It is clear to almost everyone that less consumption is good for the environment and the climate. And yet many like to buy and much more than they really need. How can conscious renunciation succeed?
Berlin – With just a few clicks to the new winter sweater, for a few euros to a furniture bargain – shopping has become very convenient and in many cases also inexpensive in our everyday life. Often people don’t think about it for long, and many purchase decisions are made almost casually.
Experts warn: excessive buying behavior is destroying our planet. The Canadian environmental journalist James Bernard MacKinnon, for example, warns in his book “The day we stop shopping” that consumption has overtaken population growth as the greatest threat to the environment. But why do many people like to shop so much? And how can consciously reduced consumption succeed?
From the point of view of the graduate and business psychologist Petra Jagow, consumption has a very high priority in our society: “Often the following applies:” I buy, therefore I am “. We like to shop in situations where we are not doing well. Then we treat ourselves to something and compensate ourselves, ”she says. For many, shopping is an enhancement of their everyday life, an opportunity for entertainment and distraction.
Market researcher Jagow explains that the idea of always wanting to have the latest fashion, the most stylish car and the most modern interior equipment comes from the basic need to want to upgrade yourself. “That is this personal egoistic motive that can be very strong.” Environmental psychologist Frank Esken explains that in developmental psychology, the desire for recognition by others is strongly anchored in people. “We always have society around us, to which we orientate ourselves very strongly.”
If you now focus on sustainability, that means change and renunciation, says Jagow. “We all find it difficult to do without, and even more voluntarily.” Climate-friendly consumer behavior is only attractive for most people if the sustainable alternative is perceived as just as good – and as an addition it creates a good feeling.
The market researcher emphasizes how important it is to “move something on the emotional level” on the road to sustainable and climate-neutral consumption among buyers. This means that the connection between their purchase decision and the possible effects must be made clear to them, for example if people in poorer countries have to work in factories under sometimes health-endangering conditions for discount fashion. “It works with pictures, good reports and documentaries,” says Jagow.
Experts agree: it is difficult to protect the climate and the environment without a minus in shopping. In his book, environmental journalist MacKinnon emphasizes how serious the consequences of doing without in the textile industry alone would be for the climate: “If global textile production were to be stopped for a year, this would have as much effect as stopping all international air traffic and freight transport on the Sea route for the same period. “
In order to free oneself from the urge to constantly increase consumption and to feel at ease with less, one should no longer measure oneself so strongly against others and their possessions, says university professor Esken. That seems easier said than done: after all, many people linked their personal well-being directly to being in good material shape. However, the author MacKinnon points out that materialism ultimately by no means promotes well-being – research has shown that. Materialistic values did not create mental health, permanent security or satisfaction, and no happiness. Rather, their function is to “stir up fear, arouse insecurity and drive us out of bed so that we can assert ourselves in the world,” says MacKinnon.
The experts come to the same conclusion: We need an increased appreciation of our things in order not to replace them with the latest models every season. Jagow specifically recommends that you carefully look through your own wardrobe before going shopping. “Then I notice what I actually still have and that that is often completely sufficient for the next season. In the shop, in the shopping frenzy, the thought is often gone. “
But a change in values must also take place on a social level, says Esken: someone who has less – also through voluntary renunciation – should not be considered someone who cannot afford something. A general rethinking is needed to the effect that material possessions are not the only values that promote someone in the reputation of other people. “It doesn’t have to be about showing material status symbols and thus a certain position, but more about being environmentally aware. It could also become something of a status symbol, ”suggests Esken.
Expert Jagow emphasizes how important it is to remember that ultimately everyone individually decides how self-worth is defined: “I determine whether my self-worth is dependent on status symbols or not.” In her opinion, society is becoming more and more solid the position that commerce does not automatically symbolize strength. “There is a revaluation taking place.”
In general buying behavior, Jagow sees a change that is becoming more and more apparent: For many people, it is now a clear consideration whether really new fashion has to be bought. Corona has made a major contribution, says the market researcher. Many would have mucked out during the lockdowns and seen how many things they owned. Many now bought more consciously and less spontaneously. And when they do, they increasingly buy something really high quality that lasts for a long time.
Jagow and Esken observe in this context that the younger generation in particular is more sensitive to conscious and reduced consumption – and does not always have to have the latest fashion or the latest cell phone, for example. dpa
