It is known that consumerism is very important for our economy. However, consumerism is very different compare to the past. In the past, people consumed because they need it, unlike nowadays people consumed cause they want it. The consumer have changed, but the style of consuming remain the same. This caused a lot of problems to rise.
Some of the problems identified from the group mind map activities are:
1. Unethical supply chain
This means that the company treat their workers poorly or slavery, forced labor and human trafficking are involved in the process of producing the products.
2. Waste of resources
The accelerating consumption habit that our society had nowadays lead to many waste of resources. It is said that many waste that had been throw away still have a usage life of 75% left.
3. Pollution
The amount of waste produced had also pollute our environment. Landfill full of waste keep on growing. It is also said that the fastest growing business are self storage business. This shows, how much unwanted products we actually consumed.
In general, the consumption method is just not sustainable and I think is time for us to find a better way of consumption. From the mind map/videos here are a few solutions that they have discussed.
Be a conscious consumer by:
- supporting brands that stand for our belief and have good CSR (Corporate social responsibility)
- boycotting brands with unethical supply chain
- minimalist purchase (shift habits)
- voice out and stand for our belief/values
- focus on the usage of product not the aesthetic (can last longer)
- share/ give/ donate unwanted products
For our I am AMPLIFIER project, we are to answer the question "How design turn us into a buying machine?". From the class activity, here is a few aspect that I found that could potentially influenced a customer purchase decision:
1. Cheap retail price and discount
2. Good service/CSR
3. Good marketing
4. Packaging/ Exterior
5. Trends/ Limited edition
6.Social cues/traditions
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