Consumer Lifestyle
I believe that there is an increase in Brazilian consumption, I notice that observing the stores that open every time I walk through central areas there was a break on the economic growth at the time of the pandemic, but in the last months of 2021, following some places in my city, I believe that the purchasing power of some is getting stabilized and returning to what it was before. With the holidays it would be no different.
The holidays, which in my perception are the most visible in Brazil, are Carnival and the New Year’s party. Carnival has a huge audience and international visibility, so the commitment to make it is crucial, and with that many end up spending a lot of money to enjoy this holiday, the consumption in this celebration is concentrated in costumes, transportation, lodging and food. All this Carnival dynamic produces tons of waste every year, and this point is not highlighted in the media as a consequence of Carnival, as it is an event that makes a huge contribution to the economy, and thus, we place the economy above the quality of life of the population. There are ways to celebrate this date more consciously, but these are not ideas that are widespread yet. One way to consciously celebrate Christmas is to rescue the symbolism of the date, which is a date to be with the family.
Christmas is a religious date that over time has been transformed into another date for consumption. Christmas has a characteristic of giving to others and thus, leading people to spend their savings on gifts for people close to them, since the current intention is to give gifts not only to family members, but also to people who are special. Within the current view of the world, gifts must be of extreme quality, because when they are not, there is judgment by some people, causing the essence of Christmas to end, since the gifts could be a simple memory for the special person. The New Year’s celebration fits in almost the same way as Christmas, since they are close to the end of the year, the turn of the year means renewal for a lot, and this brings a symbolism that there will be many changes in the person’s life, at this moment there is the opportunity to include new habits that go against consumption, thus, a very strategic date to touch people sentimentally and thus being able to use it as a way to propagate a new way of life.
Many celebrations in Brazil today are totally focused on consumption, I can’t find a way for these dates to propagate conscious consumption. So I don’t think there is, at the moment, a way to reconcile conscious consumption in festive moments, as the population is already quite used to and accommodated with the current form of consumption, so that there is a change it will take a long time. But as mentioned, the New Year serves as a way to try to raise awareness as people.
And finally, as mentioned earlier in the text, holidays in Brazil are largely focused on consumption, the essence of these dates is increasingly left aside so that there are advertisements for products to be purchased during the dates of these celebrations.).
#ProjectMaterialWorld
Developed by Alerrandro Bittencourt, a geography teacher and law student from Nova Iguaçu.
