S01E01: Consumerism in the 21st Century

Our first episode investigates how consumerism is causing many of today’s global economic, social and environmental problems, and how individual livelihoods and national economies are driven by it. As populations, purchasing power and materialism grow, we must confront the biggest challenges – the linear economy, globally interconnected supply chain, depletion of natural resources and fear of missing out. We have tools such as policy and legislation, but we also have to focus on behaviour. And of course, we need to discover – even if that means re-discover – and scale up solutions to make twenty-first century consumption sustainable. This episode sets the tone and content for the series.