Consumers have always felt the need to fit in, being faced with FOMO when they do not possess the latest trendy clothes or the new skincare line.
However, many fail to realise the impact this has on the environment, with this constant cycle of trends creating a normalised overconsumption culture. The Labubu toy is just one example of this. Typing ‘Labubu’ into your search bar will overwhelm you with thousands of hauls promoting mass consumption. As a society, attachments to these cute, small toys have grown astronomically, with there being a similar trend with ‘Jellycats’ a few years ago. Videos of people throwing away their huge collections of these toys are simply a metaphor for how disposable social media trends have become.
The UK generates approximately 191.2 million tons of waste, and that is just in the last year, with 15 per cent of that being clothing. The Journal Marketing Endorsements carried out a study and found that influencers can increase consumer willingness to buy by up to 50 per cent. This is not a surprising statistic, but the constant drip feed of these adverts means many of us fall victim without even knowing. It is being made even easier to indulge in consumerism with platforms like ‘TikTok Shop’ being created, which allow us to buy the item within a few clicks. It is easier to forget that your favourite influencer is a businessman in ‘White Fox Boutique’, as adverts seem so prevalent when scrolling that you don’t even realise you’re being sold something by your favourite influencers.
The constant trend cycle has seemed to erase people’s sense of individuality, as we are tirelessly trying to keep up with these new aesthetics and clothing trends. Most of the time these clothing pieces or items are not ethically or sustainably made, and due to the promotion of these there is excess demand causing the need for production to increase. Influencers on social media need to be more aware of the ethics of the products they are promoting- and so should the buyers. Why not look for these items second hand or do more research into what you’re consuming and make that conscious decision about your shopping practices.
Image by Matlide Impavido for The Student