With a few clicks the new winter sweater, for a few euros new furniture. Shopping is very convenient in our daily life now and in many cases also very cheap. It often does not take much time to think, many purchasing decisions are made almost randomly.
Experts warn: Excessive consumer behavior is destroying our planet. Canadian journalist James Bernard McKinnon, for example, warns in his book “The Day We Stop Shopping” that consumption is the biggest threat to the environment. But why do so many people like to shop so much? And how can consumption be consciously reduced?
From the point of view of the economic psychologist Petra Yagov, consumption has a great value in our society. “I often say, ‘I buy, so I exist,'” he says. We like to shop in situations where we do not feel well. “Then we get something and we get compensated,” he adds. For many, shopping is an opportunity to have fun and get away from everyday life.
The thought of always being dressed in the latest fashion, having the most elegant car and wanting to have the most modern interior equipment for the home arises from the basic need to want to appreciate yourself.
The need for recognition
“This is the personal selfish motivation that can be very strong,” says environmental psychologist Frank Esken, explaining that the desire for recognition by others is strong in people. “If you focus on sustainability now, that means change and resignation,” Yagov said. “We all have a hard time giving up something.”
The market researcher emphasizes how important it is to “move something on an emotional level” in terms of sustainable and climate-neutral consumption by buyers. This means that they will understand the connection between their purchasing decision and the potential outcomes. People, for example, who buy fashion produced in poorer countries and in factories where workers work under unhealthy conditions. “This will be achieved through images, good reporting and documentaries,” says Yagov.
The social change of perspective is also necessary
Experts agree: without reduced shopping it is difficult to protect the environment. Canadian journalist James Bernard McKinnon points out that ultimately materialism in no way promotes prosperity, according to research. Material values ​​have failed, they offer no lasting security or satisfaction, let alone happiness.
Experts come to the same conclusion. We must be ourselves and appreciate what we already have. Yagov specifically recommends that before you go shopping, take a good look at your wardrobe and think about what you really need and what you do not.
But values ​​must also change at the social level, says Esken. So someone who does not constantly buy new things should not be considered as someone who is not able to buy, that he does not have the ability and is at a disadvantage.
We need a general review of things and finally the acceptance that only everyone can decide for themselves what is really necessary and what is not. Do not associate consumption with social status. According to Yagov, the coronavirus helped us realize how much we have and how little we really need. Even the younger generation buys more consciously and it seems that more and more young people are avoiding overconsumption.
DW – Jozefine Kaukemüler / Maria Rigoutsou
.
