We Need to Rethink Consumerism

It's crazy to think that a bag of chips I used 25 years ago is still in a landfill somewhere. According to streetroots.org, the average American will produce 102 tons of trash in his lifetime. Multiply this by the almost 8 Billion People on the planet and it's not difficult to see that we have a problem on our hands.

How did we get here?

We got here through a series of small innovations designed to make our lives easier at the expense of our planet. We got here by replacing paper bags with plastic ones, glass with plastic, towels with paper towels... Someone is profiting from our desires to live a simpler life at the expense of our habitat. We could blame companies for introducing these "innovations" in our lives but the blame ultimately falls on the consumer. Afterall, we wouldn't have a market for paper towels if people didn't buy them.

Have you seen a Swiffer commercial lately? They literally show you how easy it is to clean and then put the thing in the trash. Commercials are training us on how to use those "single use" products and how to disposed of them. 

"It's as easy as throwing it in the trash". Easy doesn't make it right now doesn't it?

We need more reliable, recycle products. We, consumers, must look into everything about our products and choose the ones that are friendlier to the environment. While it starts with the consumer, I also think that business could do a better job at leading us in the right direction just the same as they did lead us in the wrong direction.

Things need to change now...