‘Tis the season for limited editions and seasonal drops, but are they actually worth it? As the holiday season comes to its peak with celebrations aplenty, more and more companies feed into the expected hyper-consumerist culture with snow-covered packaging designed to be thrown away, or red and green additions to a preexisting lineup that will be out of season in a few weeks.
In what places, does our desire for a constant flow of new and exciting items that are everywhere in the winter season, overlap with what would truly benefit our lives? Dare I say, not as many as we would hope. Common perpetrators of this include water bottles, beauty products and clothing items. Stanley’s latest Christmas collaboration with Elf is a prime example, combining both the beverage and beauty categories, with a matching set of a cup and a lip oil holder that hit the markets on Black Friday, creating the desire for an unnecessary product riding on the success of one that is already widely popular. Stanley is far from the only company doing so, with nearly every brand releasing designs in special colors or winter patterns, that are only appropriate for use during one time of the year.
Clothing is another hugely popular holiday product, with special, commemorative or novelty shirts released yearly. And who can forget about the illusive ugly Christmas sweater that plagues office parties around the world? Ugly Christmas sweaters originally became popular when post-World War II American television personalities wore them, but it is a wonder why the trend has stuck around as long as it has. Due to this trend’s persistence, there are countless designs put on shelves year after year.
This is problematic because fashion is a known environmental enemy. According to the Geneva Environment Network, nearly 85% of all textiles produced go to a landfill every year with nearly 60% of all materials used to make the garments being made of plastic, meaning that when they do make it to the trash, they will not break down. Additionally, to combat production costs, fast fashion products, an umbrella that holiday apparel falls under, are made in countries with loose labor laws. This means that low pay and dangerous work environments, thanks to the chemicals used to dye and produce clothing, are being implemented to produce a product that is taken for granted here in America.
Now, I am not saying that we have to give up all of our Christmas cheer, but I am advocating for taking a deeper look into why you want a new winter-themed item. In a world full of mass production with little to no regard for the environmental or human rights impacts that such practices have, as consumers, we need to be smart with our spending power. Take a look in the cabinets at the water bottles you already have, check your closets and makeup bags and start asking friends and family if they have a sweater you can borrow.
If those suggestions do not yield satisfactory results, consider buying second hand or thrifting something similar. If you insist on keeping up with the trends in one of these areas, make sure that it is an item that you will use for years to come, therefore limiting the negative impacts that the purchase will have in the long run.
It is nearly impossible to escape the hold that capitalism has on us while living in a consumerist society, but we can make changes to the way we spend our money to begin shaping a more sustainable world.