We live in a society that covets material items. There is a general need to constantly buy the newest and nicest of everything, whether or not we need it. This is what we refer to as the age of consumerism. Every time Apple releases a new phone, consumers line up in droves to buy it, foregoing their current phones for the next best thing. I was once told by a teacher that we were the most wasteful generation: if something breaks, we don’t fix it, we replace it. This may be great for businesses who stand to make more profits from these types of consumer spending behaviors, but where does that leave the world of sustainability?

The issue with this concept is that there is so much waste in terms of the goods that are thrown away, but more than waste is the issue of producing these new items. The more production of these goods the more wasted energy and raw materials, human capital is overextended, more by-product pollutants are created.

This mindset is slowly changing. More consumers are reconsidering these wasteful behaviors and are now more focused on more responsible actions. They are looking for products that are produced responsibly. They are looking for companies that are working to reduce their pollution outputs, using better production methods, that pay fair wages to their employees, etc.

As this shift in behaviors take place, more companies will adapt sustainable practices. Consumers will ensure this happen through the use of their wallets. As the cliché goes “money talks…”