
Is having the latest technology a want or a need?
How often do you get a new cel phone or mp3 player? Did you really need a new model? Do you consider the environmental impact of these purchases? If you are addicted, how can you break your addiction?
Wants or Needs?
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People always say not to buy fast fashion, but why? If the clothes are already there in the store what difference does it make if I buy them? You have probably also heard of supply and demand. When there is high demand for a product, more supply will be made. When you buy clothes, decor, etc. from fast fashion stores you are creating demand. Then, companies create more supply to meet this demand. If we keep up this mindset that what we buy doesn't matter, then companies will keep creating supply, and damaging the earth.

I agree, and I think a way to bring down the demand is for more people to switch to thrift shopping. It is much more environmentally sound, it saves money, and as an added bonus makes you swaggier. The more people who switch to this environmentally sound way to shop, the less demand the stores will recieve, and the less they will produce, ultimaely leading to much less waste from clothing items. Although thrifting is a great way to reduce personal global impact, I believe there also needs to be more laws and regulations in the clothing industry because fast fashion is thriving despite having a continuously bigger impact on the environment. There needs to be a limit on the amount of clothing items that can be produced at once, ensuring the least amount of excess stock.

The strong want to be able to have the popular things/items that are seen all over the internet, muddle the opinion of whether it is actually needed, or do we want it so bad that it feels like we need it? Lots of things are bought because someone wants it, but when something is needed, people noticeably slack on buy that item because it isn't wanted.

These days a lot of people buy useless clothes that they never wear. I don't think that these people realize the harm they are doing to our planet by doing that. Until I joined this project I didn't even realize that just simple shopping can endanger our planet. So, next time you shop. Make sure that you buy only the most necessary things or shop in second hand shops. That way you can save money and our planet.

I agree with this completely. More recently I've found myself feeling similar wanting to buy less but for a different reason, I wanted to not buy clothes to have sitting in my wardrobe that I don't wear. Feeling bad due to the number of these clothes I have. But now this website has enforced my intuition and now puts into perspective the role that I have even when shopping. Also I do love to indulge in second hand shopping due to finding cool, old, and not ridiculously priced, makes me thrift frequently. I sort out clothes while shopping personally by thinking do I really need it? Then another way to help the clothing cycle is selling, or donating your clothes thus helping buyers not purchase new for no reason when you can get it cheaper, and saving people from throwing away there old clothes.

You are right about how buying too many clothes can harm the planet. A lot of people don't realize that buying clothes that they are never gonna wear is gonna take up space in their closet, and it contributes to massive amounts of waste and pollution, as the fashion industry is one of the top global polluters. I had a similar realization when I watched a documentary on fast fashion and saw how much water is used just to produce a single T-shirt. Since then, I’ve started shopping more intentionally, focusing on quality over quantity and choosing second-hand stores when possible. Your point about saving both money and the planet is important and practical—it’s a small step that can make a big difference if more people adopt it.

I agree that lots of people today buy clothes just to buy them and never end up wearing them. I think trends contribute to that because people like to buy what's popular now. The bad thing is that trends change quickly, and the more people buy into trends and buy unnecessary things, the more it harms our planet. For me, I try to limit myself when going shopping, and if I see clothing I like, I always ask myself, "Would I actually wear this frequently?" I find this limits me from buying more and spending more. I hope more people come to the realization that we are harming our planet, and this will have a massive impact on the future, or even now. If you're going to buy clothes, be honest with yourself about whether or not you are going to wear them or toss them after a few months, and it ends up in a dump.

Being mindful before buying something and not buying unnecessary products.

A lot of the time I have the experience of buying something that I don't really need but feel like it will make me happy. This may be a response to boredom, however a goal I for myself is to find something else to occupy myself with instead of adding to overconsumption and waste. These harmful materialistic behaviors are something I know a lot of teenagers and people in general struggle with, as due to media the solution to every problem seems to be a new product. This wasteful mindset is part of the reason our planet is in such a bad state. An example of this is the floating trash islands in the ocean and the piles of old products and trash in third world countries that are direct results of our consumer driven society. A way to combat this is to think about if you really NEED something before buying it or if it will just collect dust in your home before you throw it out and it pollutes our environment.

Product shipping and delivery is a significant contributor to climate change. Although freight shipping accounts for 3% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, the numbers could rise dramatically in the next couple of decades. Additionally, not only does international shipping and delivery result in the burning of fossil fuels for transporting goods long distances, but it also oftentimes result in a lot of excess packaging and plastic waste. The alternative to this is shopping in-stores or supporting local businesses to reduce the amount of fossil fuels being burned for transportation and the amount of plastic waste from excess packaging. Unless it's imperative to buy something online or internationally, it's overall more environmentally friendly to buy local in order to reduce your carbon footprint from shipping.

Having the latest technology is definitely a want, not a need. I've been using the same iPhone 12 since sixth grade and the same HP computer since fifth grade, and they still function perfectly well for everything I need. I’ve felt the urge to upgrade just because a newer version came out, but constantly buying the latest phones, headphones, or computers contributes to environmental harm, since the production and disposal of electronics generate a significant amount of waste and pollution. Most of the time, the upgrades are minor and don’t justify the environmental cost. Breaking the habit of always needing the newest tech starts with being more mindful and asking whether you truly need a new device or just want it. Educating yourself about the environmental impact can help shift your mindset toward using what you have for as long as possible.

People never seem to think about what their purchases could do to the environment or will they even use them at all. People should actually think if they need something when at the check out line. All people should get to get items that they enjoy but that should not come at the cost of Earth.

I agree, people do not think about the consequences to their actions.

I agree with this, people are not thinking about what they're buying and how that will impact other people and organisms. I think treating yourself to something unnecessary once in a while is a good thing, like a treat if you pass a test or a reward for doing something difficult. As a society, we can struggle to think about how our actions that we are taking now are going to affect others in future generations. If you want to buy something just because it's cheap, think about if you are actually going to use for a long time. Otherwise it would end up adding to our landfills.

I think you're right, I don't really think that some bag or shirt is worth it. We should really need to consider about second-hand shops instead od making huge amounts of clothes. Making our own clothes from old ones or from other kinds of fabric is really good way to recycle and refresh our wardrobe and it's good for environment.

I fully agree with you. Impulsive shopping has been normalized to the point where it's concerning, especially online. People just add stuff to their cart without a second thought. They don't even check the sites they order from and how much Carbon emits into the atmosphere by the shipping and transport of their order, aside from the production itself. We are absolutely allowed to buy things we want and like, not just necessities, but there is a clear line between a few funky purchases and full-on overconsupmtion and shopping addiction.

I completely agree with you. Many people don't realize the harm they are doing to our planet by buying industrially made food. I think that we should grow more food ourselves, and that way, we can take care of our planet and enjoy a delicious meal. Regarding the clothes we wear, I agree that we should shop more from second-hand shops because there are a lot of great clothes, so you can look good and reduce your carbon footprint.

You're right. Not a lot of people know just how harmful their purchases can be, whether it be food, clothes, or electronics. I think thrifting is one of the best ways to help with this problem. Me and my sister regularly to go thrift stores near us for a small electronic we want or new clothes.

I agree that although shopping can be a fun day outing we constantly overlook the destructive impacts it has on our planet. I myself love to shop, and it is a good stress reliever for me but I think shopping has normalized a culture of overlooking morality. One of the most popular stores for teenage girls to shop at is Brandy Melville, a brand that has openly presenting a fat-shaming environment fueled by it's one size fits all clothing. Fast fashion companies such as SHEIN and Temu release excess fossil fuels and carbon dioxide into the environment and exploit their workers. Nevertheless, million still flock to these stores to buy the newest trending items or for the best price. I feel like the fact that we as a society know these issues exist and still choose to shop and over-consume goods attributes to why climate change/global warming has gotten so bad today.

I agree that people buy things just for themselves, and they don't think about how if affects anything or anybody else. When most people buy things (for example clothes), they get that initial joy. But once this temporary high goes away, the object is still there and it litters the environment. People should buy things with meaning and not just to satisfy their compulsive buying habits. That's why I think thrifting is so special. Different get to enjoy the same piece of clothing, and at the same time, they get it for cheaper and higher quality.

One large contributor to co2 emissions is fast fashion. These clothes are marketed as cheap and trendy, but they don't last and are harmful to the environment. Many people ignore this because they are attracted to the low cost of these clothes. Another way to find clothing at a low cost is thrifting. Thrifting is a good way to get clothing for cheaper without taking a large toll on the environment. We already have more clothes than we need in our world, so we don't need to be adding to that by buying low-quality clothing just because of it's price. Instead we can thrift used clothing that is higher quality and in many cases will last longer.

Consumers are always obsessed with the latest fashion trends and newest clothing items, but most of the time fail to realize what goes into creating the items they wear and own. People do not take into consideration the production of the good and how damaging the manufacturing process is to the environment.For example, clothing production use excessive amounts of water. Additionally, once trends fade and the hottest clothing style isn't as relevant anymore, these clothes get thrown away, contributing to large landfill dumps. The materials used in these clothing items take hundreds of years to biodegrade and are extremely damaging. Popular fast fashion brands (ex: Shein, Zara, H&M), produce clothes faster than consumers can buy, causing more than half of the clothes to end up in the dumps. Often times, purchasing new clothes is not even a NEED it is a WANT. If a person has clothes in their closet that fit them, there is really no need to go out and buy new clothing items, just for them to be worn once and then thrown away. Overall, Fast Fashion and Overconsumption negatively impact the environment.

I believe it comes down to want and needs at the end of the day, because we need minimal things to survive, yet what we want is so much more. For example, we only need 10-15 minute showers, but what we want is a long 30-minute shower. In addition, all we need is just some simple warm clothes, but we want 20 to 30 dollar new clothes from a new brand. If one day we learn to separate our wants and our needs and only take what we need we might just be able to make a real difference in our world. I have many things that I think I need or just want, and if I learn to cut that out of my life I could live more resourcefully and build a more sustainable environment.

A nature.com article reads that "it's estimated that a search driven by generative AI uses four to five times the energy of a conventional web search" (Crawford, 2024). Using ChatGPT, even for just a simple prompt, uses water and energy, which affects its carbon footprint. Generative AI like ChatGPT has a massive carbon footprint because it goes through energy at an alarming rate, and this is often not renewable or environmentally-friendly energy due to cost factors. Many people, especially teenagers, use ChatGPT for just about everything, from doing their homework to looking up simple questions--two tasks that can easily be accomplished other ways (such as doing their homework themselves or using Google as a search engine). This is why the question of whether or not Gen-AI like ChatGPT is a want or a need is so relevant today. AI usage has never been so common, and it's important to remember the huge carbon footprint you are leaving behind when you use Gen-AIs to look something up or complete a task.
Source:
Nature.com Article

Plane flights increase our carbon footprint much more than other things, and it is also very popular to go on multiple flights a year. We need to find a solution to reduce flight carbon production, or as a society take less flights in general. Is travel a want or a need? Of course travel is a great experience, but at what cost?