Republic of the Philippines

EASTERN VISAYAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Tacloban City
College of Engineering
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Reaction Paper in
Environmental Engineering
(ENV 101)
Submitted to:
DR. ALMACELEY S. PLANDO
Instructor, ENV 101

Submitted by:
DONNABELLE B. CINCO
BSIE-5A
 Minimalism Trend: Will it Save the Planet?
By Renee Juliene Karunungan
February 8, 2017

There is a growing interest in minimalism, thanks in part to Marie Kondo’s book “The Life
Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and her KonMari method — a method of decluttering and
organizing the home. Since then, many have sworn to the Kondo’s method of holding only onto
things that “spark joy.”
KonMari is the only one of many movements growing around the idea of a minimalist
lifestyle. There is also Project 333, a minimalist fashion project that invites people to dress with
33 items or less for 3 months and 100 Thing Challenge, started by David Bruno, who challenged
himself to own only 100 things. And then there is also the tiny house movement, a movement that
encourages simple living by living in, yes, tiny houses. Add to that the zero waste movement,
challenging people to live with, you guessed it, zero waste.
And so it seems that these days many people have found happiness in minimizing the things
they own, having the mantra of “less is more,” where owning less is equated to freedom and
happiness. It does feel fresh, a welcome change in a world seemingly dedicated to consumerism,
where everywhere you look is an invite to spend more and own more — advertisements, shopping
malls, billboards.
As the trend of minimalism grows, can it be said that people are ready to let go of
overconsumption and change their lifestyles to help save the planet?

Consumerism and Climate Change

While polluters such as oil and cement companies and coal-fired power plants have largely
contributed to climate change — and these are things which we must address urgently —
overconsumption as a lifestyle has had major impacts on the environment as well.
It is no secret that consumerism has contributed a lot to climate change. According to a study
entitled “Environmental Impact Assessment of Household Consumption” published in the Journal
in Industrial Ecology, what people consume is responsible for up to 60% of global greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions. Not only that, production of items from other countries to be consumed in other
countries has also increased steadily, which only adds to carbon emissions.
“Today, developed countries have to report their carbon emissions, but we consume a lot
of stuff that is produced in China and other developing countries. Their carbon emissions are
helping support my consumption,” says Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution for Science in the
United States.
Naomi Klein, in her book, This Changes Everything, says that “the truth is that if we want
ti live within ecological limits, we would need to return ti a lifestyle similar to the one we had in
the 1970’s, before consumption levels went crazy in the 1980’s.” Even Pope Francis, in his
encyclical, has blamed the “culture of consumerism” for climate change.
Fast fashion, for example, has grown as an industry because of overconsumption.
According to an article by Sarah Ripper from Uplift, people are buying 400% more clothes than
we did 20 years ago, and the environmental impacts are staggering. In 2014, it was found that 85%
of man-made materials found on shorelines were microfibers, synthetic materials used in clothing.
And with 2 billion paris of jeans produced every year, imagine how many litres of water is needed
when a pair takes 7,000 litres of water to produce.
 With all these in mind, it is then high time for people to embrace a simpler lifestyle, and
consume less. Is minimalism the answer to this problem?

Minimalism for the privileged?

Minimalism, however, sparks some debate: is the minimalism trend only for the
privileged? An article by Kyle Chaka published in New York Times discusses how the current
trend on minimalism is hinged on “social capital, a safety net, and access to the internet” and calls
today’s minimalism as “arrogant,” and only makes us consume more instead of less.
Similarly, Arielle Bernstein’s article in The Atlantic talks about how minimalism as a lifestyle may
not be entirely possible for people like refugees, who’s had cherished items things taken away
from them. Bernstein argues that for these people, such as her parents, letting go of things is not
as simple as asking if something “sparks joy” or not.
“But for families that have experienced giving their dearest possessions up unwillingly,
“putting things in order” is never going to be as simple as throwing things away. Everything they
manage to hold onto matters deeply. Everything is confirmation they survived,” Bernstein shares.
However, in some cultures like Japan where people practice Zen Buddhism, minimalism is already
imbibed in their culture. It is practical too, they say, especially to avoid injuries during earthquakes.
So while the concept of minimalism from the West may arguably come from the point of view of
the privileged, there are some cultures in the East that have already adhered to it as part of their
culture and beliefs. This is not to say, of course, that the Japanese hasn’t subscribed to
overconsumption, because it has, especially in the 80’s when Japan’s economy boomed. But
today’s young Japanese have changed, which may also be attributed to Japan’s economic
decline, so much so that Hitsakazu Matsuda, president of Japan Consumer Marketing Research
Institute calls them “consumption haters,” a generation that thinks it is stupid to spend.

Minimalism for the planet

For many years, the blame has been put on developed countries for mostly being
responsible in damaging the planet and causing climate change, and rightly so, with their historic
and current carbon emissions. It is no different with overconsumption — people in developed
countries consume more and leave bigger carbon footprint than people in developing and least
developed countries.
In the same study mentioned earlier, researched found that “consumerism was much higher
in rich countries than in poor countries, and that those with the highest rates of consumerism had
up to 5.5 times the environmental impact as the world average.” And according to a report by
Christian Aid, “20% of the world’s population account for around 80% of consumption of global
resources, and the world is consuming 50% more than is environmentally sustainable.”
However, recent data shows that Asia’s growing middle class may turn the region into a
“consumption powerhouse.” This is seen as a positive development by the World Economic
Forum, as it will contribute to economic growth. This of course is problematic, as most climate
activists would say that measuring development based on GDP growth is what has caused climate
change.
“We have an economic system that fetishizes GDP growth above all else, regardless of the
human or ecological consequences, while failing to place value on those things that most of us
cherish above all — a decent standard of living, a measure of future security, and our relationships
with one another,” says Naomi Klein in her book This Changes Everything.
And this is exactly what the minimalist movement believes in: that happiness and freedom do not
come with consuming or owning things, and that people need to go back to what really matters
such as experiences and relationships.
The debates surrounding the minimalist movement are valid. I must agree with Kyle Chaka
that the movement must be careful not to perpetuate more consumption by aspiring to have the
best, and most expensive things albeit few. I also agree with Arielle Bernstein that some people,
such as refugees, cannot afford to be minimalist.
Minimalism will not win the revolution or solve climate change, but it can change
perspectives and allow people to shift their lifestyles, and ultimately influence the market and
economic system to something that is more sustainable and ecological. The challenge remains: can
it be sustained and can it go past the privileged?
Reaction
This topic is very personal to me because this reflects me and my interest for this kind of
lifestyle. My addiction to keeping only the things that I need and buying an item only when it is
already empty because I do not want much trash. My mom taught me to be like this because my
parents does not have so much capacity for our wants and at first, I thought it was a hindrance
from allowing myself to come out of my comfort zone, but later on I realized that this is actually
me. I’ve always had this urge to always keep things minimal, plain, and simple and I thought I
don’t quite fit the society I live in because it urges us to buy and consume more so we could show
off other people that we’re also capable. But as I have tried my best to improve the stuff that I own,
I end up getting tired and always comes down to who I really am. With this kind of personality, I
never knew someone would find empowerment from it and share it to the world to make us realize
that this lifestyle is okay and that we are not alone.
Marie otherwise known as Konmari, is a Japanese organising consultant and author.
Kondo's method of organizing is known as the KonMari Method, and consists of gathering together
all of one's belongings, one category at a time, and then keeping only those things that "spark joy"
and choosing a place for everything from then on. I have been hooked up with her method ever
since I’ve started watching her videos on youtube. It explains the importance of cleanliness of
one’s space and also putting everything else in order. Even though the topic is about tidying up, it
is quite reflective of the minimalist lifestyle because as Marie would explain, keep only the things
that “Spark Joy”.
I do not know if it is just me as I am not like this when I was way younger but I’m thankful
I developed this kind of mindset and personality and still trying to know more, I am the kind of
person who cannot take it seeing a messy workspace, desktop and cluttered stuff everywhere. It
directly affects my mind and my mood in accomplishing tasks. To better explain, let’s put an
example. When there is so much clutter, my mind says “You cannot add up more clutter to your
mind when your desk has still so much more”.
This kind of lifestyle also gives us more time to spend with our family and friends, because
the time that we consume in cleaning our homes and workspaces can be converted as our quality
time with them.
One principle that the minimalist lifestyle is also trying to point out is being an outfit
repeater. This is about not hoarding new clothes for your closet, but is about being proud of
choosing the same dress to wear on so many days. No, I’m not saying you should not wash them,
what I am saying is I have seen minimalist people who buy two to five quantities of their same
favorite dress, and use it for a week as an everyday “uniform” for those who do not have
established one at school, company or workplace. This allows us to save more time in choosing
the type of clothes to wear on normal days, as we are already confident in wearing one that we
find comfortable.
As I have noticed, those who practice the minimalist kind of lifestyle are those who are
also practicing the KonMari way of tyding up and are Zero Waste Lifestyle enthusiasts and are
Eco Warriors. These kind of lifestyle teaches us simplicity and being contented with what we have
and who we are as a person. I could say that the minimalist way of lifestyle is helping save the
Momma Earth because our consumerist self is being taught self-control on owning things when
we know, at the end, would have no use and just be put to trash.