The ‘golden quarter’ refers to the last 3 months of the year when retailers typically see the highest sales, with many events and holidays occurring all within these 90 days. The UK economy is the leading European economy within this quarter, taking advantage of Halloween, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and more. Even though the cost of living is high, sales have surprisingly increased over the last few years.
Everyone loves a bargain, especially when it’s something you’ve had your eye on and it becomes half-price! However, many of us and businesses fail to realise the impact of these consumer habits, particularly on the Earth and its systems. This post aims to outline some of these impacts and make us think twice about buying something ‘just because it’s in the sale’.
Overconsumption
Seeing promotions like ‘75% off’ or ‘buy one get one free’ makes us feel like we are getting a deal, and if it’s something you would buy whether it was on sale or not, then you are definitely getting a deal! However, when we start to buy things we wouldn’t usually buy just because they are cheaper, we start to overconsume. This is exacerbated when promotions are advertised as ‘limited time deals’ giving us a sense of urgency we usually wouldn’t have and as a result buy things we usually wouldn’t buy. Furthermore, we are often given a dopamine rush when we purchase something, especially if it’s cheaper than we thoguht, making us want to do it more! All of these factors lead to an overconsumption of resources which our Earth is not equipt to deal with.
Consequences of Overconsumption
Economic
Even though we are getting each item for a cheaper price, the slippery slope to buying more means we actually spend more than we originally would have, which is the business people’s goal all along, as long as you have spent more than planned, they’ve won.
Environmental
As discussed before within this blog, there are detrimental effects of overconsumption on the environment. These consequences prominently come from increased packaging, fast fashion waste, and e-waste. These all contribute to the 114,000 tonnes of plastic (the equivalent of 650,000 reindeer) and 300,000 tonnes of cardboard which enter landfills each Christmas from the UK alone. Landfills release large amounts of greenhouse gasses, pollute local waterways, and spread infectious diseases. Of course, the extraction of raw materials to be able to make such items has its own set of consequences.
Social
With demand for products vastly increasing in the ‘golden quarter’, this puts significant pressure on suppliers, and as a result, employers are expected to work longer hours to meet the increased quotas. This is often in factories which have poor working conditions and little pay, and as it is a time when gifts are expected, societal pressures result in employees feeling the need to work extra hours to be able to provide their family with gifts, giving them little choice in the matter. On top of this, burnout is more likely to occur in the colder months, therefore the increased pressures increase the likeliness of this occurring.
What Can We Do?
Thinking twice about a purchase is the best thing you can do to reduce overconsumption. Do you really need it? Would you buy it at full price? if the answer to these questions is no, then consider putting it back and saving some pennies! Furthermore, if you feel like a dopamine boost, think about where you purchase most of your products from, could these places be switched to more ethical options which strive to help environments and societies?
Not My Monkey 