Consumer Culture and the Environment
Patricia: When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, there was kind of an environmental theme going on.
Patricia: Um, there were the three Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle.
Patricia: Um, and I… I feel like people today have kind of jumped on the recycling bandwagon, whi- which is great, don’t get me wrong, but I’m kind of wondering what happened to reduce and reuse.
Patricia: We’re living today in a… a throwaway culture with planned obsolescence.
Patricia: Clothes, and appliances are… are generally a relatively low quality and they wear out in a few years.
Patricia: The cost of replacement is… is cheaper than fixing something, so they end up in landfills, and we get new appliances, new clothes.
Patricia: Twenty-five billion pounds of new textiles are… are made every year in the US alone, and a lot of it is donated when it’s no longer wanted.
Patricia: But 85% of that ends up in landfills, and… and don’t get me started on excess packaging.
Patricia: I think the… the first world is very fortunate.
Patricia: We’re able to buy a lot more than we were in the past, but I think it’s important to be smart about what we’ll really use, and… and not just buy the latest trends.
Patricia: I think if we could do that, the environment would really thank us.
Vocabulary:
environmental theme – a recurring subject or focus concerning the protection and preservation of the natural world, “The school’s science fair had an environmental theme this year, focusing on renewable energy.”
going on – happening or taking place at a particular time, “There was a loud celebration going on next door, so I couldn’t fall asleep.”
three Rs – the environmental slogan representing the three steps for sustainable waste management: reduce, reuse, and recycle, “Schools often teach children the three Rs to encourage eco-friendly habits from a young age.”
jumped on the recycling bandwagon – to join or support a popular trend or activity, in this case, recycling, because it has become fashionable or widely accepted, “Many corporations have jumped on the recycling bandwagon purely to improve their public image.”
don’t get me wrong – a phrase used to clarify that you are not criticizing something or to prevent a misunderstanding, “Don’t get me wrong, I love modern technology, but I think we spend too much time on our phones.”
throwaway culture – a society strongly influenced by consumerism where products are used briefly and then discarded rather than recycled or repaired, “Fast fashion has contributed heavily to our modern throwaway culture, with people discarding clothes after just a few wears.”
planned obsolescence – a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life so it becomes obsolete after a certain period, “The company faced criticism for its planned obsolescence when users noticed older phone models slowed down significantly after a new release.”
appliances – devices or pieces of equipment designed to perform a specific task, typically a domestic one like washing clothes or cooking, “When moving into the new apartment, they had to buy all new kitchen appliances like a refrigerator and a stove.”
relatively – in relation, comparison, or proportion to something else, “Compared to last year’s brutal winter, this season has been relatively mild.”
wear out – to become damaged, unusable, or thin through long or hard use, “Running on concrete every day will cause your sneakers to wear out much faster.”
cost of replacement – the amount of money required to buy a new item to take the place of one that is damaged or old, “Sometimes the cost of replacement for a cracked tablet screen is higher than buying a brand-new device.”
landfills – large areas of land where garbage and waste materials are disposed of by burying them under layers of earth, “The city’s landfills are filling up so quickly that local leaders are searching for alternative waste solutions.”
textiles – types of cloth or woven fabric, “The factory imports high-quality textiles from Italy to manufacture its luxury clothing line.”
donated – given cash, goods, or services to a fund or cause, typically for charitable purposes, “He donated a box of old winter coats to the local homeless shelter.”
don’t get me started on – a phrase used to indicate that you have a lot of negative things to say about a topic and could talk about it for a long time, “Oh, don’t get me started on the traffic in this city; I was stuck on the highway for two hours today.”
excess packaging – more wrapping or boxing around a product than is necessary for its protection, safety, or hygiene, “Ordering small items online often results in a massive box filled with excess packaging like plastic bubble wrap.”
first world – the industrialized, wealthy countries of the world, historically including the US, Canada, Japan, and Western Europe, “Access to clean running water is often taken for granted in the first world.”
fortunate – favored by or involving good luck or good fortune; lucky, “We were very fortunate to find a parking spot right outside the restaurant on a busy Saturday night.”
latest trends – the most current, fashionable, or popular styles, movements, or behaviors at the moment, “Teenagers often use social media apps to keep track of the latest trends in music and clothing.”