BUY NOW: Are we buying too much?

Updated Nov. 22, 2024, 7:15 a.m. | By East Coast Breakfast / Skyye Ndlovu

A new Netflix documentary delves deep into the reality of how easier access to products is enabling us to buy more and BUY NOW - which isn't good.

Imagine this.

2.5 million shoes produced each hour. 68,733 phones produced each hour. 190,000 garments produced each minute. 12 tons of plastic produced each second. Sadly, it's not imaginary. It's reality.

Netflix's newest documentary ‘Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy’ dives into the world of consumerism, exploring how many major corporations use psychological tactics to encourage endless buying.

Former employees from companies like Adidas, Apple, Amazon & Unilever explain how the system is specifically designed to keep consumers buying. And the number one catalyst of this? Online shopping.

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We all want nice things, and we want them now - which is how they get you hooked! The model behind online shopping is to get the product you want delivered to you in the fastest and most frictionless way possible. It keeps you buying, and that instant gratification you get when that package arrives makes you want more.

The documentary speaks on the downside of this - specifically the excessive production of products that eventually expire or get destroyed. This is exacerbated by companies intentionally making devices that are meant to break or clothes that wear down after a few washes - to keep you buying more.

For perspective, GAP produces around 12,000 garments a year. H&M, around 25,000. SHEIN produces over 1.5 million garments of clothing a year - and chances are, you probably own something from one of these companies. But - how many of these items actually get sold?

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Well - just check this documentary out on Netflix. It’s the perfect choice for a Friday night in with your family - and this is specifically for those “online retail therapists”. You know who you are.

Although in reality, we're doomed. Because we will never stop buying.