Trendy and Troubling: Overconsumption

As a high school junior, I've watched trends come and go faster than you can say "TikTok made me buy it."  From Stanley cups and Lululemon leggings, it seems like everyone's chasing the next must-have item. But at what cost?

Let's start with the Stanley craze. These tumblers have become the ultimate status symbol in school hallways and on social media. They’re functionally no different from other water bottles, able to keep drinks cold (or hot) for hours, yet they seem to be much more desirable from the point of view of my peers. As a Stanley hater, I find their obsession with the cup quite insane. Sometimes, I’m hit with the intense need to ask a Stanley girl if they really need a different colored cup for every day of the week. Because let us not forget, Stanley cups are REUSABLE. With the whole point of owning a Stanley cup (or any other reusable water bottle) to minimize plastic bottle usage, it truly boggles my mind to see my classmates unabashedly flexing their Stanley collections in school.

Then there’s the Lululemon leggings. Don’t get me wrong, their leggings are comfy, and I have a pair myself. But when people are buying multiple pairs over ¥10000 each, it starts to feel like it's less about comfort and more about buying the product itself. What truly encapsulates this madness is the fact that Lululemon leggings are against the dress code at my school—students can’t even wear them to class. Yet my classmates still make TikToks of their Lululemon hauls, making it clear that they have more Lulu pairs than they’ll ever need. 

This obsession with having the latest craze isn’t just emptying our wallets (or more likely, our parents’ wallets), but it’s contributing to a bigger problem of overconsumption. When consumers buy products for it’s popularity or name brand—or when having more of a certain thing leads to increased prestige—overconsumption occurs. When I see my peers with their Stanley and Lululemon hauls, I sense that they’re not buying the products because they’re genuine fans, but because of the momentary rush and perceived glory of being able to say they own multiple Stanleys. Coupled with the rise of fast fashion, disposable products are filling up landfills faster than ever before.

So what’s driving this overconsumption? The main cause may be social media. Influencers and targeted ads constantly bombard us with the message that we need to have the “right” items from the “right” brand to be happy, or popular. It’s created a culture where having the “right” things are more important than individuality or sustainability. Right now, it seems hoarding mass-manufactured trendy items pays more social points than owning specific, curated pieces. 

But here’s the thing: trends are fleeting. That Stanley tumbler or Lululemon leggings might be all the rage now, but in a few months, it’ll likely be forgotten as the next big thing takes over. I can sense the onset of the end of Stanley popularity already: too many people have Stanley tumblers right now that it’s no longer a status symbol. As the Stanley rage is lost to the grasps of time, the Stanley tumbler will likely also be banished in a closet to collect dust, or thrown away —to ultimately end up in a landfill. 

The environmental impact of fast shopping will kill our world. If we continue catering to our own desire to earn social points by owning the latest fad item, we’re just expediting pollution for a quick moment of gloating. So what can we do? Because it’s not about completely avoiding trends or never buying anything new—it’s about being conscious consumers. Before making a purchase, try asking yourself: Do I really need this? Will I still use this when it’s not longer trendy? Asking these questions may help you overcome the temporary urge to be on trend. Ultimately, it is up to us to change our consumption habits for the better.