This world is an unbelievable place. We are surprised almost at every moment of the journey. There are certain things, we believe affect us deeply. The others, we realize are incapable of affecting us at all. But life uses its own tactics to send certain disappointments our way.
In this completely digitalized world, where we seem to talk about issues that the globe collectively looks at, there is something visible yet unacknowledged, something basic yet deep enough, something simple yet complicated, characteristic of human beings, which they live daily and still manage to ignore bluntly: Consumerism.
What’s so different about this word? It’s not a disease. It’s not there on the list of United Nations that the world must pay attention to. So why consumerism? What has consumerism done to the human population that the entire campaign has been started on it?
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A series of studies published in the journal, Motivation, and Emotion showed that consumerism leads to anxiety, loneliness, depression and other health-related problems like obesity. Personal Relationships are also getting affected as people are busy trying to earn more to maintain their standard of living. The crime rate is also increasing as wants to possess expensive gadgets has increased. Jealousy and competitiveness are on the rise. An individual’s incapableness to meet his demands and the other person’s wealthy lifestyle, give rise to a state of mental instability.
As the demand for goods increases, the need to produce these goods also increases. This leads to more pollutant emissions, increased land-use and deforestation, and accelerated climate change. We are experiencing devastating effects on the planets water supplies, as more and more water stores are used up or diverted as a part of intensive farming procedures. Waste disposal is becoming a problem worldwide, and our oceans are slowly but surely becoming a giant waste disposal pit. It is estimated that over half of the plastic produced every year is single use – this means that it is used once, and then either thrown into landfill or finds its way into the environment. According to scientists, up to 12 million tons of plastic enters the ocean every year, forming the giant floating garbage patches all over the world. All of this is happening because of this one word: consumerism.
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What about consumerism rights? Even ever thought of it? I mean, there are human rights, female rights, animal rights, but consumer rights? We all are consumers, the entire human race, then why not give a special mention to consumer rights? Well, the government under Consumer Protection Act surely does:
a. Right to Choose: It’s a consumer’s right to be assured to have access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices.
b. Right to Safety: Consumers have the right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property.
c. Right to Information: A consumer has the right to be informed about the quality, potency, purity, standard and price of goods and services.
d. Right to be Heard: Every consumer has the right to be heard and assured that his/her interests will receive due consideration at approved forums.
e. Right to Redressal: Consumers have the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation.
f. Right to Consumer Education: It is the right of every citizen to have education on matters regarding consumer protection as well as about his/her rights.
With these three objectives: Health, Environment and Consumer Rights, the campaign “Urge 2 Splurge”, started by the students of M.A. Development Communication, Jamia Millia Islamia, seeks to look at how these three are interrelated, equally important as a subject and the reason behind the ignorance consumerism receives.