What would happen to modern business if consumers stopped consuming?

Businesses have been built around simple models for as long as we can remember. Create demand, meet this demand, and earn profits. As a result, we have created a society where mass consumption is second nature and we chase the next dopamine hit in our online shopping carts.

But what happens when consumers stop consuming? In recent years, the tide has begun to shift away from mindless purchases in favor of sensible purchases, second-hand purchases, or sharing. This change is not a bad thing, as environmental factors are top of mind for many, but it will be a major change for the business world as we know it.

One company at the forefront of this transformation is Patagonia, which has challenged retail industry norms with its anti-consumption stance. The “Don't Buy This Jacket” campaign, launched during Black Friday 2011, highlighted the environmental costs of overconsumption. We also focus on the longevity of our products, offering free repairs on our products to encourage customers to take care of their gear and maintain it for a long time, reducing the need for new purchases.

To achieve a more sustainable society, we need more examples of this trend than Patagonia. To better understand the need for a change in consumption philosophy and how we can get there, I recently spoke with Alex, a project manager and semiotician at Space Doctors, a cultural and creative consultancy. I had the pleasure of speaking with Bea about how she sees changing attitudes in society. In recent years, she has been thinking about how companies can adapt to this new environment where the actual value they bring is being questioned.

Christopher Marquis: What are the main issues surrounding current production and consumption models?

Alex Bee: We know that life on Earth has exceeded most of the planetary boundaries necessary to survive and thrive. Our current production and consumption models contribute to this excess. Throwaway culture, fast fashion, soil degradation from over-cultivation, and the normal expectation that you can basically order anything you want and have it delivered to your door the next day.

If there is to be a future on this planet, most aspects of our lives will need to change. It's how we travel, what we buy, how we work, etc. In the not too distant future, we won't just be able to hop on a plane. Supermarket shelves will no longer have everything you need or want. So, to put it simply, we have no choice but to change.

We are already seeing examples of this shift in action if we look at the recent success of many rental and sharing services. We can see that the concept of “needs” in relation to transactions and ownership is beginning to shift direction. People are asking themselves and weighing up what they actually need to own. You might want to look good at a party, but do you really need to? Own Do you have new clothes to feel happy and confident? not much. Renting or renting a costume won't change that feeling.

Implementing this mindset can feel like a daunting task, as most roles, goals, and objectives in business center around growth. But this doesn't mean sacrificing expansion or profits, but reframing “growth” as something long-term, ensuring that your organization not only survives to the next generation, but survives for years to come. It means asking what you can do today to help. quarter.

Marquis: Have you noticed this change in attitude among the general public?

bee: absolutely. Behavioral change is driven by the added value that sharing brings, rather than what feels like a sacrifice. For example, Vinted is convenient, saves you money, and offers more fun to explore than actually shopping. It combines convenience and second-hand buying in a way that makes sense, while also capitalizing on the thirst for unique and vintage items among younger generations looking to establish a hyper-personal visual identity post-pandemic. Masu. It's not about belief systems or lifestyles, it's about what makes logical sense and meets consumer needs.

Culturally speaking, people are building more connections that encourage sharing. This could be done through a hyperlocal WhatsApp group, Facebook Marketplace, or an organization like Good Gym. GoodGym connects people who want to exercise with people who need help with manual labor such as gardening, moving furniture, or sorting food at food banks.

The cost of living crisis is having a significant impact as communities look for ways to share resources with those around them. This is both an attitude change and a very specific need. People are taking action into their own hands because they no longer trust that their governments and local governments will care about the people around them.

Marquis: If sharing is increasing and the relationship with ownership is changing, how do businesses fit into this? Is there room for profitable business in this new consumption future? Is it?

bee: It's understandable that brands see this as a threat to sales and profits, but if you look beyond the point of purchase, there are ongoing contacts and Opportunities for relationships exist. The longer the lifespan, the more users and applications, the more opportunities there are for brands and organizations to build deeper connections and partner with people to deliver what they really need. Nurturing these relationships is increasingly important to the longevity of your business, especially now that trust is in short supply.

It's also worth reframing your thinking from business profit to business survival here. Companies need to remember that it doesn't take long for competitors to completely reshape their story and create new fundamental expectations from people. Many of the industries we work with at Space Doctors are highly saturated, so while these changes may feel disruptive and uncomfortable at first, they are ensuring a more benign future and encouraging innovation. This is necessary in order to stay ahead of up-and-coming companies. It's probably not only an environmental imperative, but also a business imperative.

Marquis: What are the main things companies need to learn about this mindset shift?

bee: Innovation becomes clearer and more interesting when we shift our thinking to focus on the human needs at the heart of the decisions people make: what they prioritize and what they discard.

For businesses, this means looking for and welcoming opportunities to forge deeper connections with customers. More than ever, people are looking for meaning in their daily lives and expect brands to understand them on a more nuanced and emotional level. It's important to foster a mutual relationship that benefits both parties, rather than just trying to get them to buy more.

Marquis: Why should they think about this now?

bee: In addition to the pressures on and from the planet from the climate crisis, supply chains are disrupted, access to materials is cut off, and perhaps most importantly, fear from people (particularly Gen Z and Alpha). We are witnessing an increase in future.

We will face many “shocks” due to climate change in the coming years. There will be rapid innovation and change, such as the shift to working from home due to COVID-19. A phrase we refer to in our work is “emergence breeds emergence.”However, we will wait until we have Letting go of a certain way of life often puts us at a disadvantage, even though we could have thought about it, planned ahead, and prevented or mitigated some of the effects and aftermath that may occur.

In addition to this, we have seen some clear examples of regulations such as: Power Brands are shifting, such as the UK's ban on disposable e-cigarettes and France's move to add item-specific taxes on fast fashion to reflect its true cost to the environment. Whether it's people's demands, climate “shocks” or government regulations, we need to learn how to lead these changes ourselves or they will be completely out of our hands. You may end up leaving.

Marquis: What positive initiatives have you seen from companies responding to this? What can we learn from them?

bee: We are seeing a shift towards brands taking responsibility for the entire lifespan of their products. This means from the creation/growth of the material until the product reaches its full potential and can be recycled or disassembled and disposed of. Particularly in certain industries, recycling plans are developed internally with the idea that brands cannot label their products as recyclable or circular unless they actually provide that service themselves. There is a movement to introduce it.

Brands like Patagonia are leading the way in offering lifetime repairs on their products. This means it is incumbent on brands to not only provide added value to their customers, but also to create products that are well-made from the start. Also emerging are community-driven programs like Library of Things, a hyperlocal appliance and tool sharing system where people can affordably rent items they don't use frequently, like DIY tools, sewing machines, and camping equipment. doing.

The overall lesson for businesses is that this is becoming an important consideration for people before they make a purchase, rather than an afterthought at the end of a product's lifespan.

Marquis: How is SpaceDoctor working with companies to help them recognize and prepare for this new consumption mindset?

bee: We use a culture-first approach to show how organizations are shaped by their people. Whether it's decentralizing networks, finding creative ways to avoid buying more than we need, sharing waste, sharing information, or democratizing things that previously required expertise, we By understanding, we can advise companies on where they currently stand and where they are. Might be so.

Many of our clients want positive change, but don't always know how to approach this change. Our work encourages them to think of their business as part of the broader ecosystem in which it exists.

Our What Matters 2024 report explores how brands, companies and organizations are making changes in this space, and details not just why, but how. Reconfiguring ownership is a key theme that we uncovered through our analysis. People want more meaning and less.