Consumption

CONSUMPTION UNITED STATES IN THE

American’s constitute

5%

33% of the world’s population and

of global consumption.

Contents What is Consumption?

1

Division of Classes

2

Creating the Consumer

7

Get the Facts

8

Effects on Forestland

9

The Ecological Footprint

10

Advertising’s Role

12

Luxury Fever

13

Top Items Consumed

14

Consequences

17

Making a Change

18

Sources

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Consumption The utilization of economic goods in the satisfaction of wants or in the process of production resulting chiefly in their destruction, deterioration, or transformation.

nited u e h t g in n i v i l th of n r o o s w r e s p g rage ng ba e i v p a p o e h ng as h s i T h 0 g 0 i 3 e w uses eek, w y r e states v ials e r car. e t y a r m u x w u a l r large a s a much

1

Division of Classes The want to consume is nothing new; people must consume resources in order to survive. However, consumption has evolved into helping people find new ways to make their lives easier and more efficient. With the evolution of consumption comes the want to control and those who can control resources, do.

the poor

The poorest 20% of the population

the middle class

The vast 60% of the population

the consumer class*

The top 20% of the population *This is where the majority of North Americans fall 2

Division of Classes

the poor Over one billion people live in poverty and survive on less than one dollar per day. This group of individuals are responsible for 5% of meat & fish consumption, 1.5% of telephone lines, 1.1% of paper consumption, and less than 1% of the world’s vehicle fleet.

The poorest 20% of the population

3

Division of Classes

the middle class The middle class consumers have most of their basic food, shelter and water needs met. They live in modest homes with lights, radios and sometimes a refrigerator

and a washer/dryer. They own very few material possessions, and virtually no luxury items. Individuals in this group earn between $700 and $7,500 per person, per year.

The vast 60% of the population

4

Division of Classes the consumer class The difference between consumption in industrialized countries versus developing countries is astounding.

When you give individuals the resources and opportunity to consume, they will consume and create more waste than could be predicted. This category is where the majority of North Americans fall.

The top 20% of the population responsible for the majority of consumption and it’s impacts.

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6

Creating the Consumer People today have taken consumption to unnecessary levels of competition.

Now, material possessions are a away to measure one’s self to their peers.

ount for c c a e l p o e p t s e The rich nsumption o c e t a v i r p f o 86% d.. expenditures an 45% of meat and fish poorest fifth- 5%

58% of total energy poorest fifth- 4%

74% of all telephone lines poorest fifth- 1.5%

84% of all paper poorest fifth- 1.1%

87% of the world’s vehicles poorest fifth- > 1%

0%

50% 7

100%

Get the Facts

2

6

Japanese Mexicans

13

Chinese

On average, one american consumes as much as...

31

128

Indians

Bangladeshis

8

effect on forest land has r e v o c t s e nal for i g i r o f o raded, g % e 0 d 8 y , l e e d r i e w v world d or se e t n e m g a tical r i f r c , d s e m r e a t e s l y been c t ecos c a t n i g n i d rovi es. i c e p s f o no longer p l urviva s m r e t g n o to the l

Only 3% original forest land remains in the United States.

9

Ecological footprint

The ecological footprint of the average person in the United States is about 12 times larger than the footprint of the average inhabitant of India.

he t s a d e n i is def t n i r p t kes o a o t f t l i a c t i a g h ace t f r u The ecolo s s ’ h t e ear uses. h t n o f s o r e t p n u h amo ng eac i h t y r e v e to provide

So, 4.1 million babies born in the United States will have the same impact on the earth as 27.6 million babies born in India.

10

Americans eat

815 billion

calories of food each day, that is roughly 200 billion more than needed.

Equaling food enough to feed million people

80

11

Advertising’s Role $200 billion is spend on advertising in the U.S. each year to get individuals to consume products that are sometimes unnecessary. Less than $50 billion a year could provide adequate food, clean water, and basic education for the world’s poorest class of people.

1,500 r e v o y eted b g r ersus a v t , e y r a a d e a W ages s s e m l a commerci 960s.

1 e h t n yi 560 a da

12

Luxury Fever peers in l a i c o s h t i w e t e The need to comp tion to i d d a r o j a m a s i the United States sumption. the amount of con

when americans were asked to choose between two incomes, they chose the income higher than their peers instead of the higher absolute salary.

$100,000 if everyone else made only $90,000

- OR -

13

$110,000 if the average income was $200,000

Top Items Being consumed

Daily!

Movie Tickets: $3.8 Million Greeting Cards: 19.2 Million Denim Jeans: 641,000 pairs Domestic Beer Kegs: 975,000 Pampers: 300,000 packs Cosmetic Procedures: 20,000 14

Top Items Being consumed

Daily!

Axe Body Spray: 28,876 cans Starbucks Coffee: 153,424 lbs Oreo Cookies: 205,000 bags Cigarettes: 1.1 billion Krispy Kreme: 1.9 Million iPods: 88,163 15

t u o w o r h t s n a americ

200,000 . y l i a d d o o f e l b i d e f tons o 16

consequences The truth of it is, as long as we continue to consume, we will also continue to produce solid, hazardous and toxic waste. That waste will then find its way into communities of the least empowered people. Overall, we as consumers are contributing to the destruction of the environment, contributing to poverty around the world, and we are a large contributing factor to hunger amongst such immense wealth in the U.S.

Remember:

luxury is not a necessity.

17

Make a Change

we must , e g n a h c a e k a m o In order t r problems o j a m e h t t p e c c a first sumers. n o c s ’ y a d o t n i n oversee

The first realization: We cannot continue to think we have an unlimited amount of natural resources.

The second realization: We will not be able to find a technological fix that will allow us to consume unlimited resources.

The third realization: The term renewable resource does not imply it is an unlimited resource.

The fourth realization: Resources that we are led to believe as being abundant are in fact limited.

The fifth realization: When we use a natural resource, we may turn it into something useless through entropy.

18

Making a Change The Center for a New American Dream helps Americans to reduce and shift their consumption to improve quality of life, protect the environment, and promote social justice.

programs Redefining the Dream

Beyond Consumerism

Collaborative Communities

19

Making a Change The Center for a New American Dream collaborates with different organizations who share the same beliefs. They promote measures like the Happy Planet Index.

hpi= Happy Life Years Ecological Footpr int + Îą

20

X β

Making a Change The HPI is an innovative measure that shows the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered around the world. It is the first ever index to combine environmental impact with well-being to measure the environmental efficiency with which country by country, people live long and happy lives.

hpi by region

70

70

60

60

50

50

40

40

30

30

20

20

10

10

0

0

Central America, Mexico & Caribbean

China

Western Europe

Middle East/ South West Asia 21

Central & Eastern Europe

Australia & NZ

North America

East Africa

Sources These articles and organizations contributed to the facts and information provided in this document.

http://www.facingthefuture.org/ServiceLearning/FastFactsQuickActions/Consumption/tabid/176/Default.aspx http://www.mindfully.org/Sustainability/Americans-Consume-24percent.htm http://www.mindfully.org/Resource/Material-World-Statistics.htm http://www.globalissues.org/issue/235/consumption-and-consumerism http://www.globalissues.org/article/236/creating-the-consumer http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/185/1/Consumption-statistics.html http://www.sierraclub.org/sustainable_consumption/tilford.asp http://www.wri.org/chart/comparison-chinese-and-us-energy-statistics http://www.culturechange.org/issue19/sustainconsum.htm http://money.howstuffworks.com/daily-us-consumption-for-12-items1. htm http://www.globalissues.org/article/238/effects-of-consumerism http://www.happyplanetindex.org/learn/what-hpi-tells-us.html http://www.newdream.org/programs/beyond-consumerism

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