Every holiday season, junior Carmel Sedghi finds her email flooded with deals and promotions from brands.
“I have so many emails from so many brands, being like, ‘Our Black Friday deals are now,’” Sedhi said. “Brands have made it seem like what you want, what you like, becomes a lot more desirable when there’s a time limit on it.”
Adobe business statistics reveal that approximately 131.5 billion consumer dollars were spent from Nov. 1 to Dec. 2. Revenue by day spiked up to $10.8 billion during Black Friday, a day dedicated to giving consumers deals, discounts and special offers on products. The hottest products of 2024 included Wicked toys, Lego sets, fitness trackers and Dyson Airwraps. But what do all of those purchases mean for our planet?
Clean Hub, an organization dedicated to protecting the environment, estimates that approximately 429,000 tons of greenhouse gases are released each year on Black Friday. If days like Black Friday have such detrimental effects on the environment, then why do consumers keep buying products in such large quantities? Sedghi has some thoughts.
“I think it’s just such an integral part of society that it has become so normalized for people to constantly be buying things,” Sedghi said. “The world has just become very materialistic in that sense.”
Meet the world of holiday marketing, a place where hauls convince people to overspend on products. In a study of 81 UPrep students, 79% said they felt more tempted to spend money over the holidays. Despite this number, 93.7% believe that the holidays help fuel overconsumption. Sedghi forgets the impacts that overconsumption can have when deals start to pop up.
“Overconsumption and buying stuff you don’t need, I don’t think that’s doing anyone any good,” Sedghi said. “I think that’s something that gets lost.”
Sophomore Maya Le believes that trends on social media also contribute to overconsumption culture.
“A lot of people consumed Starbucks because it’s trendy,” Le said. “People always buy the red cups, but that can also be over consumption. Do you really need it? No, it’s just nice to have.”
In a 2019 study conducted by Clean Hub, 80% of items purchased by consumers on Black Friday were thrown away after a few uses. So, what can consumers do to avoid overconsumption this holiday season? Le has a method that helps her catch overconsumption.
“One thing you can do to stop overconsuming is think about how much you have to pay for something,” Le said.
So the next time you want to buy something this holiday season, ask yourself, Do I need it? Will I use it again? Is it something I can make at home? and most importantly, Will I regret it?
