Overconsumption: the excessive use of resources and goods. The word we’d use perfectly describes the problem that skyrocketed this year. Before we start explaining our disdain with this topic, we’d like to say that we also fell victim to buying fast fashion products or trends that are not going to survive, so we’re not exactly innocent, but we did mature out of it. So, let’s go over some of the worst cases of overconsumption that came out of this year.

We will never understand the purpose of Labubus. Not only are they insanely expensive, they also just aren’t cute. We, as well, have a lot of purses and tend to think they can be quite dull and boring to look at. But, that doesn’t mean we will be spending over fifty dollars on a piece of plastic with an unnerving smile and crooked teeth. It has become such a big trend to buy multiple of them at once to either collect one certain one or just grow your collection. Not only is this a waste, it’s just flat out ridiculous. How many of these little creatures can one have without realizing, “Hey, maybe this money could go to something more important like clothes?” Speaking of clothes, ever since Labubus came out, people have also started selling tiny clothes for them and people are actually buying them. How daft can one be to willingly spend another fifty dollars on cheap pieces of fabric? Look, we understand the concept of wanting to feel like a kid again and playing dress up with your toys, but at that rate, you can just buy a single Barbie and still get the same experience. The only difference is that Barbie is a lasting trend and is a good thing. We can’t say the same thing about Labubus though.

Before we say anything, we’d like to say that we do own a Stanley. We both got it on sale for way cheaper than what it is marketed for today. So, we will say that there is nothing wrong with owning one, but two is the maximum though. Anything over two to me is crazy. Look, If you get the first one all scuffed up, then that’s when you can buy a new one, but if you’re buying them because they look pretty and need to match your outfit, you may want to take a minute and reconsider your life choices. We happened to find ourselves on the overconsumption side of the internet, and we saw one of the most horrific cases of overconsumption. There are genuinely people who have shelves and cupboards full of them. Brand new, old, and some even collecting dust. That is not just hundreds of dollars, but almost reaching into the thousands! With that money, you could pay for a used car. Seriously, all of those Stanleys could pay for someone’s rent and utility bills.

Overconsumption can apply to clothing, as well. According to Metea Media, Americans throw away 82 pounds of clothing every year. Let that sink in for a minute. Eighty. Two. Pounds. That’s crazy! To make matters worse, 85% of these clothing items end up in landfills where material such as polyester can take up to a century to finally degrade. People are always too concerned about if what they’re wearing is good enough to fit in or if they look like they’ve spent over $200 at lululemon when the moral of the story is it’ll probably end up in the trash in less than three months. Consider how often you buy something and then how quick you are to toss it away. It might be gross to think about, but think about our landfills; they can’t keep up with all the waste, which in the end, doesn’t bode well for us.

The only thing growing is the landfills as people continue to keep buying more and more. If our landfills can’t keep up with what we’re throwing away, we can kiss keeping up with trends goodbye…forever. When people play into overconsumption, all they see is being cool, trendy, and flashy. Overconsumption is single-handedly destroying our environment, but as long as we have a Labubu adorning our purses and a blinged out Stanley in our hands, who cares, right? Wrong. Overconsumption needs to end before it inevitably becomes our downfall.