Sustainability, Sold
By: Cici Li
Sustainability has been absorbed into consumer culture so seamlessly that it now resembles a luxury lifestyle more than a form of activism.
In the last 8 years, keyword searches about sustainability within the shopping industry have increased around three fold than before. At first glance, this rise in attention—especially as environmental values become more visible to a broad audience—seems promising. However, when sustainability becomes a trend, does it really serve its purpose?
From eco-labels to green buzzwords, environmental responsibility has been reframed into something you can own. Studies show that 62% of people say they “always or often” seek products to purchase because they are sustainable, and that 55% of consumers are willing to pay more for eco-friendly brands. As sustainability becomes a selling point, it increasingly shapes how companies design and market their products. As products with these tags become more popular, their prices increase, and they become more of a luxury.
Green consumerism has given us a false illusion of progress. Customers are buying more products that are “sustainable,” but ultimately, it is just rebranded consumption. It allows consumers to feel responsible while requiring no sacrifices, no discomfort, and no need to slow down. This emotional payoff explains the rising popularity of green consumerism and why it rarely leads to real change.
Part of the appeal of green consumerism also lies in its ability to signal identity. When environmental responsibility is sold, it becomes something proven through purchasing power, functioning as a marker of awareness, morality, and even social status. Environmental responsibility then risks turning into something that can be displayed, excluding low-income communities and shifting responsibility away from corporations and policymakers onto individuals with limited choice.
The most effective forms of sustainability are also the least marketable. Rewearing the same clothing, repairing instead of replacing, and choosing not to buy at all generate little profit. As a result, these practices are often sidelined in favor of solutions that can be branded, advertised, and sold. Yet it is precisely these unremarkable, repetitive actions that reduce demand and challenge the cycle of overconsumption at its core.
Environmental action has been slowed not because people don’t care, but because it has been reshaped to fit comfortably within consumer culture. What we need is a systematic change in purchasing habits and behaviors—changes that reduce demand rather than redirect it. Without restraint, even sustainable consumption reinforces the same systems it claims to resist, and will forever remain a reassuring, marketable, and ultimately ineffective aesthetic.
