Fast Facts:
Overconsumption is using goods, services at higher rate than their supply
Applies to natural resources, finances, food supply, more
Start at home by reducing waste, rehoming or repurposing items, practicing restraint
LITTLE ROCK — Impulse purchases, fast fashion, instant gratification: these factors contribute to the impact of overconsumption, which is the use of goods and services at a rate that is higher than the supply. An extension expert says tackling overconsumption is critical to the future health of our families and our planet.
“In the United States, overconsumption is fueled by our relative wealth, easy access to goods and services, and the mentality of ‘more is better,’” said Nina Roofe, assistant vice president of family and consumer sciences for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “The average consumer may buy something without thinking while chasing the dopamine high of the purchase, without stopping to consider if the item or service is needed, affordable on their budget, fitting with their retirement plan, and sustainable for themselves, their community, and the planet.”
Overconsumption on an individual level can lead to cluttered homes and strained budgets, Roofe said. And according to a 2021 review of research published in the Energy Research & Social Science Journal, overconsumption can even lead to physical health issues.
“Premature deaths and adult years lived with ill health — due to non-communicable diseases and attributable to high body mass index — are related to overconsumption,” Roofe said. “This includes type two diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and cancer.”
On a national and global scale, Roofe said overconsumption has had devastating impacts on the environment and will continue to degrade the planet without significant, consistent intervention. In 2022, UNICEF published a report finding that some of the wealthiest countries in the world, including the United States, Belgium and Canada, “have a severe and widespread impact on global environments, based on CO2 emissions, e-waste and overall consumptions of resources per capita.”
“Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, is quoted as saying, ‘Unless we act now, the 2030 U.N. agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been,’” Roofe said. “According to the U.N.’s sustainable development goals, overconsumption affects our environment by degrading our natural resources, including deforestation and pollution. This has led to habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, species extinction, and the overuse of electricity and greenhouse gas emissions.”
What you can do
To make strides towards changing the trajectory of overconsumption, Roofe said it is key to keep sustainability at the heart of one’s lifestyle.
“Sustainability is the ability to meet my needs without hampering my child’s and future generations’ ability to meet their needs,” Roofe said. “Reducing overconsumption and sustainability go hand in hand. By reducing my consumption of goods and services today, I create a more sustainable future world in every way possible.”
As individuals, Roofe said this progress must begin with the desire to make sustainability “a primary goal above other goals in our lives.”
