Holiday Consumerism: Valentine’s Day Edition

As I walked through the aisles of Target this past weekend, I took note of all the heart-shaped mugs, “love” scented candles, cheap pink plastic decorations, and less-than-fun-sized candy packets. I watched as men hastily threw gifts in their baskets without giving a second thought as to if their girlfriends even asked for or wanted said item. Of course, all of these products are marked up higher than their “normal” counterparts under the fallacy of equating how much you love someone to how high the price tag is.

I stopped and asked myself, when did holidays turn into competitions of who can spend the most money on the cheapest gifts that will inevitably end up in a landfill at the end of the year? According to TheWorldCounts.com, 99% of all of the products the world consumes are discarded within only six months.

With the holiday season finally coming to an end, I’m left to contemplate this past Christmas. My bank records show that I spent over $700 on gifts for others this year, even though I’m a student and work only part-time. However, I am not an anomaly. Many people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds frequently overspend on holiday gifts for loved ones. Every year, people put themselves in a panic searching and scrounging for the perfect present on Amazon, researching “gift guides for him,” and overpacking the local malls. They either pick up gifts that are “good enough” or they overspend on something that the person doesn’t even need.

Corporations thrive on making a quick buck through themed commodification and attractive packaging. Walking through my local department store around any holiday, I notice how the shelves are stocked to the ceilings and to the walls with themed items — sweaters, socks, blankets, stuffed animals, snacks, mugs, jewelry, decorations, cards, wrapping paper, and more.

 All I can ask myself is, “How much of this stuff is actually being bought? Surely there’s no way every item here will be sold within the next couple of weeks. What happens to those items then? Are they just thrown out? Are the people who are buying these items even saving them for next year, or will they discard them immediately after use?”

The potential amount of waste produced by these companies is a staggering thought and it makes me sad to imagine glittery pink, heart-shaped presents in the trash bin this year. Valentine’s Day has sadly become another consumerism-charged holiday, revolving around heart-shaped plastic and expensive price tags.