless, overconsumption does not always improve lives. To push prices down and stimulate demand, transnational companies exploit individuals in developing regions willing to work for poor conditions and low wages. Garment workers in developing countries can be paid as low as just $3.43 per day [6], and supply chains include 160 million children working in child labour globally [7]. While low-barrier jobs increase employment in developing regions, education inhibition lowers productive capabilities and amplifies income inequality in the long term, trapping developing regions in low-paying jobs.

Present-day commerce utilises low prices to turn chasing trends into a mass activity [2], taking advantage of the media to exacerbate trend cycles. Celebrities are photographed never wearing the same thing twice, and consumers are advertised into an unhealthy, spiralling pressure to keep up with daily trends through constant shopping. Fast fashion companies like Zara produce up to 52 micro-seasons per year, using sophisticated algorithms to get new styles to market in days [8]. Overconsumption is not a manifestation of individualism, but rather an enslavement of society to the ever-changing fads at the cost of global environmental destruction.

The fashion industry produces over 92 million tonnes of waste and consumes over 79 trillion litres of water annually [9]. While the entire planet feels the consequences of a warming climate, developing countries bear the heaviest burden [10], and local economic growth experienced by emerging economies is offset by climate destruction. Pakistan's summer floods in 2022 affected 33 million people, destroyed over one million homes, and flooded 2 million acres of crops [11].

In the escalation of global sustainability concerns, ESG metrics have emerged as a way to evaluate firm sustainability, but these superficial values only seem to justify further destruction. ESG metrics merely reward piecemeal sustainability strategies and insincere promises, allowing corporations to maintain profitability while championing themselves as ‘sustainable’. Zara’s parent company Inditex holds an MSCI rating of AA [12]; simultaneously, it has been linked to large-scale illegal deforestation [13], slave labour in outsourced factories [14], and more than 2.5 million CO2 emitted from transportation alone [15]. Even as conscious consumers seek out ethical choices, they are only met with deceitful credentials from greenwashed firms.

Consumers must not be appeased by perfunctory changes; they must demand a systematic shift within commerce towards a global circular economy (CE), where products are designed with sustainability in mind from the beginning. Per the EMF, a circular economy ‘redefines growth, focusing on society-wide benefits.’[16] While CE development has mainly been in developed countries, rapidly urbanising cities need to be prioritised. Industrialisation can be sustainable – the concept of CE ameliorates the burden of natural resources whilst encouraging long-term economic growth[17]. Observing previous CE principles implemented in developing countries, Bangladesh saved US$4.7 million from recycling lead from batteries [18], and Kolkata’s renewable biogas bus service allowed for a cost-effective method of transportation [19]. 

Necessity is the mother of invention. Corporations must be forced to realise that overconsumerism is outdated, and stakeholders need to view sustainability as a self-interest instead of conflict. Successful CE programs require consumer pressure, local government support, and a national framework conducive to CE finance.  While 81% of green investments in developed economies are funded privately, only 14% in developing countries are [20]. This means securing funding for pilot projects will be crucial for developing regions. Through public-private partnership, China’s sludge-to-energy program reduced emissions by almost 98% and was financially breaking [19]. With a support network, minor green projects are able to scale to a systems-level circular economy, driving economic growth while maintaining environmental protection [19].

Adam Smith once stated, “Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production.”[21] Yet, modern society features firms manipulating consumers through deceiving practices – it is time for consumers to take control of their wardrobes, their consumption, and the direction the world takes.

References

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[2]       E. L. Cline, Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. Penguin, 2012.

[3]       D. J. Carr, M. R. Gotlieb, N.-J. Lee, and D. V. Shah, ‘Examining Overconsumption, Competitive Consumption, and Conscious Consumption from 1994 to 2004: Disentangling Cohort and Period Effects’, Ann. Am. Acad. Pol. Soc. Sci., vol. 644, pp. 220–233, 2012.

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[5]       ‘Lifting 800 Million People Out of Poverty – New Report Looks at Lessons from China’s Experience’, World Bank. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/04/01/lifting-800-million-people-out-of-poverty-new-report-looks-at-lessons-from-china-s-experience

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[7]       ‘Child Labour | International Labour Organization’. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.ilo.org/projects-and-partnerships/projects/child-labour

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[11]     M. Igini, ‘Pakistan Floods, “Climate Catastrophe of the Decade”, Claim More Than 1,000 Lives’, Earth.Org. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://earth.org/pakistan-floods/

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[13]     ‘Report links H&M and Zara to major environmental damage in biodiverse Cerrado’. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/report-links-hm-and-zara-to-major-environmental-damage-in-biodiverse-cerrado/

[14]     templelw, ‘Clothing Calamity: A Crisis Case Study on Slave Labor Allegations Against Spanish Retailer Zara’, The Honors College. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://honors.appstate.edu/clothing-calamity-crisis-case-study-slave-labor-allegations-against-spanish-retailer-zara

[15]     ‘Zara owner Inditex’s transport emissions jump in 2024 | Reuters’. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/zara-owner-inditexs-transport-emissions-jump-2024-2025-03-14/

[16]     ‘Circular Economy - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics’. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/circular-economy

[17]     A. Maassen, ‘How three cities put circular economy ideas into practice’, Trellis. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://trellis.net/article/how-three-cities-put-circular-economy-ideas-practice/

[18]     Z. Ahmed, S. Mahmud, and Dr. H. Acet, ‘Circular economy model for developing countries: evidence from Bangladesh’, Heliyon, vol. 8, no. 5, p. e09530, May 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09530.

[19]     A. Maassen, ‘How three cities put circular economy ideas into practice’, Trellis. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://trellis.net/article/how-three-cities-put-circular-economy-ideas-practice/

[20]     ‘Green investments in emerging markets offer distinctive opportunities for investors’, World Economic Forum. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/08/why-emerging-market-green-investments-are-the-greatest-opportunity-and-challenge-of-our-generation/

[21]     ‘An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Cannan ed.), vol. 2 | Online Library of Liberty’. Accessed: Mar. 27, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/smith-an-inquiry-into-the-nature-and-causes-of-the-wealth-of-nations-cannan-ed-vol-2