What Is Underconsumption Core? Experts Explain the Trend Putting Dirty Shoes All Over Your Feed
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Whether it’s the crumbs of eyeshadow left in a makeup palette or bra hooks stretched after years of duress: underconsumption core has no doubt made it to your FYP recently. But if you’re confused about why these seemingly common practices have landed into the “core” part of the lexicon, you’re not alone.
Underconsumption core is a trend where creators celebrate the repurposed and prolonged life of goods in their home (the older or more rundown the better).
“It goes against the dominant consumerist culture but also the dominant influencer culture of lifestyle that has been propped up since the 2000 to 2010’s of influencer culture. In a way, it's to go back to the origin root, or to celebrate the modern American, or modern consumer and how they've been living, which is typically more sustainable than what is being pushed out there,” said Isaias Hernandez, environmentalist and creator behind QueerBrownVegan.
Hernandez cited reusing glassware as plant pots or repurposing family heirlooms as a household example that is “accessible for the general person.” The mindset isn’t anything new, as upcycling goods, clothing, and household products, or repairing them is something many people already do. Now, it’s just repackaged as a trend.
“TikTok pushes out new viral trends every week that I think is going to be forgotten, like we did with ‘de-influencing’ or minimalism and zero-waste and other lifestyles,” said Hernandez. “I think virality is no longer sustainable. Virality doesn't uphold longevity in those practices. I think we have a huge opportunity to really educate consumers around the larger power structures such as the issue with mass production of items.”
The Bigger Picture
A lot is standing in the way of one trend. “There are 80 to 100 billion new clothes produced each year and enormous amounts that are ending up in landfill – I think it's important to put [the underconsumption trend] into perspective,” added Elisa Niemtzow, Vice President of consumer sectors and membership, at management consulting firm Business for Social Responsibility. “Let’s not just say that, ‘Yes, everything's going in this direction, and all new generations and younger generations are going to start consuming less.’ Unfortunately, I'm not sure we're headed in that direction.”
She’s quick to level expectations for the “mini-core trend,” as she called it (underconsumption has some 7,500 hashtagged posts on TikTok). “I think that there are a lot of conflicting movements in the world these days. On the one hand, you have a huge regulatory push, which is mostly affecting companies doing business in Europe with very ambitious regulations that are raising the bar on performance and disclosure from an environmental and human rights perspective. But on the other hand, those regulations are also frustrating for a lot of business executives. [Sustainability] is just not as ‘cool’ as it was – even from a CEO perspective – as it was one or two years ago.”
Despite her concerns, Niemtzow is hopeful. “There's frustration, there are geopolitical concerns that are overshadowing sustainability, and as the economy also weakens, and as the cost of living crisis escalates, people's attention is just sort of drawn away from sustainability, and that's what we have to avoid at all costs – sustainability being seen as something that costs more that is only for the wealthy and rich, even though they have high-impact lifestyles.”
For many Gen Z-ers, sustainability lifestyles could complement healthier financial habits. A July study from Bank of America found Gen Z continues to struggle with building savings and contributing to their retirement with nearly half – or 46 percent – relying on their parents for financial assistance. To merely keep up, they are delaying financial milestones – like buying homes – and trading down their lifestyles. At the same time, Gen Z appears to be more vocal on budgeting preferences and financial boundaries with 63 percent of respondents saying they “do not feel pressured by friends to overspend.”
Taking Power Back
In its essence, influencer culture is a form of network and crowd-based power that never ceases in allure. “Buying less is a very substantial exercise of power,” said Michelle Gabriel, program director of Sustainable Fashion and director of Career Services and Strategic Partnerships at Glasgow Caledonian College in New York City. “[Consumers] are talking of ways to disengage. They are gaining time, space, resources, energy – and money.”
“Whenever we use methods of consumption – which is what social media is – the main purpose overtakes the dialogue. TikTok and Instagram are interested in selling us things and selling our attention. When we are talking about underconsumption or decelerated consumption, we are asking TikTok to operate outside of its best interests.”
Hernandez thinks an aversion to mainstream trends — and labels — is generational. Repackaging it online doesn't take away from the meaning. “Perhaps our generation, or generations of people or consumers in America, don't want to attach themselves to a word, because then they become very scared of doing it wrong," Hernandez says. "I think that we can’t create new terms anymore but create a culture where we don't have to identify ourselves as sustainable."
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
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What Is Underconsumption Core? Experts Explain the Trend Putting Dirty Shoes All Over Your Feed
