The global middle class already amounts to 3.8 billion people and is expected to grow by a further 1.5 billion by 2030. In order for this growth to benefit the planet, too, we must change our consumption patterns and adopt a sustainable lifestyle.
According to the United Nations, sustainable development is defined as the ability to exist and develop in order to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
However, the reality is that production and consumption systems are becoming increasingly unsustainable. The good news is that some consumers, especially young people, do not view a sustainable lifestyle as unattainable, but are trying to adopt consumption patterns that have a lower environmental impact.
People have always needed resources to survive (such as clothing, food, and shelter) but the concept of being a consumer only became familiar to Americans at the beginning of the last century, although the general perception is that consumerism only took off after World War II, writes historian Kerryn Higgs. As early as 1890, stores began to expand, eventually reaching several storeys in height by the start of the next century, and the volume of mail-order purchases increased. Although department stores served only the privileged classes, while the average person tended to buy products that met basic needs, rising incomes and the abundance and variety of goods led to a shift in production and consumption. The goal was no longer to produce useful goods, but to seduce buyers by creating new needs.
“The unleashing of acquisitive instincts” in Great Britain occurred at the end of the 18th century, when sales expanded beyond the wealthy class—an expansion fuelled by “the propulsing power of envy,” according to historians Neil McKendrick, John Brewer, and J. H. Plumb. People gradually abandoned behaviours characteristic of historical periods when most struggled to secure the resources necessary for a simple life, or even survival. These behaviours included moderation and saving. The new consumerist culture succeeded in democratising desire rather than financial power, presenting acquisition as a strategy for achieving happiness, as Higgs observes in his analysis of how consumerism became the defining feature of modern society.
Rich but in debt
A century later, the frenzy of needs (or rather, desires multiplied to infinity) has brought the society of abundance face to face with an unprecedented climate crisis, with alarming impacts on the environment, the economy, and human life.
Climate change is a reality: human activities have caused a 1-degree Celsius rise in global temperatures compared to pre-industrial levels, and will continue to irreversibly warm the planet. These were the conclusions of the sixth report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in August 2021. UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasised that it declares a “code red for humanity.”
Global warming affects every region of the globe. Among the effects already being felt are biodiversity loss and damage to ecosystems, with increased risks to health and life. Extreme weather events and natural disasters are forcing the displacement of millions of people, and estimates suggest that these numbers will only increase as the effects of the climate crisis intensify.
Analysing the devastation caused by the Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California’s history, as well as the effects of a series of hurricanes, journalist Annie Lowrey observes that increasingly frequent natural disasters exacerbate social inequality. While this may currently seem like a movie scenario, only time will tell if we will reach a point where the financially and geographically privileged half of the planet will be forced to fight the other half for survival resources, writes Christian Parenti in a book examining the phenomenon of climate refugees.
What is certain is that humanity is currently living on credit (and has been doing so for the past half-century). With insignificant exceptions, Earth Overshoot Day (also known as Ecological Debt Day or Resource Depletion Day, the calculated date on which humanity’s consumption of natural resources and carbon emissions for a given year exceed the planet’s capacity to regenerate those resources in the same year) arrives earlier and earlier. While Earth Overshoot Day fell on 21 December in 1971, it has moved alarmingly forward from one decade to the next (23 October in 1987, 5 October in 1995, 8 August in 2010, and 29 July in both 2019 and 2021).
According to The Global Footprint Network, currently 86% of the world’s population lives in countries that consume more resources than Earth’s ecosystems can regenerate, meaning we would need 1.7 planets to continue wasting resources unchecked.
Hans Bruyninckx, executive director of the European Environment Agency, notes that changing the direction we’re headed is a daunting task. He notes that reversing or slowing down negative trends requires firm and unpopular environmental policies, as well as changes to deeply ingrained consumption habits. However, he adds that without a healthy planet we cannot have a sustainable economy or a fair society.
While economic and political measures from developed countries (the first to cross the unsustainability threshold) are slow in coming, we are witnessing the awakening of civil society’s environmental consciousness (unprecedented protests to save the planet took place in 2019) and more or less subtle shifts in consumers’ choices, especially among younger generations.
A sustainable future with and for young people
A 2018 survey showed that nearly half of Americans intended to change their consumption habits by moving towards products that were healthier for themselves and the environment. According to a survey conducted by the market research firm Nielsen, sales of conventional products declined between 2014 and 2018, while sales of sustainable products increased by 20% during the same period.
The data revealed a generational gap in the purchase of sustainable food products: only 34% of baby boomers changed their consumption habits, compared to 75% of millennials. Additionally, millennials were more willing to pay more for organic food, while baby boomers were more brand loyal. This generational divide is rooted in technology: shoppers who make sustainable choices are 67% more likely to use the internet for shopping and research, says Sarah Schmansky, Nielsen’s vice president of growth and strategy.
Walking is the most common sustainable behaviour (70%) among Romanian Gen Zers.
A whole series of studies and surveys has highlighted young people’s interest in products that use resources responsibly. For example, nearly half of young consumers (aged 13–36) said they were more likely to buy a product if it was described as sustainable. One-third said they would pay 10% more for environmentally friendly products, and 46% of millennials said they preferred to buy from companies that balanced profit with environmental conservation.
According to the national Insights PulseZ study, over 60% of young Romanians in Generation Z say that they consider the brand’s sustainability when making a purchase decision, and walking is the most common sustainable behaviour (70%) among members of this generation. Other sustainable actions embraced by young Romanians include the frequent use of public transport (41%), buying second-hand clothing (38%), avoiding food waste (57%), reusing and recycling packaging (55%), sorting rubbish (30%), and reducing water consumption (23%).
Learning the ABCs of a sustainable lifestyle
Managing natural resources to support a growing population, lifting one billion people out of extreme poverty, and keeping environmental impact within acceptable limits represent a threefold challenge that we face today, according to a 2015 UN report. UN Deputy Secretary-General Achim Steiner warns that our relationship with the natural world has changed rapidly and substantially over the past century, and that if consumption rates remain unchanged as the population grows, global annual resource extraction could triple by 2050 compared to 2000 levels.
The annual global average carbon dioxide emissions per person are 4.35 tonnes, whereas an American’s are 14.95 tonnes.
According to the World Economic Forum, the annual global average carbon footprint per person is 4.35 tonnes (figures include industrial activities and emissions), with levels rising significantly in developed economies. For example, the average American’s annual carbon footprint is 14.95 tonnes. Estimates suggest that carbon emissions need to be reduced to two tonnes per person by 2050 to prevent a rise in global temperatures, so easy solutions do not exist. Beyond the commitments of governments and corporations to reduce CO₂ emissions, consumer choices also play a significant role: globally, household consumption accounts for nearly three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions.
In practical terms, we can make changes to how we eat, work, travel, and spend our free time—and stick with them.
According to an analysis published in the journal Science, reducing meat and dairy consumption is the most effective way to improve our ecological footprint. This is the most comprehensive study to date on the damage caused to the planet by agriculture. Using data collected from 119 countries, the study shows that we could reduce the amount of agricultural land globally by 75% if meat and dairy consumption were zero. Currently, producing these foods requires 83% of agricultural land and generates 60% of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, despite providing only 18% of our calorie needs and 37% of our protein requirements.
If we eliminated meat and dairy consumption, we could reduce the amount of agricultural land globally by 75%.
A vegan diet is the best way to reduce environmental impact, according to Professor Joseph Poore, the study’s lead author. This includes not only greenhouse gases, but also water acidification and eutrophication, as well as the efficient use of water and land. Professor Poore emphasised that changing one’s diet has a greater effect than reducing the number of flights or buying an electric car—changes which are welcome, of course, but which only affect greenhouse gas emissions.
Another strategy for investing in our health, the health of the planet, and the local economy is to consume local and seasonal foods. Food from markets and farms is fresher and has a lower carbon footprint due to the shorter distance travelled from farm to store. It also requires less packaging, which is important given that the Earth is already choked with plastic waste—there is one tonne of plastic waste for every person on the planet.
Other sustainable food choices we can make with minimal effort include avoiding bottled water, planning meals, and reducing food waste.
We can also save electricity through simple actions that can easily become part of our daily routine, such as turning off the computer after use instead of leaving it on standby, using the energy-saving settings on the dishwasher or washing machine, investing in a pressure cooker (which reduces energy use by 70%), and avoiding highly aggressive cleaning products such as stove-cleaning sprays. In Germany alone, over half a million tonnes of chemicals end up in household wastewater.
Although we have become accustomed to treating clothes as disposable items, we can truly do our part to save the planet by buying fewer garments or turning to the second-hand market. There is already a massive amount of clothing waste given that the fashion industry is the second-largest global water polluter and produces 20% of the world’s wastewater. It takes 9,982 litres of water to produce a single pair of jeans, not to mention the carbon footprint and harmful chemicals used in the manufacturing process.
There are many actions we can take to adopt a sustainable lifestyle, and while not all of them can be implemented, many daily choices will have a significant impact—but this requires ongoing information and education.
“Last call for climate”
A week before the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Alok Sharma, the official leading the conference, stated that although he would describe himself as a “normal person” rather than a “climate warrior,” planning this summit and visiting communities affected by extreme weather events had convinced him of the severity of the climate crisis and that this decade is critical.
To convey the importance of this meeting, which focuses on limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels—the threshold beyond which experts believe the planet could enter an irreversible climate trajectory—Time magazine created a striking cover illustration. The image shows several world leaders caught in a powerful storm at a meeting where many seats remain empty, and the caption reads, “Last call.”
On Instagram, Time provides the following description for the cover photo: “Last call for climate—the world’s leaders need to stop talking and start acting.”
It is not yet clear whether the summit will be a success or suffer the same fate as its predecessor, but we must honestly assess whether our consumption patterns are moving towards or away from protecting the planet.
More than a decade ago, environmental consultant Rob Watson compared the planet’s situation to that of the Titanic, warning that we had already struck the iceberg and that this reality, recognised by experts, would become increasingly clear to the general public as well. While it’s not the ideal situation, it’s up to each individual to decide how to respond as the ship shows signs of damage: hit the dance floor, order another serving of food, or do everything in their power to minimise losses.
Carmen Lăiu is an editor for Signs of the Times Romania and ST Network.