Story Of Stuff
Introduction
Consumerism, a
process which cuts through various societies and economies, is the compulsion
to purchase an excess of consumer goods (Gibson, 2011). The increase in
consumerism has made the world greatly focused on increasing its pace of
consuming goods and services. Consumerism influences an individual’s psyche
causing such individual to perceive himself has devalued until he has
contributed to consumption by purchasing and consuming (Wikipedia, 2013). To better
grasp the concept of consumerism, an understanding of the materials economy is
required. The materials economy is made up of five different processes which
explain the life cycle of consumer goods. “These processes are Extraction,
production, Distribution, Consumption and Disposal” (Story of Stuff, 2007).
EXTRACTION
Every consumable
goods has its origin from raw materials. These raw materials are natural
resources provided by Mother Earth (Story of Stuff, 2007). Extraction is the
modern term given to the exploitation of natural resource. It comprises of sets
of practices such as cutting of trees, killing of animals, drilling of the
earth’s surface, and so on. Although these processes are designed to obtain raw
materials for goods production, they have the resultant negative effects of rendering
the earth inhabitable, whilst reducing the amount of resources left to man’s
disposal (Gibson, 2011). Over the past few decades, about one-third of the
global natural resource base has been consumed. The rate of extraction is now
so high that the earth is gradually losing its ability to sustain human
habitation (Story of Stuff, 2007).
PRODUCTION
This is the second
phase in the materials economy. Production converts raw materials into usable
consumer goods. Although production is assumed to be of good to man, it is sad
to note that most of the waste products released during extraction are released
and recycled for use in production processes (Gibson, 2011). Most of these
harmful substances contain toxins, which form part of the production process
for consumer goods. So consumer goods are being produced which are rich in
toxic substances. It is sad to note that those who suffer most from this
constant exposure to danger are factory workers, most of which are women of
reproductive age.
DISTRIBUTION
After production,
the next phase in the materials economy is to ensure that the produced goods
get to the consumers. This is called distribution. Here, the aim is to increase
the number of consumers and this is done by strategic processes such as
fostering affordable sale rates (Wikipedia, 2013). It is important to note that goods are
not displayed with prices that replicate their true costs. This is because
producers and distributors externalize the true cost of goods. This means that
the true cost of any consumable product is in the mineral resources depleted,
the future of children denied since many of them drop out school to work in
production plants, health insurances denied, etc. (Story of Stuff, 2007).
CONSUMPTION
Virtually every
human currently possesses the consumer identity. With each day, purchases are
made, goods are bought and consumed, money is spent, and the cycle continues to
repeat itself. According to the Story of Stuff (2007), consumption is caused by
two factors which are Planned Obsolescence and Perceived Obsolescence. In
Planned Obsolescence, producers create goods designed to last only for a
specific period at the end of which change is required. Here constant upgrades
are induced into the system that any product which has not been upgraded
becomes obsolete and lost in the new system. In Perceived Obsolescence, humans
are convinced by people and society to change purchased goods after a given
period. Advertisement and the media play a key role in this aspect.
DISPOSAL
After the
consumption of goods comes the disposal of waste. Unfortunately for the human
race, most methods of waste disposal only end up producing more harmful
results. Asides global warming, the incinerator process produces the most toxic
manmade substance, dioxin. The only safe disposal method is recycling, but this
is insufficient when compared to the amount of goods in consumption (Story of
Stuff, 2007).
CONSUMERISM
IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The United Arab
Emirates is presently a very attractive place for the practice of consumerism.
With the oil boom and the major investments in tourism, the United Arab
Emirates receives thousands of visitors every day (Vadayar, 2012). Dubai, one of its
largest cities, has become a city of malls. The economy is now largely fuelled
by tourists and expatriates. The city, with an average annual per capital
income of $120,000, is constantly filled with individuals ready to make
expenditure with deep pockets and wallets filed with credit cards (Gerson, 2008).
Overall, the income generated from oil and tourism only serves to ensure that
consumerism is at its peak in the United Arab Emirates.
CONCLUSION
Although
consumerism has eaten deep into the core of human nature, many individuals are
labouring at different parts of the materials economy to make things better.
New ideas are being introduced in areas such as sustainability and equity, zero
waste, renewable energy, and so on. Many people argue that these are not
realistic, however, this are people who want things to remain as they are.
Things will definitely get better if everyone understands the significance of
the materials system and work together to influence each phase positively.
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