The increase in the production of consumer goods results in damage to the natural environment. What are the causes of this? What can be done to solve this problem?

In the

last

few decades, our society has witnessed the rise of the industrial revolution around the world, which in turn leads to the excessive mass production of goods growing beyond consumer demand. As a social and economic phenomena, it has had several impacts on the natural world and the living conditions of humankind. In

this

essay, I will discuss the main causes that give rise to the overproduction of goods and offer some measures to tackle

this

problem. The root of an excessive supply of products lies within the evolution of human society itself. Among many possible reasons that cause the glut of goods, consumerism is considered to be the main culprit. Because of the belief that certain merchandise do not hold the same value anymore when it is out of style, in tandem with the ever-increasing appearance of advertisement in every household, modern citizens are convinced to believe that they must stay up to date with the ongoing trends by purchasing new products even though their old ones still function well. Recent researches have shown that today’s people have the tendency to buy the newest and the most fashionable smartphone models in the marketplace, despise the fact that their current mobile phone is not out of date yet. Another trend of human society that has helped create the excess of supply is the planned obsolescence. Modern companies intentionally design their products to be out of use after a short span of time

such

as clothes, shoes or smartphone batteries and

thus

force the costumers to come back to buy new ones.

As a result

, the two above reasons encourage people to keep buying unnecessarily new merchandise and

therefore

start the chain of overproduction. In the end, for the industrial production requires different resources which come from the natural world, the oversupply will eventually lead to environmental degradation,

for example

the unrestrained development of pulp and paper industry will lead to deforestation or the

overfishing

of seafood industry will result in the loss of marine life. In response to solve

this

increasing adverse effect, some viable solutions must put forward.

Firstly

, the government should implement a law to ban manufacturers to plan the failure of their goods and encourage them to produce more durable products, so consumers do not have to replace their bought products too frequently.

Secondly

, the media should promote environmental programs that raise awareness of overconsumption and overproduction.

For example

, a tv program that shows the harmful effects of excessive unsustainable production on ecosystem health will inspire people to buy less and not contribute to the oversupply of goods. Once the buyers are aware of how their shopping habit can have serious impacts on the environment and decide to end

this

toxic practice, the excess of supply will not be a problem anymore. In conclusion, it must be said that the overabundance of products is a contentious topic with no easy answers.

However

, in my mind, the most effective solutions would be to encourage the consumers to do shopping responsibly by not buying goods for unnecessary trends. It is not unrealistic to expect that raising consumers’ awareness will help reduce the increase of producing goods in the impending future.