Why can’t we stop buying?

So can we stop shopping when we understand the principles of its operation? The answer is no. Here are some reasons why you might not be able to stop shopping:

EXTREMELY TALENTED MARKETERS

The economy is partly dependent on consumers – that is us. Companies use genius marketers to convince us that this is what we want and need (even if we really do not need it). Advertisers and marketers understand psychology of shoppers and they know exactly what they need to do to make us buy one or more items. And we did. Nike, for example, is one of the world’s biggest sports fashion brands with a large market who are sports enthusiasts and fitness enthusiasts. Therefore, Nike targets its audience by sponsoring its products to teams, sports clubs at schools. In this way, they reach the majority of users and especially those who are able to pay for Nike products. Not to mention, Nike also has strategies that target their direct customers, such as athletes, sports players. These strategies include signing sponsorship agreements with professional sports teams, for well-known athletes. If the manager requires the use of specific Nike sports shoes, the team members have no choice but to buy them. 21 Or, as Zara - a Spanish fashion and clothing retailer with a focus on young, urban women. Zara’s stores always have new products. Even though the size of shops is big enough, the quantity of each product sold is always limited. This makes shoppers feel that the item they buy is unique. Besides, most of Zara’s products are only sold when they have enough sizes available. It helps shoppers feel comfortable and not bored when they know the clothing or accessories they want to buy has their size. When you go into Zara’s stores, Zara’s reaction to you starts with creating the thought “Buy it now, because you will not see it the next time.” And with that kind of psychology, why wouldn’t you buy a shirt, a pair of pants… 22 In addition, together with the development of technology, finding and limiting groups of people who share the same need is easy. Therefore, you can see at any time when you surf the web, read newspapers, check facebook... you also see the items you love appear on the ads. Not to mention, marketing campaigns such as discount, buy this one for another or pay a small sum to get a larger item ... all have the effect on the psychology of buyers and increase purchasing need.

21 Case Study: Nike’s Marketing Strategy (Marketbl, 2017) 22 If You Think Zara Does Not Do Marketing, Think Again.( Ira Kalb, 2016)

The development of technology is actively supporting shopping. A number of e-commerce23 channels such as Amazon, USA, Alibaba (China), Rakuten (Japan) or in Vietnam we are familiar with Lazada, Shopee, Adayroi, Tiki ... cater to the shopping needs of human. According to research by PwC (Asia’s Leading Enterprise Service Provider), consumers use smartphones as their shopping channel everyday. Globally, the use of mobile phones for shopping has more than doubled in the past six years; 17% of PwC respondents said they used their cell phones for daily or weekly shopping24. According to the study, the fashion and accessory items are most popular, accounting for up to 77% among 18-24 year olds, 33% of which shop regularly. According to another study by market research group (PMR25), among those under the age of 34, 68% bought online in the first six months of 2012. Most bought items were clothing and accessories, accounting for 61% comparing to the other goods.

Most favourite shopping items on the internet 26

23 Commercial trade that is done on the internet (Oxford dictionary) 24 Competing for Shoppers’ Habits (John Maxwell, Denise Dahlhoff & Claire-Louise Moore, 2018) 25 https://mypmr.pro/aboutpmr/aboutus 26 Nearly 70% of young people buy online (PMR, 2012)

E-commerce brings convenience to customers because you will not have to leave your home or office to buy the item you want especially to buy products that are not available in stores nearby. Simply browse the sales page or open a shopping application you trust. In addition, e-commerce sites help customers buy more products and save time shopping. Buyers can research products, compare prices between retailers and make the best choice for them. Besides, online shopping often offers promotions or discount codes, so it stimulates even more shopping than ever. For example, on the Shopee27, shopping page, in just 15 days (from June 1, 2018 to June 15, 2018), there were 16 promotions, discounts, vouchers for customers who shop online. On Lazada28 there is “Flash Deal” to sell many items from only 8,000 VND...

SHOPPING MAKE US FEEL HAPPIER

Many studies show that shopping helps people balance their lives and eliminate negative thoughts, only focusing on their own positive sides. Feeling excited, satisfied when buying a favorite item will help clear up all fatigue, sadness or bad things in the day. Not only that, when shopping people will not immediately take the item you see but also consider, try the product, compare different type of product ... This requires them to use almost all their senses, no mind to think or sink in the negative thoughts, makes the spirit more uplifted and fun than ever. In addition, shopping can help us increase the neuro-transmitter serotonin . If serotonin is reduced, it can cause boredom, diminished desire, reduced attention or easy anger, difficulty in completing work. When we find a good price, or something really beautiful, our brains will trigger the production of serotonin29. Hence, people will feel happy and light-hearted, even the novelty of the item also makes people feel more excited.

27 A product from Garena company - the top Internet platform provider in Singapore. This app allows Vietnamese users to buy from mobile phone in only 30 seconds, support buyers messaging to sellers to get support, fast payment and transaction (Brands Vietnam) 28 The e-commerce company under Lazada Group, is available in 5 Southeast Asia countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines; is financially supported Rocket Internet – a German corporate specifies in e-commerce investment (Lazada Vietnam) 29 A compound present in blood platelets and serum, which constricts the blood vessels and acts as a neurotransmitter. Alternative name: 5-hydroxytryptamine; chemical formula: C10H12N2O (Oxford Dictionary)

“The earth provides enough for human’s need, not for human’s greed” – Mahatma Gandhi.

24 hours a day, we use the air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat. These are the basic needs of people. However, as incomes increase, people tend to diversify their consumption and “upgrade” their needs. New demand creates new markets, thereby creating the emergence of new industries. These industries are expanding, achieving the optimum operation scale and through a continuous process of technological development and competition, creating incentives for goods, making them affordable for bigger market. Along with this process, more income generated boosts shopping demand. The circle is repeated30. People will want more, buy more, upgrade more, together with it is more pollution and waste. The purchasing power of the people is most evident through the continued growth of retailers’ revenue.

The world top 10 retailers31

RETAILER

HEADQUARTER REVENUE GROWTH (2010 – 2015) % RETAIL REVENUE FROM FOREIGN MARKET

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. US 2,7%

Costco Wholesale Corporation US The Kroger Co. US 8,3%

6.0%

Schwarz Unternehmenstreuhand KG Germany 7.4%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (formerly Walgreen Co.) The Home Depot, Inc. Carrefour S.A. US 5.9%

US 5.4%

France -3.1%

Aldi Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG Germany 8.0% Tesco PLC UK -2.3%

Amazon.com, Inc. US 20.8% 25,8%

27,4%

0.0%

61.3%

9.7%

9.0%

52.9%

66.2%

19.1%

38%

30 Industrial Development Report 2018. Demand for Manufacturing: Driving Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development. (United Nations Industrial Development Organization, 2017) 31 Global Powers of Retailing 2017 (Deloite, 2017): the report analyzes performance and efficiency for the fiscal years ending in June 2016, using Deloite’s annual reports, Planet Retail databases, and other public sources..

In Deloitte32’s Global Powers of Retailing 2017, clothing and accessories are growing every year. For three consecutive years, the industry’s revenue growth rate has been higher than that of other commodities such as fast-moving consumer goods, entertainment goods and others. Retail sales of 45 fashion and accessories companies are among the top 250 companies in the world in 2015, increased 7.7% comparing to the previous year. In addition, most of the world’s largest clothing and accessories retailers are expanding globally. In 2015, foreign markets accounted for one-third of total sales of this sector. This shows that people focus more on shopping clothes, accessories, beyond their need. According to a Greenpeace33 survey34 of shopping habits in Europe and Asia, two third of Hong Kong consumers admitted that they own more clothes than they need. This is also true for 60% of Chinese users and 50% of Germans and Italians. In addition, more than 50% of survey respondents in Hong Kong, China and 40% to 46% in Taiwan, Italy, and Germany said they had new clothes with tags on and never used.

I own more than I need 35

32 One of the four largest auditing firms in the world, provides consulting service on auditing, taxation, consulting, business and financial advisory services with more than 263,900 professionals worldwide. (Deloitte.com) 33 A non governmental organization has offices in more than 39 countries and has an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/) 34 The survey was conducted on at least 1,000 people aged 20-45 in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Italy and Germany, from 12/2016 to 03/2017. 35 After the Binge, the Hangover. Insights into the Minds of Clothing Consumers (Greenpeace, 2017)

Garbage dumps are becoming giant “garment piles” - which we are throwing away everyday and still can be reused. In an online survey of Savers36 (30/1 – 17/2/2017) (30/1 - 17/2/2017) on over 2,006 people aged 18 and over, in the US and Canada showed that37:

>11 MILLION

tons of clothing and textiles are discarded each year, and 95% of which can be reused and recycled.

54%

of survey respondents reported that they threw out unused clothes instead of giving to charity

62%

of people throw away their belongings and claimed that charity centers do not want to take them.

According to YouGov38, in 2016, 24% of Australians39 and 24% of Malaysians40 vdispose a garment product when they only use it once. In Vietnam, 43% of survey respondents throw away their clothes after the first wear41. According to this survey, the most common reason people discard garments is because they are no longer appropriate. However, the reason is simply because the trend is changing and the clothes are no longer trendy.

36 It is a chain of global antique shops, with a business model of buying discarded clothes, belongings, refreshing and reselling to those in need. (https://www.savers.com/about-us) 37 State of reuse report. Give A Sh!rt™About Your Clothing Footprint (Savers, 2017) 38 The world leading online market research company. 39 Fast fashion: Three in ten Aussies have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once (YouGov Au, 2017) 40 Fast fashion: 27% of Malaysians have thrown away clothing after wearing it just once (YouGov My, 2017) 41 Fast fashion: 43% Vietnamese attendants gave away or throw their clothes after the first use (YouGov VN, 2017)

It can be seen in the chart below that besides food, we shop clothing and luxury items on a daily basis. Electronics and cosmetics are two products that have been purchased over a long period of time (more than three months), due to the product’s features or because of their stable trend comparing to fashion; also because of their cost it is not easy to buy right away.

How often we buy these items sorting by sector and price42

The ongoing development of online retail system also shows that the demand for shopping is unlimited. In 2017, worldwide retail sales of e-commerce reached $ 2.304 trillion, increased 24.8% from 2016 and accounted for 10.2% of total retail sales worldwide.43

Retail E-commerce sales (billion USD)

HOW DOES OVER-CONSUMPTION AFFECT OUR LIVES?

From what we have discussed earlier, it is noticeable that we human will keep on shopping and consuming. It is expected that there will be 3.2 billion consumers around the world by 202044 . Therefore, to satisfy human’s shopping need, companies and factories are exploiting natural resources with an escalating rate. So far we have used more than 160% of the resources that Earth can regenerate45. Every year, the “overshoot day46“ - ngày con người sử dụng hết tài nguyên mà Trái Đất có thể tái tạo được trong một năm lại đến sớm hơn. the date of year when human finishes consuming all the resources that Earth can regenerate, comes earlier. In 2008, overshoot day fell on August 15th, 10 years after that, in 2018, it became August 1st . 47

Earth Overshoot Day

July 1st

1 Earth

August 1st

September 1st

October 1st

November 1st

December 1st

January 1st

February 1st

1,7 Earths

Source: Global Footprint Network National Footprint Accounts 2018

Natural resources depletion is the first problem that human needs to encounter in the consumption crisis. Nature provides us with the necessary resources: energy for heating, electricity; wood for furniture, paper; cotton for clothing; construction materials for roads, buildings; food and clean water for living. However, the global ecosystem and the ecosystem services they provide are degraded: freshwater and forest reserves are shrinking, many species are threatened with extinction and fertile soil is being eroded48 .

44 http://www.theworldcounts.com/ 45 IPCC special report: Emissions scenarios (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2000) 46 The concept of Earth Overshoot Day was first conceived by Andrew Simms of the UK think tank New Economics Foundation, which partnered with Global Footprint Network in 2006 to launch the first global Earth Overshoot Day campaign. At that time, Earth Overshoot Day fell in October. WWF, the world’s largest conservation organization, has participated in Earth Overshoot Day since 2007. 47 Past Earth Overshoot Days (http://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/past-earth-overshoot-days/) 48 Global Environmental Outlook 4 (UNEP, 2007)

- According to World Resources Institute49 – WRI, tthe total lost forest area in the world has reached 29.7 million hectares (2016), tan increase of 51% over 2015, mainly due to deforestation for agriculture, timber extraction and mining. - About 35,000 km2 of rainforest in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea has been replaced by palm plantations for oil production from 1990 to 2010, destroying natural habitat of many endangered species, some are extinct: elephants, rhinos, tigers, orangutans.50 - People extracts 70 billion tons of raw material per year and the highest consumption in history is 10.5 tons per person in 200851 - Every year, human exploit 55 billion tons of bio-mass, fossil fuel, metals and minerals from the Earth.52 - More than 30% of the world’s fisheries have exceeded their biological limits and are in need of strict management plans to restore them. Some important commercial fish populations (such as Atlantic Bluefin tuna) have reduced to the point where they need to be protected.53 - About a quarter of the coral reefs around the world have been completely killed and are unlikely to recover.54

Besides natural resources depletion, over-exploitation has a remarkable effect on the life, health and social security of many countries.

49 TA global research institute spreads over 50 countries with offices in Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico and United States (http://www.wri.org/) 50 Consume Wisely to Conserve our Biological Resources (Council for Sustainable Development, 2016) 51 The material footprint of nations (Thomas O. Wiedmanna, Heinz Schandl, Manfred Lenzen, Daniel Moran, Sangwon Suh, James West, Keiichiro Kanemoto, 2013) 52 OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030 (OECD, 2008) 53 https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing 54 http://wwf.panda.org/our_work/oceans/coasts/coral_reefs/coral_threats/

Oil and gas exploration in the Niger Delta 55

Nigeria is now a democracy country, but has a long and brutal history of military dictatorship. The Niger Delta was once a rich ecosystem, a place where people cultivated on fertile land and benefited from abundant fisheries. With a maximum production capacity of 2.5 million barrels a day, Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer and sixth in the world56. However, most Nigerians do not benefit from this resource and this is one of the poorest countries in the world.57 Oil companies have turned the Niger Delta into a virtual wasteland that carries the “deep scar” from gas blasts and oil spills. The combination of the effects of oil spills and acid rain caused by atmospheric degradation has resulted in soil degradation affecting crop yields and harvesting. Fish can not survive in near-shore waters. As a result, traditional local economic development activities are nearly totally destroyed. And instead of being able to use locally produced products, Nigerians in the Niger Delta now have to depend on imported products. On the other hand, oil pollution has destroyed biodiversity in the Niger Delta, making it impossible to develop agriculture, which led to the majority of youth and women unemployed due to the unsustainable economic support system of fishing and aquaculture. One example is the case of the community of people living in Bodo mangroves. Local people collect mangrove wood to build and create energy, fuel for life. However, due to continuous oil spills, oil has covered the plant’s breathing roots, killing the mangroves as well as the animals and marine life that depend on them. In addition, the most worrying issue of oil pollution in the Niger Delta is an increase in diseases that were not previously known in the region. According to reports, these diseases have a correlation between exposure to oil pollution and the development of health problems. A research of scientists from Faculty of Pharmacy, Lagos University shows that more than 70% of water samples from the sea, rivers, boreholes, lagoons, beaches, etc., from the Niger Delta contains a chemical called Benzo, which has a high concentration of 0.54 to 4ug / liter, far exceeds the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of 0.7ug per liter in drinking water. This is also reflected in the reality that people here have an increase in the occurrence of cancer and other health problems. These diseases include respiratory problems, skin diseases such as rash and dermatitis, eye problems, digestive disorders, water-related diseases, and poor nutritional related dietary issues.

55 The Adverse Impacts of Oil Pollution on the Environment and Wellbeing of a Local Indigenous Community: The Experience of the Ogoni People of Nigeria (UN, 2007) 56 Nigeria National Petrol Corporation (http://www.nnpcgroup.com/) 57 The Poorest Countries In The World (https://www.worldatlas.com/)

Ecological tragedy in the Aral Sea, Central Asia

The reduction of the Aral Sea is considered “one of the biggest environmental disasters in the planet.”58 The Aral Sea is a landlocked area of Central Asia, on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Previously, Aral Sea was known as the fourth largest reservoir in the world with 68,000 km2, only stood after the Caspian Sea, Lake Superieur and Lake Victoria. However, since the 1960s this area has been shrinking due to the flow of rivers was over-used in irrigation for cotton production in the region. By 1997, Aral waters had fallen to 10% of their original size, divided into four lakes: the North Aral Sea, the eastern and western basins of the South Aral Sea and a smaller lagoon59. Satellite image taken by NASA on 8/2017 reveals that the eastern basin of the Aral Sea was dried out completely60 .

Furthermore, cotton production with the abuse of pesticide has seriously affected the health of people in this area. There was a significant increase in anemia, brucellosis, bronchial asthma, typhoid fever. Infant mortality and acute respiratory illnesses are also increasing.61

Aral Sea in 2000 Aral Sea in 2017

58 Aral Sea ‘one of the planet’s worst environmental disasters’ (The Telegraph, 2010) 59 Reclaiming the Aral Sea (Philip Micklin; Nikolay V. Aladin, 2008) 60 https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/WorldOfChange/AralSea 61 The Aral Sea Crisis (Thompson, 2008)

Do you know that there are currently 85,000 chemicals used in manufacturing, processing and import62. These chemicals are contained in a wide range of everyday consumer goods such as food containers, water bottles, household hygiene products, furniture, shampoos, cosmetics, toiletrie…

Hazardous chemicals exist in the environment for a long time and are not biodegradable or not easy

to be biodegradable. Since their structure is hard to break, they can remain in soil, water or ice for many years after being banned. DDT is a typical example. This is the first chemical widely used as a pesticide. After World War II, it was advertised as a magical chemical, a simple solution to solve from small to big problems. Today, almost 40 years after DDT is banned in the United States, its effects on the environment and human health are still being documented.63

Moreover, toxic chemicals can accumulate in the bodies of organisms over time, and they can

spread through the food chain. For example, perfluorinated (PFCs) - a compound commonly used as an adhesive in cooking utensils, waterproof mats and can also be used in some food packaging, as well as in some fire proof materials. When these products are discharged into the environment and decomposed, PFCs also enter the soil and water and they are difficult to decay.64 PFCs can then be absorbed by organisms such as insects, small fish and other aquatic organisms. When they are eaten by larger animals, PFCs are also transmitted, moving to the next level of the food chain. As PFCs go up the food chain, they accumulate more - so the largest amount of chemicals is found in high-level predators like humans.65

62 The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 63 Pesticide action network North America (PAN) 64 Perfluorinated Chemicals (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, US) 65 What are Hazardous Chemicals? (Greenpeace)

Clothing and the global poison cycle66

1) Compounds containing Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) and other chemicals are shipped to the fiber factory to make surfactants

2) Loose waste treatment regulations have helped discharging NPEs directly into rivers where they decay into nonylphenols (NPs) - a highly poisonous compound to aquatic organism.

3) NPs accumulate in sediments and increase along the food chain. They accumulate in body tissues and biomass (increase concentration through the food chain). Their similarity to natural estrogen hormones can disrupt sexual function in some organisms, most notably causing the feminization of fish.

4) Garments are produced and distributed throughout the world while the NPEs are in them. They are even taken to places where the use of chemicals is prohibited.

5) Washing process brings NPEs to water treatment equipment.

6) Water treatment does not remove the NPEs but essentially just accelerates their decomposition into NPs..

7) NPs - the hormone altered chemicals - end their life cycle in aquaculture systems, even in countries where NPEs are banned. And you know, when we eat seafood, unintentionally, we might also be accumulating NPs into our bodies.

That is what we hardly see when we go shopping and use products everyday. But that is not the end of the story. There are social inequality hidden behind it. To attract us – the consumers – companies and businesses always seek for the best marketing campaign or simply keep the price low. They are all in the “Race to the bottom67. The ones who are affected first and most heavily in this race is labourers. Many companies and transnational corporations have kept low wages to protect their profits while still providing a competitive product to consumers. However, this also faces opposition and demands an increase in benefits or wages, which would increase costs. The solution is that many companies have shifted their production abroad, to areas where wages and benefits are lower. Asia is now known as the “factory of the world” with its abundant and cheap labor. In particular, Korea and Japan are two areas specializing in software outsourcing. China and Southeast Asia have factories that assemble components and finish the final product. This model is called “Oriental Supply and Western Consumption”68 .

Kids in Congo pay by the price of their future

Researchers at globalissues.org estimate that about 30% of students in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have dropped out of college in search of coltan69,70. TAccording to the UN report, child labor in Africa has increased significantly in coltan and diamond mines71. BBesides, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) report, there are around 1 million children aged 5-17 years working in ore and rock mines. These children are subjected to dangerous conditions and do not have access to schools, health clinics and other basic necessities72 .

Besides, as mentioned earlier, the products we buy contain a substantial amount of chemicals. People who have to suffer the most from toxic substances must be factory workers. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 2.78 million people die each year from work-related accidents or illnesses. Moreover, there are about 374 million job-related injuries and illnesses that are not fatal. However, in order to minimize the cost, many companies are willing to limit health insurance to workers whenever possible73 .

67 “Race to the bottom” refers to the state of competition where a company, state, or nation tries to cut competitive prices by sacrificing quality or safety standards for workers, regardless of the rules pay them very poorly. Race to the bottom can also occur between countries and regions. (www.investopedia.com) 68 Future of factory Asia (Choi, Byung-il and Rhee, Changyong, 2014) 69 Coltan is a columbo-tantalite mineral mined in Africa. It is a very important raw material for the manufacture of modern electronics. When refined, this ore becomes tantalum, particularly suitable for using in capacitors, because of its power to hold high electricity. (Burge & Hayes, 2002) 70 Dial ‘C’ for Civil War (Jill Gregorie, 2007) 71 Stats & Facts on Child Labour in Mines and Quarries (Global March Against Child Labor) 72 The burden of gold Child labour in small-scale mines and quarries (World of Work Magazine No. 54, 2005) 73 Earth Economics – http://eartheconomics.org

Employees have to take care of their own health insurance

More than 60% of Wal-Mart’s employees (600,000 people) are required to either take health insurance from the government or from their spouses or live without any health insurance at all. Wal-Mart pushes the health insurance premiums for taxpayers and other employers, forcing employees to pay their medical bills themselves. Employees will pay an average of one day’s wages for health care coverage at Wal-Mart. With a salary of about $ 8 per hour, 29 to 39 hours per week, many workers have to rely on national programs, or family members, or simply live without health insurance.74

In addition, there are a lot of costs involved in producing goods (using water, waste treatment, contributing to climate change, paying for health care for sick workers, etc.) generated by the production but was ignored by the company owner. The owner of the company does not pay for those costs, but leave it to the public and the environment, they say “cost cutting”, meaning that it costs the others. Therefore, the price of a product does not represent the real cost to make it. Many people pay for medical examinations, having to go further to find water after local water source was polluted or depleted, climate change effects, money for asthma and additional costs from the exploitation, production, distribution and destruction of things. If some part of the cost of producing a product is incurred to a third party - the party that has no way of entering or benefiting from the trade, then economists say that the cost of production has been reduced, and the sale price is lowered. Another way to cut costs is to convert product costs into costs that are handled by the community. For example, logging corporations contracted with Mitsubishi to exploit the forests of the Penan Sarawak tribe, but they did not have to pay for the indigenous culture destroyed.75 Retailers keep profits from cutting costs. Consumers have the benefit of buying cheap goods as an incentive, using finite resources in an ineffective way. For example, the greater the cost to environment and society in production being cut, the more cars are consumed and used. Urban sprawl, more and more paved land, more and more pollution, petrol reserves dried out quickly, many want to build highways than public transport, pavements, road for cyclists. Instead of requiring that these costs be included in production costs, corporations have advocated limiting government regulations, pointing out savings for consumers regardless of the consequence on society and environment. They advise localities to become more competitive internationally, attract investors due by providing them with more favorable conditions, more opportunities to reduce their costs through various subsidies, low labor costs, poor environmental regulations, and reduced taxes. That means the cost of production is not reflected in the price, or in other words, we do not really

pay for what we buy.

What we know is that the material economy means shopping while the exploitation, production, and disposal are occurring out of sight to us. So, although we have more stuff than ever, polls show

74 The Wal-Martization of Health Care (United Food and Commercial Workers, 2007) 75 Mitsubishi’s unsustainable timber trade: Sarawak (E. Wakker, 1993)

that happiness index is decreasing. This index peaked in the 1950s76, at the same time the explosive shopping syndrome boom, what a coincidence!

We have more stuff but less time for things that really bring happiness: family, friends, and free

time77. We’ve been working harder than ever. Some experts say that we now have even less free time than in feudal society. Do you know what two major activities we do in our free time are? According to W & S’s market research, two indoor activities that we usually do in our free time are surfing the internet and watching television. In addition, two outdoor activities are shopping and coffee with friends. In Vietnam alone, 75.5% of survey respondents chose surfing the web and 56.8% went shopping for leisure.78 We are in an irony situation when, after a long day of hard work, we throw ourselves on the sofa / bed, watch TV or surf the internet and see the ads encouraging you to go to the shopping mall or faster, purchasing an item online to feel better. And then we have to work harder to pay for the things we just bought. And when we’re tired of going home, watching TV or surfing the Internet, advertising again drives us to go shopping and then we’re just going to keep going around the circle of watching ads and shopping. In the end, what happened to the things we bought? At this rate of consumption, our homes do not have enough space. They will all become garbage.

550 biggest landfills in the world 79

76 Deep Economy (Bill McKibben, 2007) 77 The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure (Juliet Schor, 1992) 78 Report on lifestyle study in thailand, indonesia and vietnam in 2015 (W&S market research, 2016) 79 Waste Atlas: The World’s 50 Biggest Dumpsites (Report on2014)

Jam Chakro in Pakistan is one of the world largest landfills, stretching over 202 hectares. The dock serves ‘areas’ of 5,000 people and affects the lives and health of an additional 5 million people living within 10 km of the surrounding area. Among the world most hazardous landfills, the Agbogbloshie landfill in Accra, Ghana, receives about 192,000 tones of electronic waste annually. It causes soil, air and water pollution and serious health damage to 10,000 people doing scavenging work from sorting to recycling. Bantar Gebang in Bekasi, Indonesia, consumes 230,000 tons of municipal solid waste each year, with an estimated 28 to 40 million tons of waste are treated80 .

Our modern world has become dependent on the convenience of available plastic products, like disposable bags, bottles and cups. In a report of the “International Coastal Cleanup 2017”, the program has collected more than 8,000,000 kg of garbage on a total of more than 24,000 km of coastline.

According to a study by the University of Plymouth, one-third of fish caught in the UK have plastic inside. The impact of eating contaminated fish is largely unknown, but the risk is large enough to warrant a warning about the risk to human health and safety by the Food Safety Authority Europe in 2016. Many birds inadvertently eat plastic and other debris floating in the ocean, mistaken them for food. Many marine life can not distinguish plastics from the food they use every day. They eat plastic and often starve to death because they can not digest plastic while it fills their stomach. Birds and other large animals are often trapped in plastic bags, fishing lines and other debris. Sea turtles are especially sensitive. Over time, the plastic breaks into smaller pieces. Eventually it becomes small enough to enter the bloodstream of marine life. Because organisms can never digest or process resin, it persists until the organism dies.81

All these garbage – the stuff we bought – will either pile up on landfills or be burned in incinerators and then be dumped into landfills. Are the incinerators good? No, they are really bad82. Remember the amount of toxins produced during the production phase. Burning garbage releases toxic substances in the air, or worse, creating new toxic substances83 such as dioxin84. According to Pham Trong Thuc, Director of the Renewable Energy Department, the General Department of Energy, 85% of waste in Vietnam is being buried without treatment at landfill sites, 80% of which is unsanitary and polluted the environment.

81 Plastic Pollution Primer and Action Toolkit (Earth Day Network, 2018) 82 Tangri (2003); Incineration and Human Health by Pat Costner, Paul Johnston, Michelle Allsopp (2001) 83 Costner et. al. (2001); Playing with Fire theo Pat Costner và Joe Thornton (1990) 84 Also known as Agent Orange. Name of a super strong and toxic compound. Dioxin causes cancer. In 1994, the draft EPA re-evaluated the effects of dioxin. It is estimated that level of dioxin, such as those found in the general population, can pose a risk of cancer from 1/10000 to 1/000, 100 to 1000 times higher than the usual acceptance risk - 1 / million. This is also the type of poison that the United States sprayed in the Vietnam war, left severe consequences until now (dioxin contaminated land can not survive, trees can not grow, causing muscle variations on human body...)

In addition, some companies now do not want to face the construction of a landfill or incinerator, so they exported garbage85 . How about recycling? Is recycling useful? Yes, recycling has contributed to reducing waste and it has reduced the pressure on mines and extraction of many other resources. But recycling will never be enough for the following reasons: First of all, the amount of waste from our homes is just the tip of the iceberg. With each trash can you put on the sidewalk, 70 other trash cans are filled up to produce the stuff you put in your trash. Even if we can recycle 100% of our household waste, it is not the core of the problem. There are many types of waste that can not be recycled because they contain too much toxic substance, or because they are actually designed to not be recycled from the beginning. Take a look at the packaging of the packed juice made of layers of metal, plastic, paper stick together. You can never separate them for recycling.

A woman organizing plastic bottles to recycle in Xá Cầu village, just outside of Hà Nội. Photo: Reuters / Kham

EVERY PROCESS FROM EXPLOITATION, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, CONSUMPTION AND DISPOSAL HAS EFFECTS EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY TO OUR LIVES, TO COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT. HOWEVER, MOST OF THESE IMPACTS ARE NOT FULLY AWARED OF.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO BECOME WISE CONSUMERS ?

Here are some tips that you can easily apply to change your shopping behavior.

Before going shopping

- Create a list of items to buy and just list the items you really need - Check your wardrobe to avoid buying items that are already available - Eat before shopping, so it will help you focus on shopping instead of paying attention to your “stomach”. - Consider using public transport, bicycles or walking if the store is not too far from where you are. - Do not forget to bring cloth bags with you

When buying vegetable and fruit

-- Buy only the quantity you need and calculate how you can use them before the expire date - Buying fresh food instead of pre-packaged products will save you some of the cost, as well as more delicious and reduce waste. - Buy fruits and vegetables seasonally, because of the otherwise is likely to be imported and have high preservative reserves. - Avoid the temptation of buying multiple offers, focus on the list you have set. Other stuff may seem good value at the time but will be a waste of food if you can not use them before the expire date. - Buy from local markets. - Consider growing your own vegetables at a small corner in your home.

- Avoid those with too much package - Buy meat at local stores from butcher and local market - Choose foods labeled as food safety

Clothing and accessories

- Buy old clothes from secondhand shops that are still usable - Exchange clothes with friends - It is not necessary to buy clothes or accessories just because they are new released.

Electronics

- The first thing to check when buying electronics is the energy saving label. - Consider whether you need to buy a new one. Maybe you can repair old ones or get from somebody else.

Detergents

Every home has a bathroom cabinet and chemical detergents, which not only affect the environment but also the health of the family. Instead, look for: - Natural cleaning brand - Buying in bulk to reduce packaging and energy needed to transport it. - Buy the product that can be refilled