By Jess DrummondFriday 20 Dec 2024TV and StreamingReading Time: 3 minutes
A trending documentary is sparking conversations about our retail consumption habits and what really happens to products when we discard them.
Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy highlights the marketing strategies used by companies to entice us to purchase more and more, while also showing consequences of overconsumption that aren’t often thought about: the environmental and health consequences of mass wastage.
The documentary features experts from diverse fields, including marketing for major corporations, as well as fashion, technology, and engineering.
96five’s Jess Drummond spoke with Kat Halliday, from Baptist World Aid’s Ethical Fashion Team, about the positive impact that Buy Now is having when it comes to the dangers of overconsumption.
“Our minds love to feel in abundance and in control, and like we’ve scored something convenient or really great value” Kat said.
“We’ll see that these brands are always removing those barriers and making it as easy as possible for us to keep shopping, and they’re also throwing sales at us all the time.”
“What it’s doing is just peeling back the curtain on how brands are getting us to stay on that treadmill of consuming more than we need… and then on the other end, the waste that’s created when we’re buying the amount that we are.” Kat Halliday, Baptist World Aid
She says companies spend a lot of time, money, and expertise tapping into human psychology to encourage us to consume more.
In addition to the strategic marketing of the products, Kat says that the way the goods are produced also induces further spending, through “planned and perceived obsolescence”.
“If we use fashion as an example, planned obsolescence is where a garment is designed not to last very long. Maybe the fabric is cheap and it will warp or tear quickly, or it doesn’t come with a spare button or a hem that you can take down if you need.
“Perceived obsolescence is where we quickly think that [a product] no longer serves a purpose. Brands can make us think that things go out of fashion really quickly, by pushing out lots of new styles.”
Kat says the documentary uses striking visuals to show the inevitable waste that is created by overconsumption.
“When we throw things away, we’re not getting rid of these items for good, we’re just getting them out of our own home or environment – but they do end up somewhere. [The waste] is sent away to fill up landfill, or it’s polluting a different ecosystem or dumped on a different shore.”
She says it’s not just a question of sustainability, but also of justice.
“Whose land are we choosing to degrade? Whose health are we choosing to impact [through products that don’t break down, or that release chemicals into waterways and food supplies]?”
With Christmas and Boxing Day sales still on the horizon, Kat suggests three ideas for long-term reconsideration: buy less, buy better, and expect more.
“[When buying less] we’re putting limits on what we think we need, and that can be the same with gift-giving as well: trying to give really meaningful gifts that we know that people will enjoy [such as] an experience or something that we’ve made ourselves.” Kat Halliday, Baptist World Aid
Despite the bleak picture that the documentary presents, Kat encourages us not to lose hope.
“Just remember that we’re part of this system and we can really advocate for a system that looks after people and the planet better, and [it’s possible] to take those little daily actions and feel meaning and purpose in that.”
Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy is streaming now on Netflix.
Listen to the full interview with Kat Halliday in the player above.