Singaporeans’ favourite pastime got to be shopping! As reported by Yahoo, Singaporeans’ online shopping ranked number one in Southeast Asia. Factors such as increased affluence and mobile commerce have contributed to Singaporeans’ shopping habits but the greatest contributor is the mindset that materials reflect social status. Consumer spendings help to boost Singapore’s economy but consumerism has a detrimental effect on the environment.

Impact On The Environment

As the demand for goods increases, more resources will be needed to produce them. Not only that we are depleting Earth’s finite resources, the linear model of production also leads to high amount of waste production. According to NEA’s waste statistics in 2014, a total of 7,514,500 tonnes of waste was generated. The Semakau Landfill was already expanded to meet Singapore’s waste disposal need but this is not a long-term solution.

There seems to be a contradiction between government’s promotion of sustainable lifestyle and the building of more shopping malls but economic growth is important to Singapore.

Green Consumerism

To strike a balance between sustainability and economic growth, the current best solution seems to be green consumerism. Basically, it encourages consumers to buy environmentally-friendly products.

Eco-Labels

Singapore Green Label Scheme (SGLS) aims to promote responsible consumerism in Singapore by helping consumers to identify eco-friendly products and at the same time to show businesses the demand for greener products.

Energy Labelling Scheme is mandatory to help consumers make informed choices when purchasing appliances. Consumers will be able to see the estimated energy cost and energy consumption per annual. This motivates companies to sell more energy-efficient products than their competitors in the market.

Although green consumerism is still not a big movement in Singapore, there is definitely a rising trend for it. There are more and more green fashion labels appearing in the market, especially overseas. One example is the H&M Conscious Collection.

 More can be done to encourage more Singaporeans to make a shift to conscious buying. Some suggestions would be using influences like Mediacorp artists to promote green consumerism or use a social campaign to get Singaporeans’ written commitment. Once the campaign attracts attention, it could be effective in getting Singaporeans to change their behaviors. Once they make a pledge to be responsible consumers, they will experience cognitive dissonance if they buy unsustainable products. The campaign would be even more effective if it is published publicly such as on a website.