By: Elise Kelley

Fort Collins, Colo. — While exploring the downtown area of Fort Collins, Colorado, one might notice the plethora of brightly colored decorations, well-designed landscaping, and bustling sidewalks. The variety of businesses ranging from shopping, business, entertainment, and restaurants, are all designed to appeal to the Fort Collins city-goers.

An amazing consumer aspect of Fort Collins is the availability of sustainable businesses that practice environmentally friendly methods of business, which have a lower environmental impact.

The business of Eco-Thrift offers appliances, clothing, gardening equipment, sporting goods, and furniture all of which are donated from the community and provided to give back to the community. By shopping at businesses like Eco-Thrift, consumers are not succumbing to the addiction of over-consumption but rather focusing on quality products that have less of an environmental impact.

A large issue with the consumer culture of America is that corporations adopt initiatives to entice the consumer to buy products, constantly changing what’s “popular” to increase consumption. However, it is proven that overconsumption makes an individual less happy. Once an individual’s basic needs are met, the more they consume, the more their happiness decreases.

The paradox is that purchasing products provides the consumer with dopamine, however, this dopamine soon wears off as the product does not have its “newness.” Annie Leonard’s “The Story of Stuff” details the results of the consumer as they constantly chase the dopamine rush, yet the more they consume, the less happy they inevitably become.

It is very distinguished that overconsumption diminishes one’s well-being. A way to combat falling into this cycle is for consumers to prioritize quality products and purchase only when necessary or on a special occasion.

The Fort Collins example of Eco-Thrift provides an excellent example of many sustainable shopping options located in Fort Collins. This store does not promote corrupt corporations, benefits the environment, targets quality products, and prevents the consumer from becoming indulged in the toxic cycle of overconsumption.

Corporations target consumers through advertisements that make the consumer feel bad or feel like they are lacking the advertised product. Thus, the consumer concludes that their life will be more fulfilled once said product is purchased. However, this is just a ruse for the corporation to increase profits and personally benefit the consumer.

The consumer, however, benefits from occasional and meaningful purchases. A way to apply this is through ethical consumption. Ethical consumption can be enacted by the consumer to promote more environmentally and socially conscious, by allowing the consumer to be more aware of their impacts, and feeling more in control. Through making individual changes, and taking steps to reduce personal consumption, individuals can fulfill their lives without obsessive consumption.