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Thomas Friedman’s Hot, Flat, and Crowded opens with an article from satirical newspaper The Onion. The article is an interview with a Chinese factory worker who makes the million and one cheap exported goods bought everywhere else in the world. Here’s an excerpt: 

“I hear that Americans can buy anything they want, and I believe it, judging from the things I’ve made for them.” Chen said. “And I also hear that, when they no longer want an item, they simply throw it away. So wasteful and contemptible.”

Among the items that Chen has helped create are plastic-bag dispensers, microwave omelette cookers, glow-in-the-dark page magnifiers, Christmas-themed file baskets, animal-shaped content-lens cases, and adhesive-backed wall hooks.

This article draws attention to the strong relationship between the Western consumer and the stuff they buy, own and eventually throw out or replace. Critics of consumerism and capitalism refer to this relationship as affluenza: ‘a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.’ Fueling the affluenza was the Baby Boomers’ age of prosperity. But things are changing. There’s an urgent need for everyone – consumer, business and government – to lessen their environmental impact on the planet and conserve its natural resources. 

Affluenza is being replaced by a new consumer trend. Driven by personal values and beliefs, many consumers are eagerly adopting more sustainable lifestyles. Leading the way is the Awakening Consumer, and they’re scrutinizing their relationship to stuff. 

As Awakening Consumers eager to lessen our impact on the planet, understanding our relationship to stuff may help us to lead a more sustainable – and possibly even more meaningful – life. My girlfriend and I are Awakening Consumers; yet she’s a hoarder and I’m a minimalist. Who’s leading a more sustainable life: the hoarder or minimalist? And how do their relationships to stuff differ?

While there’s no wrong or right, consumer trends are leaning toward minimalism and, through the lens of the Awakening Consumer, minimalism is viewed as being more in tune with sustainable living. In a recent g-Think survey, 76 percentof respondents agreed with this position. They also offered loads of insightful comments in defence of the hoarder and the minimalist. It’s only fair to consider – and learn from – both positions. 

The Hoarder’s Defense: Hoard to Buy Less

In the g-Think survey for this issue, only 15 percent (needs to be changed throughout) of Awakening Consumers identified themselves as hoarders. This is brave and honest 15%. The term is mildly derogatory and mostly used to label the very extreme cases. Those cases are few and far between. There’s much to be learned from the Awakening Consumer and hoarder: They have embraced the 3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle:

Reduce purchases to a practical minimum. Based on the comments in the survey, the strongest argument for hoarding relates to one’s purchasing habits. Hoarders admit their guilt, as a hoarder and consumer; these are their ‘guilty pleasures." Whether its shoes, handbags, empty jars, old bits of wood, books, clothes, kitchen tools, or electronics, hoarders (all hoarders, or Awakening-Consumer hoarders?) generally hoard one or two particular items only. When in the shopping aisles or online though, often the temptation is too much; nobody is perfect.

Reuse stuff. Hoarders demonstrate a willingness to keep and continue using items a minimalist would usually trash and replace without a second thought. Awakening Consumers are hoarding things that can still serve a purpose. And they’re paying a premium for quality, eagerly spend hours researching to ensure that they are purchasing quality – and of course green - products with a long shelf life. 

Recycle everything. Awakening Consumers said they generally hoard items of sentimental value. And crucial to their defence is the biggest reduction they make – that of waste. While hoarders may collect and keep certain things, like Awakening Consumers on the other side of the fence, they do recycle. The task at hand for the hoarder is to adopt a more disciplined approach to items of no value (to them) that can’t be recycled. 

The Minimalist’s Defense: Keep it Simple

While a surprisingly small segment (18%) of the Awakening Consumers identifies themselves as minimalists, 76% view minimalism as a more sustainable lifestyle and aspire to shed themselves of their stuff and any needless purchasing. 

Reduce everything to a bare minimum. Like hoarders, minimalists undertake a lengthy information search before a purchase. Both are looking for quality products but the minimalist is reluctant to make the purchase and own more stuff. Minimalists, in short, are aspiring to lead simpler lives. Generally speaking, the minimalist is trying to avoid clutter in an effort to lead – what they perceive to be – a more sustainable and meaningful life. Socrates said: “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” I think today, the minimalist and Awakening Consumer would agree. In an effort to de-clutter the home, minimalists tend to be less sentimental and feel a weaker connection to material goods. Freedom from stuff is favoured over keeping, storing owning stuff. 

Like the hoarder, the minimalist is recycling. As Awakening Consumer, both hoarder and minimalist recycle, and go the extra mile to reduce the amount of landfill waste they generate. That said, the minimalist will arguably only take ‘reusing’ to a point, the restrictions it poses on their lifestyle will lead to items in the trash. Adversely to the hoarder, the task at hand for the minimalist is to adopt a more disciplined approach to items that may hold greater value (to them or others) that can’t be recycled.

The Verdict: Practical versus Meaningful Living

While both the hoarder and minimalist are leading sustainable lifestyles in their own way, each can take a page out of the other’s book. As Awakening Consumers, the hoarder has developed a more practical relationship to stuff. On other hand, the minimalist, also trudging toward sustainable living, is taking a more philosophical approach and improving other aspects of their lives. With a simplified relationship to stuff, the minimalist aims to create a more meaningful life. 

‘Replace’ is not the fourth R. The recession forced many consumers to tighten their purse strings. This inspired creativity in the home. Old t-shirts become cleaning rags, magazines are passed on. It’s fashionable to carry a steel reusable water bottle. Even cloth diapers are making a comeback. And just as there’s willingness to purchases reusable items, there’s a willingness to buy and sell - or even give away - used items rather than buy new and trash the old. For both the hoarder and minimalist, reusing is replacing… replacing. The recession also inspired creativity in the market. Awakening Consumers are not just shopping less, they’re shopping more sustainably and the business world is now, by and large, awakening and responding to the same crises facing their customers. Businesses are helping consumers to reduce, reuse and recycle. Xerox, for example, is working with Waste Management, to help customers use less of their products and services. Xerox wants to sell less paper, and Waste Management want to create less… waste!

Ultimately, we’re moving forward to a time where everything can either be recycled or upcycled (converted into something of greater practical and environmental value). Everything has value to someone; We just need to get it to them. Until then, here’s some take-home advice from the Awakening Consumer:

The Practical Hoarder’s Advice:

• Be Practical
• Buy quality items over cheaper alternatives
• Avoid fads and seasonal fashion trends
• Be disciplined about what’s useful
• Recycle but don’t hoard useless stuff
• Reuse or pass on

The Meaningfully Minimalist’s Advice:

• Enjoy a simpler lifestyle
• Take a holistic approach to your relationship to stuff
• Reduce everything, not just your purchasing
• Free yourself from clutter
• Be disciplined about what’s sentimental

 

 

References:

Friedman, T.L. (2008) Hot, Flat and Crowded. Picador, New York
Wikipedia (2011) Affluenza.