If everyone on Earth consumed resources at the rate of the average American, we would need about five planets to sustain our current way of life. The average American goes through about 13,000 pounds of goods each year, including things like clothing, electronics, and household items. The average American owns 7.24 reusable water bottles. Overconsumption of water bottles has emerged as a huge problem.
Overconsumption is reflected across everything, from clothing to accessories, and is represented in Morgan best through our water bottles. The global reusable water bottle market was valued at around $8.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach around $10.4 billion by 2025.
A study by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that the production of reusable items, including water bottles, still has an environmental footprint. link to this study For example, the carbon footprint resulting from producing a single stainless steel bottle is around 7 times higher than that of a plastic water bottle. Therefore, if people frequently replace their reusable water bottles due to different trends, the environmental benefits of a reusable water bottle compared to a plastic water bottle are diminished.
Over the past three years at Morgan, our school has gone through many water bottle trends. The first trendiest water bottle was the Hydro flask. The goal of the hydro flask was to keep beverages colder than the average water bottle. The VSCO girl trend, which was huge on social media in 2019, led millions of teenagers and young adults to buy hydroflasks. In 2019 alone, hydro flasks sold over 2 million hydro flasks.
History teacher, Mr. Zawadski, has seen the effects of the different trends, stating, “I remember it was not too long ago that hydro flasks were the big things and every single girl had like three different hydro flasks of different colors, now it is the Owalas. So even though their hydroflasks are still perfectly fine and good to use, now because of trends and social media people are like ‘ew you have a hydro flask’ where an Owala has taken over.”
Marketing and social media create a sense of urgency and desire to follow the trends and purchase more things which contributes to this fulfillment. Our brains are wired to seek new things as it can be exciting and rewarding. According to a report by Influencer Marketing Hub, 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations to make purchasing decisions. link to this info
When purchasing an item our brain releases dopamine, which is a feel-good chemical, making us feel good and drives the desire to keep getting more. Marketers take advantage of this by using strategies like limited-time offers, exclusive releases, and influencer endorsements to create a sense of excitement and urgency. “Everyone has to outdo everyone else”, said Zawadski further leading to overconsumption as humans often have the mindset that more is better.
Influencers really started becoming a profitable industry around the mid-2010s, causing brands to invest heavily with them as it is an important aspect to driving sales. Influencers make a wide range of money based on their following, with some small influencers making a few hundred per post, while huge influen
cers with millions of followers can make thousands or even hundreds of thousands per post. A survey by McKinsey & Company found that 70% of consumers are influenced by trends they see on social media within a few weeks. Emma Chamberlain is a key influencer with almost 15 million followers on instagram. Chamberlain received a brand deal with hydroflask in 2019, and posted about their products on her Instagram and Youtube. After influencers like Emma started promoting Hydro Flask, the brand saw a notable increase in social media mentions and user-generated content, which often correlates with increased sales.
Junior Kate Gardner purchased her first Hydro Flask in 2019, her Stanley in Christmas of ‘23, and now uses the Owala which she got in September of 2024. She stated, “I think Owala water bottles are good, and I really like mine. They are leakproof and also have both a straw and normal drinking option, but all these water bottle trends are an example of overconsumption because people will buy new water bottles, while their old ones work just as well.” The Journal of Consumer Research also found that 62% of consumers report experiencing a sense of pleasure and excitement when purchasing new things, which further leads to overconsumption.
Although Kate agrees that she is contributing to overconsumption, she believes it’s justified because she uses her old ones just as much as her new ones. “I liked my hydro flask because it is easy to use for sports, especially soccer. I like my Stanley because it has a straw and is easy to hold.”
Kate is not unusual. A study by the University of Arizona shows that 80% of people who buy new items still claim to use their old ones. Although, many o
f these items end up stored away and are rarely used, contributing to clutter and potential waste.
A study by the Journal of Consumer Research found that humans have a strong desire for acquiring more things because of a psychological phenomenon known as the “endowment effect.” This effect causes people to value the things that they have more than the things that they don’t, leading to the desire to want more things.
The different use of water bottles throughout Morgan is just a small representation of overconsumption in our society. Overconsumption has increased due to fast fashion, food waste, and electronics. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the average number of times a garment is worn before being discarded has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago.
