maggie-s-c-blog

[maggie-s-c-blog]

Humans consume trees like they are an addiction. I don't know about others, but I am quite concerned. 

Sources:

http://caffeinenicotine.com/toni-demuro-illustrator/

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Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. 

Look at how much garbage lurks beneath the surface, and do you know who put it there? We did. Often, we forget that we have been blessed with this Earth, thus we should care for it and not abuse it. 

Please nurture the Earth for the future. By stopping the use of waste packaging that pollutes our planet, we can craft a better world for the years to come. Lets work together and stop waste pollution!

Sources:

http://www.badnima.com/2012/01/just-because-you-dont-see-pollution-doesnt-mean-its-not-there.html

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How much are we willing to give up to fulfill our wants and needs as consumers? Should we let this be the accurate depiction of mankind's mark on this Planet? 

We need change a change in our actions, meaning we need a change in our thoughts. Humans are becoming consuming machines, and private & public companies continuously do all they can to meet our demands. Consumers must realize the impact that their products and services they purchase have on the environment and surroundings around them. We must raise awareness and stop the production, distribution and consumption of harmful goods and services. As citizens of this pretty planet, we must have the will power to control our behaviour for the better; then only will we be able to live a better life in a cleaner, brighter and healthier world.

Sources:

http://weheartit.com/entry/64724165

https://www.causes.com/actions/1733712-no-a-al-minera-canadiense-esperanza-silver

http://lrd.buffalohair-jage.com/2013/09/14/prayers-of-a-grandmother/

http://www.memecenter.com/fun/1903555/animal-footprints 

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The Earth is so fragile. Regardless how small we are, together we can make a big impact on our environment. Our resources are being depleted, the air quality is deteriorating and our Planet is loosing its beauty. Think of it this way, the way we treat our environment is the way we treat ourselves. Help to preserve our environment by making smarter consumer choices!

Sources:

http://www.newtribez.net/photo/1982/what-did-you-do-to-save-the-world-today/

http://www.babble.com/babble-voices/home-work/beyond-the-lorax-controversial-books-for-kids/

http://www.bikeforest.com/what_was_that_bump.php

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Conformity seems to be the trend in today's society; people always desiring to be something or someone else. They constantly change themselves, not to be themselves but rather the typical human being. I do not support this action, in fact I hate the idea of conformity. What is the point in having an individual identity if you are just like everyone else?

I give everyone a challenge, if they choose to accept, to not create a movement, nor follow one, but go in a direction that no one else ever has or ever will. In other words, please be unique. My number one pet peeve is to see everyone around me with similar personalities, all focusing on trying to fit in. We can call this conformity, and our society is so engrossed in trying to conform that we do not realize how much we change ourselves. 

To truly fulfill and create something out of our lives we must stop putting so much value in money. How about we start to change and begin to create a society where no one cares about being the "coolest"or "most popular," and instead focuses on building a distinctive personality. I am not asking to change the world or anyone else, but by changing ourselves we can move one step further into developing a better global community. 

Money will never be stronger than the will to change, therefore do not  let money and the 'things' it could buy stop you from changing yourself into a better person in our ever-changing world!

Sources:

http://canwetalkaboutthat.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/reasonable-service/do-not-conform-fish/ (image)

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Firstly, labour unions are organizations intended to represent collective identities and interests of workers in negotiations with employers over common job concepts like wages, hours and working conditions. The image below explores some for the collective identities of workers, or reasons why they would form a union:

Moving on, we all know that everything has positives and negatives and I would like to discuss a little bit about Unions. In the past, employees working conditions were quite harsh; working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, no holidays, no pay raises, that is if you wanted to continue with the job. However, the power of unions changed all these factors and through the use of labour unions - along with a reasonable system of regulations - workers were able to have a voice. On the other hand, unions may not always understand the business side which is needed to be known to create a levelled playing field between employees and managers. 

Personally, although I do not work yet, I still believe that labour unions should be allowed in society as they give a chance for workers to express their ideas and perspectives of personal matters like wages or hours off. After some further research into this topic I found some details about a proposed labour code that changes some of the health and safety laws.

The proposed legislation would change the health and safety laws that govern the right of workers to refuse unsafe work. Labour unions are particularly concerned with the one of the specific changes. It would give the minister of labour the power to determine (without investigation) whether refusal of work is trivial, senseless or vexatious. This finding could mean an employee is disciplined or even fired. Under the current legislation, if an employee and employer disagree on whether something is safe or not, an investigation by a health and safety officer is required. 

Labour unions support the idea of collective identities, addressing common issues with employees and employers by utilizing collective bargaining; a process of how negotiations of conditions of employment can be conducted. Throughout history, these collective identity groups have brought about change. When talking about employment we refer to the collective social identity that a group shares when interacting with individuals of society. The mutual reinforcement between identity and goals helps to explain the transformative power that collective identity had produced. Without it, our workers may not have a chance to express their thoughts and our community may return to one who does not support the voice of workers and their values. 

Take a look at this image below too!

Refer to the link above for more details and specifics! 

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How wonderful? The products we purchase to sustain ourselves are in return destroying our environment! 

Often we do not realize the effects of producing, distributing and disposing of the products and services we use. Did you ever consider looking at where your new case of plastic water bottles came from, and where the waste would go when your done with them? Many of us disregard the details of how much our products and services are actually harming our lives. Not only is this destroying the environment and the animals living in it, but it has direct detrimental affects to us too! 

Let me explain with a practical example. Imagine the train of the products you purchased in 2013 sent pollutants like C02 in our atmosphere. After another year or two, that train grew bigger and used more energy therefore putting more harmful substances in our air. But this was just your train, what about the other 7 billion individuals living on the same planet? Our environment continues to cry and whine (refer to the tree with a face on the left), while we continue our whims and destroy even more (refer to the back end of the train where the earth is crumbling to pieces). When will this cruelty to our environment stop? 

These consumer trains -full of mostly useless goods- travel around our earth and pollute it day by day, ruining and slowly deteriorating the quality of life of each and every individual living thing. By simply cutting down on our purchases, we can equate to cutting down on the side effects of environmental impacts thus improving the health of the world we live in. Healthier earth equates to healthier living things, and in the end it is a win win situation, directly improving our quality of life!

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If consumerism is meant to be for the uncreative, does this mean that we are all unoriginal? 

Consumerism is growing day after day, and youth in our society have a problem identifying the differences between their wants and needs meaning that their buying power is evidently stronger. Around the world, youth tend to identify with the products or services that they consume in the market. Nowadays, they are often confused and quite gullible, which means that marketers have the opportunity to tap in to their acceptance of our materialistic culture. 

These marketers look into social networks where they can find individuals within a group and understand their values and expressions. We can refer to this as "cool hunting collective identities." By finding teens with collective identities, you can analyze and discover the current "cool" trend. Marketers then have the advantage to capture this trend in youth image, bring it to the market and turn around to sell it back to teens. This everlasting change in the cycle helps to stay up to date with the market and deliver messages that teens want to see in their products and services. 

Today, many teens obtain jobs at younger ages to maintain and fuel their desire of fitting into popular culture through the use of their disposable incomes. 

Music is something that nearly all teens are into, and the comic above explores the idea of how particular teens express their passions. In our current community, self expression is done through purchases and requires money, although I like the way this comic put it: Consumerism is self-expression for the uncreative as we are very well capable of expressing ourselves without it.

http://the-realm.tumblr.com/post/11439024420/consumerism-is-self-expression-for-the

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I whole-heartedly agree with brendonh18, humans can be quite cruel to animals and the environment for the sole benefit of themselves. Sometimes it is hard to believe, but often it is quite true that our worlds worst enemy could be us (humans) itself. If human beings are more considerate of their surroundings, maybe this particular evolution of consumerism can stop. Do we really need those snake skin boots, that real wool coat? Is it worth sacrificing the lives of innocent animals to obtain these needless wants? We must consider what we value more, the life on earth or fulfilling our superfluous wants. Thanks for the amazing share brendonh18!

This videos really shows how cruel humans can be to animals just to make products and sell them. Lots of stores do things like this man has done in this video just so they can make money. We buy these products without even knowing where they came from, this also shows that people are willing to do anything to make money even if it means killing thousands of animals. I really think at the end where the aliens came added a lot of emphasis to the video and how we think, because what if all of a sudden another species started killing us and using our body parts for clothing or any kind of product!

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"We have become a nation that places a lower priority on teaching its children how to thrive socially, intellectually and even spiritually, than it does to train them to consume." ~ Juliet Schor | author, Born to Buy

Imagine walking into a huge City Center Mall, where business is constant and stores are always filled with shoppers. After walking pass the mall's entrance you notice the large banners hung across the front reading "Find What Defines You." Alongside these banners, inviting words and images of popular individuals surround you convincing cheap but attractive solutions to your life's problems. Falling into the trap, you take the invitation and walk inside. 

By the time you enter, you have been struck by flashing colours and large logos. Positioned above every store are the signs that violently grab your attention, and for a few seconds your stare is fixed on each and everyone. 

This is what runs through every children's mind when they walk into advertisement drowned places like malls. Young children's eyes are always attracted to bright colours, therefore marketers utilize these strategies to gain more attention. It proves that since we are born we have the bug of consumerism implanted in our brains. Can this ever change? 

Since birth in this consumer generation, we have began to form a collective identity speaking to the shared sense of belonging to a society believing that materialistic goods are essential. They provide a better quality of life and improve our standards of living too, as we evolve into attaining more and more stuff. We are particularly attached to this side of our identity, and minute by minute people continue to join this group. The average consumer is easily manipulated by marketing powers, believing that they have no identity unless they buy the products that inevitably personify them. On the other hand, we could also be building on our personal and collective identity - including that of marketing forces - by dictating what goods and services are produced and available to us. 

From what I understand, our greed is driving this force of consumption, and market forces are fuelling it. As we may have heard before the things we own end up owning us, whereby we believe that the things we own will liberate us and provide us with more or better opportunities, but our possessions eventually start to control our behaviour and emotions. 

We mustn't feed the disease of overconsumption to our younger ones, because they create our future. By stopping this trend now, we may have a better, cleaner and brighter future!

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This is an image originally created for Buy Nothing Day, but I believe it can fit into our daily lives. Many of the people in this new generation believe that materialistic goods define them, meaning that they will continue to buy expensive brands that label each and every one of their products. If we prove to them that the true definition of an individual comes from their inner identity and what they value, it may be possible to change their preformed mindset. Yes, I agree that I could be hypocrite at times as I too have many brand products in my home, but this does not go to show that I think these brands define me. Honestly, I am not even sure why I purchase brands sometimes. One concept that I believe is that most brands have a particular "trust" behind them. If so many individuals purchase their products, they must keep themselves at a certain standard. Anyways, maybe my mindset needs a change as well. I will take part in the movement underway where we can prove that it is possible to own less and live more. Then, its our job to transform others; and since advertising seems to work, maybe that is the next step.

http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/toolkit.html

[maggie-s-c-blog]

The current definition of consume. Oh my, what has our world come to. Instead of raising children, we are raising consumers. This generation and generations to come will destroy, exhaust, annihilate, devour, finish, squander, devastate, deplete, overwhelm and waste everything.

Source:

http://hateandanger.wordpress.com

[maggie-s-c-blog]

What does it take to be cool?

Be original.

Yes, your friends may have those UGG boots and everyone around you may have an iPhone, but don't you want to be unique. The definition of unique is to be one of a kind; unlike anything else, meaning your special. Those branding products do not define you, and therefore they do not make you special! Join me in a revolution to be unique, to be ourselves. :)

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Regardless how "weird" the product may be, we as consumers will always buy it. Consumers are always looking for the new 'hottest' product from the most expensive or well-known brand, and though some may look for quality, most look for popularity. Are you going to continue with the trend society follows, or are you going to be unique? 

Personally, I believe everyone should have their own identity and have their own choices of what they want to buy. Someday, I wish that each and everyone will have their own opinions and their own sense of fashion, because that is what makes all of us different; it makes us unique!

Sources:

http://www.ngeeks.com/en/2018-apple-releases-a-blender/

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Ka-Ching by Shania Twain is a song centred around consumerism. In the beginning of this song, we are bombarded with the sound of cash registers, but honestly that is kind of like reality. Within the lyrics, it continuously criticizes that the world we live in now is very materialistic and is always thinking in gaining or obtaining more and more. I love the way leahmatt77 phrased it: The lyrics of this song clearly do define our society. 

In the chorus Shania mentions a few times "You'll live like a king," but we must ask ourselves if deep inside we will live happy that way? Regardless the amount of "stuff" we have, or how much money we spent to attain it, was it worth it?

This song is called Ka-ching and it’s by Shania Twain. All the lyrics in this song clearly define our society. We spend just for fun and when we have no more money we find a way to get more to buy more things, whether it’s taking out a loan or getting a mortgage on your home.  

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"Most of the environmental issues we see today can be linked to consumption." ~ Gary Gardner. 

To me, this is not that big of a surprise. In our modern society we take everything for granted. In the past, we valued luxuries if we met our basic needs (referring to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs), however globalization is changing our definitions of these terms. Items that were previously considered luxuries (telephones, cellphones, computers, air conditions) are now viewed as necessities. As a society we are nearly eroding our environment away. Together, we must take better precautions if we want to live happily on this planet. 

Speaking about happiness, studies prove that consumerism does not make us any happier. Increased consumerism evidently comes at a high price; people are incurring debt and working long hours to pay for their consumption oriented lifestyles, consequently spending way less time with their families and friends proving that their quality of life is degrading. Imagine, a man spends 8 hours each day to attain the money needed to pay for goods and services. This means that he only has a few more hours to spend until the night rolls along, by which the next day this cycle will continue. Would you want to live a life like this? Consider your values and if family and friends is more important than materialistic goods. 

Take a look into this link if your interested. Trust me, it is very eye-opening and reveals the truth of how we are suffering as a community with consumerism taking over our lives.  

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I love how this website phrased it: the economy is judged by the production and selling of goods. This is a great link to learn about some of the basic effects of consumerism, speaking from both sides of positive and negative. However, this link explored just Western societies. It mentioned that consumerism is appreciated in Western economies as a person's standard of living is viewed by his or her material possessions; in other words, the quality of life of Western societies is based on the materialistic goods they have. Personally, I feel that societies here in North America are revolved around the same cycle of purchasing, using and replacing. Yes, it may help to grow economy and the increased production will result in more employment opportunities but is it necessary?

It is a fact that we need to purchase and consume to live in this world, we cannot break out of this cycle now, but do you believe we could think smarter? Check out this link for further details, its time for us to change our mindsets as consumers and begin to think smarter!