When TikTok’s underconsumption pattern meets festive extra

DEC 23 – Secret Santa, stockings and presents underneath the tree – gift-giving is on the coronary heart of Christmas Day.

But ought to it’s?

This yr extra individuals have been exploring underconsumption – the pattern the place buying hauls and miracle must-buys are changed with reusing beloved possessions and buying much less.

It’s taken off on TikTok, the place mentions soared by nearly 40,000% within the UK earlier this yr.

Experts say it’s resonated with youthful individuals affected by the cost-of-living disaster and anxious in regards to the local weather as they appear to make sustainable adjustments.

But are you able to combine that way of life with a time of yr many individuals affiliate with overspending and indulgence?

Underconsumption means shopping for fewer pointless issues and making the merchandise you already personal go additional.

It may not sound that radical, particularly when you’re used to stretching your weekly price range.

“It’s highlighting a behaviour that’s quite normal,” writer and creator Andrea Cheong tells BBC Newsbeat.

“But in the realm of TikTok or Instagram it feels so unnatural it’s gone viral.”

On platforms constructed round advertisements and glamourised life the hashtag stands out, and Andrea does consider that underconsumption is totally different as a result of “it’s a habit, not a trend.”

“The people who are sharing what they’ve done in their daily lives, they’ve been doing this forever,” she says.

“They were probably taught by their parents to do it.”

“Companies are spending millions of pounds on ads that make you want to go out and buy that thing right now,” says Darwin Arnold, a retail employee residing in Brighton.

Darwin, who shares sustainability ideas on-line in her spare time, says she doesn’t need presents this Christmas.

She admits the “hardest step” is telling your loved ones members.

“My nan, she’s one of those who loves having all of the gifts under the tree,” she says.

“It’s her way of showing love, it’s her way of making me feel special.”

Darwin says it pays to be straight-up with family members and it helps to recommend different concepts for items, akin to experiences, moderately than merchandise.

Influencer Charlie Gill, from Manchester, has been sharing sustainability tips about social media for six years now and says her content material has taken off for the reason that underconsumption pattern started.

She’s turned her give attention to to Christmas, suggesting ways in which decorations, reward wrap and even Christmas dinners might be stripped again.

“There are so many small steps anybody can do,” she says.

“Considering how much food you’re purchasing, don’t buy things in excess, make sure you’re actually eating your leftovers.”

Charlie makes her personal decorations, and this yr she’s created a Christmas tree out of {a magazine}, in addition to “stars out of toilet rolls, all that kind of thing”.

Some individuals aren’t followers of the home made aesthetic and Charlie admits she bought some hate on-line over a TikTok of her festive decorations final yr, however says it doesn’t put her off.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people celebrating Christmas in a different way,” she says.

“There are different ways of gifting and creating the kind of Christmas you want whilst also underconsuming and not creating excess waste.”

Underconsumption is perhaps a brand new hashtag, however it’s not a brand new concept.

“It’s not a new concern but it is an enduring phenomenon that’s been labelled in different ways in different times,” says Prof Caroline Moraes, of the University of Birmingham.

One instance is the voluntary simplicity motion within the nineteenth Century, she says, which advocated for an anti-consumerist way of life.

Prof Caroline, a advertising and marketing and client knowledgeable specialising in sustainable consumption, says the renewed curiosity in 2024 can inform us about modern-day worries.

She says it factors to a better concern over the atmosphere and the cost-of-living disaster but in addition a better consciousness of name ethics and the place the issues we purchase come from.

Earlier this yr, quick style large Shein stated it found two cases of child labour in its supply chain, some luxury perfumes have additionally been linked to little one labour and issues in regards to the fashion industry’s environmental credentials are broadly reported.

“I think all of us are beginning to realise the part we need to play in terms of tackling the sustainability challenges and the climate crisis we’re facing,” says Prof Caroline.

Author Andrea thinks the sudden rise in curiosity additionally reveals a fatigue with client tradition.

“I think people like myself are so excited about underconsumption because we share the same mission, which is ‘let’s just slow down’,” she says.

“But really it’s rooted in a lack of control over the cost of living.”

Last week, figures confirmed costs had been rising at the fastest rate since March.

While the price of turkey and sprouts has driven down the cost of a Christmas dinner this yr, what you pay for potatoes, carrots and parsnips has shot up.

“When life feels chaotic and overwhelming, you’re always going to have this human retreat to something slower,” says Andrea.

Trends come and go however the individuals Newsbeat spoke to hope that underconsumption would possibly spark significant adjustments in our buying habits all yr round.

“We are conditioned to believe we need to be consuming more because this is the time of year to do so,” says Prof Caroline.

“Trying to cut back consumption goes in opposition to the norms of client tradition.

“So I think it’s a really good thing these influencers are out there because they’re questioning excessive modes of consuming, they’re questioning some of these lifestyles that have appeared alongside social media and trying to bring us back to a normal way of consuming.”

Charlie says she’s witnessed conversations within the feedback underneath her movies and believes “many people are really engaging with it”.

“It’s just about everybody trying to live a little bit more sustainably in whatever way that is, because every little thing we do is going to make an impact.”

By BBC