It’s no secret that there are some items you have lying around in your house that are turning into a collection. Maybe it’s a magnet collection or books you have lying around you’ll never read again. When does it cross over from a collection to overconsumption?
First, let’s define overconsumption. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines overconsumption as excessive consumption or use of something. Originally, it was meant in the context of overusing something, like fossil fuels, alcohol, or other substances. However, with the rise of influencers on TikTok and other social media platforms, overconsumption has come to mean something new. In today’s society of new trends that become popular and replaced in the span of a few days, overconsumption now means purchasing more than you can use.
Many corporations are taking advantage of this, companies will ‘collaborate’ with each other or trends to sell products, then slap a limited edition sticker on them to increase sales. Bath and Body Works for example, created a Disney Princess collection launched on February 16, 2025, and then shortly ran out of stock by March that year. I will admit that the fear of missing out on the opportunity to have these scents caused me to run to my nearest store and buy some of these body sprays myself.
The fear of missing out on trends causes people to buy more products. It’s a vicious cycle caused and perpetrated by these big businesses so they can make more money. The problem is that when people keep buying the new product of the week they are buying more than necessary, falling victim to overconsumption.
Take a look around your room, around your house, find a collection of yours that you have. How much of that item is there in your collection? How often do you actually use it? If you have a collection of five perfumes, and you use all of them, this is not an example of overconsumption. However, if you have twenty perfumes and you only use one of them and you keep buying more, this could be an indicator that you are leaning into the trend of buying things, out of want not need.
Another indicator of overconsumption is the amount you’re spending. Buying one Labubu, lipgloss, a pair of shoes, or perfume may not be a very costly expense, but when people are buying more than they can use, it starts to become a drain on all financials.
Learning how to stop restrain yourself is hard. The answer isn’t to stop buying overall but to be mindful when you do. Try to use a product before you buy a new one. Get to know yourself, if you know it takes you two months to empty a product, control yourself and wait. Finally, you can do what many other people have started to do all over the internet, Project Pan. Project Pan is the idea to use up all of your existing skincare or beauty products before buying any new ones. By practicing mindful habits like Project Pan, we can enjoy the things we buy while avoiding the trap of overconsumption.
