surges Food
Every year, the world generates over 2 billion tons of waste—much of it preventable. As overconsumption surges through fast fashion, single-use plastics, and other unsustainable habits, the environmental and human consequences intensify. This crisis doesn’t just degrade ecosystems; it threatens the quality of life for communities living near overflowing landfills and polluted areas. For today’s youth, the stakes are especially high. We are set to inherit not only the environmental fallout of excessive waste, but also the responsibility of finding long-term solutions.
In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the problem and address the issue accordingly, it is imperative to understand two key pieces of context: the causes and the populations affected. In light of these issues, youth have already taken measures to target both the causes and consequences of excessive waste, but also have the potential to redefine the problem and responsibilities regarding excessive waste as they step into more powerful positions in the workplace and beyond.
To further understand the stake of youth’s participation in addressing the environmental crisis, it is necessary to understand both the causes and the nature of the problem. Excessive waste is a term used interchangeably with the term ‘overconsumption,’ as consumption of products beyond an individual’s actual needs inevitably leads to the waste of products deemed ‘unnecessary.’ The terms refer to the generation of waste and resource use beyond what is sustainable or necessary; it happens mostly in high-income countries and individuals that have the financial capability to purchase more than is necessary and waste things that may not necessarily need to be thrown out.
Scapegoating strategies like placing the blame of excessive consumption and waste on one single industry or country may be enticing. However, it is imperative to understand that these problems are the product of the interconnected systems within the global economy: from the exploitative shipping and fast fashion industries to the wasteful consumption habits of the first world and inefficient waste management across the globe; all parts of the globe are contributors to the crisis.
One industry in particular that has shown blatant disregard for ethical and sustainable consumption is the fast fashion industry. Leading clothing brands like H&M, Zara, and Shein produce clothing in massive quantities and at unprecedented speed to maximize profit over sustainability. By doing so, these companies have created stocks of clothing that are no longer sold after the passing of a particular trend and which are consequently wasted. By condoning these harmful production practices, fast fashion companies and the industry as a whole have created a cycle of mass production and waste.
These companies have also cultivated harmful consumption habits among consumers in the economy. By producing trending clothing at large quantities and at relatively low prices, fast fashion companies have incentivized the general public to buy massive products. Such consumption habits are further idolized by individuals who would post ‘hauls’ of clothing pieces.
When consumers purchase such a large amount of clothing considered ‘trendy’ at the moment, they are likely to throw such clothing away at faster cycles than quality clothes purchased at higher prices. Kendall Jenner’s viral 2020 House of Sunny Hockney Dress exemplifies this phenomenon where its fast fashion replicas stocked the thrift stores merely months after the trend, supposedly donated to make space for ‘trendier’ items.
Governments too share responsibility, mainly via inefficient waste management practices. Numerous countries around the world, including Turkey, Latvia, and Chile, have been found to have highly inefficient waste management services, only recycling a small fraction of waste produced When these inefficiencies are maintained, much of the trash heads to landfill sites where trash is piled up and in most cases, burned.
In New Delhi, landfills containing flammable gases like methane are recorded to have lit on fire, contaminating the city air and the respiratory health of its citizens. Beyond damaging air quality, landfill fires are directly putting people’s lives at risk.
It is clear that excessive waste not only damages the environment, but has the potential to harm people by threatening health and mortality. Youth are both victims and changemakers in this crisis. Youth will inherit the problems and responsibilities for excessive waste, overconsumption, and its consequences, at far higher levels than this world has seen. So, considering the magnitude of their incoming problem, it is not surprising that they have taken a variety of measures to combat both the causes and actors of the problem of overconsumption and excessive waste.
The youth have been increasingly vocal about their disdain for the industries adding to the problem, such as that of fast fashion and wasteful makeup, and are instead opting for more sustainable consumption practices, such as thrifting. As the most technologically-savvy generation, the youth have brought this trend of thrifting to be more accessible by promoting online second-hand fashion platforms like Depop or Poshmark.
Moreover, youth creators on social media have similarly taken to promoting sustainable fashion and purchasing power by calling out greenwashing attempts by companies that fake sustainable production and rewarding genuinely sustainable companies through positive promotion. Although favor on social media platforms for sustainability may be a tactic to win over viewers and consumers who wish to be perceived as ‘sustainable’ themselves, such tactics still produce positive outcomes.
The same generation who once fell for the excessive and exploitative practices of fast fashion companies are spearheading boycotts against fast fashion and instead advocating for sustainable practices. With the sustained support for aesthetics like ‘minimalism’ or ‘old money’, which focus on purchasing small quantities of clothing that are able to stand the test of time, the youth has been continuously leading their generation to combat the problem of excessive waste and consumption.
Soon, the youth will enter the workforce and be able to make meaningful improvements in their societies. In order to help pass down sustainable practices over generations, youth should leverage social media and online platforms. Encouraging social media influencers to promote messages of sustainability or running online ads with similar messages could spread the message of responsible consumption and waste with members of their fellow generation around the world.
It is clear that the youth have done much in their young age to combat the problem of excessive consumption and waste that they deem is and will continue to be a problem. As the generation enters the workforce, they should continue this rhetoric and advocate for sustainable operations in society. Just as they led the shift of fashion from fast, consumeristic fashion to more sustainable forms despite the cheap cost of fast fashion, they should refuse to compromise sustainability for convenience or short-term profit in the industries they work for.
Youth are already reshaping environmental norms, but their future influence will be even more powerful as they step into positions of greater responsibility. By living sustainably, holding industries accountable, and leading with innovation, youth can move beyond resisting excessive waste to actively dismantling the very systems that perpetuate it.
By: Saeyoon Sim
Write and Win: Participate in Creative writing Contest & International Essay Contest and win fabulous prizes.
About the Author
