Overconsumption OverKill! From Sales to Waste: “The Dark Side of Shopping Exposed in Buy Now"

I recently sat down to watch the new Netflix documentary Buy Now, The Shopping Conspiracy, which couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Just ahead of Black Friday, a season when everyone is eagerly waiting for deals and discounts, I couldn't help but wonder: Would the very people gearing up to spend their hard-earned money actually be interested in a documentary that warns us to buy less, not more?

For me, as someone who actively advocates for underconsumption, I was excited to watch a program that might remind me why I don't need another jacket, even if it's half-price! (I admit, jackets are my kryptonite.)

I won’t give away every detail, but the key takeaways from this documentary are ones I think everyone needs to hear. Turning a blind eye to issues like consumerism, waste, and environmental degradation won’t make them disappear. In fact, these problems are affecting our lives every day, whether or not we realise it.

I started watching the documentary on the train home, and within the first 30 minutes, I thought, Okay, this is just a brilliant business lesson on how to sell products. But by the end, my perspective had completely shifted. I realised that what we need to sell in this world must be carefully thought out, and more importantly, there has to be a plan for the end of life of those products.

The documentary is divided into five key sections that outline how the current market functions:

1. Sell More

2. Waste More

3. Lie More

4. Hide More

5. Control More

   
   

These sections expose the stark truth about how industries operate and how their actions are contributing to a toxic cycle of overconsumption.

Take fast fashion, for instance. It’s no secret that the fashion industry is devastating our planet and our health. Brands like H&M churn out 25,000 styles a year, Zara 36,000, and Shein an eye-popping 1.3 million. That’s styles, not sizes! These companies design their clothes with built-in obsolescence, ensuring that they’ll fall apart after a few washes so you’ll be compelled to buy more, month after month.

Then there’s the tech industry. Apple, for example, releases a new iPhone every year, often with minimal upgrades. For years, they pushed the narrative that their products shouldn’t be repaired, but replaced, with many devices designed to shut down after just 2-3 years of use. Around 13 million phones are discarded worldwide every single day.

But the most shocking part of the documentary for me was the segment on food waste. It’s not just that companies are throwing out food—some are actively destroying perfectly good, in-date food to prevent it from being salvaged by those in need. In a world where 150 million people are homeless, how can it be that corporations are going to such lengths to ensure that hungry people can’t benefit from what’s being thrown away?

The documentary also touches on the issue of recycling. We’re often told that items can be recycled, but in reality, many of them can’t. Instead, they end up in landfills or are burned, contributing even further to environmental destruction. Corporations are lying to us, feeding us narratives that make us feel good about our consumer habits, while continuing to exploit the system. The responsibility to make better choices is on us—on you—to research, to question, and to demand better.

The documentary is packed with eye-opening information that is impossible to ignore. It’s one thing to read about these issues, but it’s another thing entirely to see the depth of the damage being done.

At the heart of the film’s message is a simple, yet powerful truth: If we stop consuming, corporations will be forced to stop producing. We already have more than enough stuff in the world; what we need now is to focus on making use of what we’ve got. Fast fashion, in particular, must be eliminated entirely, replaced by a culture of buying preloved clothing. Brands need to shift their focus to creating high-quality, sustainable products, made from fabrics that don’t harm the planet.

The damage that’s been done already is staggering, but we can still choose not to contribute to it.

We’re at a critical point in history. If we don’t take action now, future generations will inherit a world that’s beyond repair. We must stop turning a blind eye and start making conscious decisions to reduce consumption, support sustainable brands, and hold corporations accountable.

It’s time to stop buying for the sake of buying, and start thinking about what we really need. Only then can we hope to break free from the cycle of waste and overproduction that’s threatening our planet’s future and our personal health.

Written by: Marina Townsend