With Consumerism being at the heart of most 1st
world economies, it is important to be resilient to the seductive marketing and
advertising messages that encourage societies to consume more for a better
quality of life.
I feel that this is a crucial thing to consider as an
Industrial designer. Working closely with marketers and production companies
all the time, we have to find ways to encourage clients to utilise efficient
technologies and renewable resources when producing new products, systems or
environments.
There is no longer a debate as to “if” consumerism is
affecting the environment, but rather how long we have left till the plant’s
resources are depleted.
An interesting observation in the film was the comparison
between a heavily religious world, with little desire for material possessions and
more emphasis on life-after-death c.f. a modern world with a psychological trait
of chasing wealth and material possessions being a symbol of status. Religious
people were happy because of their faith and how well they practiced it c.f.
consumer societies that receive happiness from how products make them feel and
their emotive connections to “stuff”. This
philosophy is a dangerous one as it comes with the acceptance of trashing the
environment as a reasonable price to pay for happiness.
If were in charge of managing the situation, I would take
the following measures to try and improve the current situation:
- Invest in renewable energy
- Introduce choice editing to develop a minimum efficiency standard
- Support Corporations that encourage shared responsibility though carbon off-set schemes and take bake services
- Invest in environmentally friendly housing, transport and leisure activities (i.e. utilising: solar energy, wind power, rain water, car share, public transport, bicycle route)
- Support local business, local farmers and local suppliers
- Have less emphasis on growth and more on well-being
As an individual, the film has opened my eyes to avenues I
can take to live a more sustainable lifestyle. For example, I am now more aware
of the importance of buying local produce from farmers markets, as well as
encouraged to live a low-consumption life-style i.e. escaping the rat race,
settling for a lower income in exchange for and increased quality of life.
This is another important take home message from the film;
happiness is not a measure of relative wealth, but rather a measure of how the individual
feels they belong and fit into a community, without any consideration of status
or mass consumerism.
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