David Report

issue 9/April 2008

I shop therefore

I am
YOUR PATHFINDER INTO THE FUTURE
”In the future luxury goods
will be methods that bring
us back the power of our
own attention: the power
to choose ourselves what
we want to notice or not.
And there lies the true
luxury of the future, to be
able to resist shopping
and still be happy.”
Sante Poromaa
Our keynote
Foreword To clear out and throw things away can create new, posi-
tive energy. Sean Penn’s new film “Into the wild” is about
Today more and more people question the current con- a person who goes away into the wilderness as a protest
sumption hysteria. It is clear that everything is getting against materialism and social hypocrisy and as a way
cheaper - seen to production. At the same time we can to find insight and an existential truth. Perhaps it is not
see consumption in future super powers such as Brazil, necessary to go that far, but maybe it’s time to divide our
India and China veritably exploding. The consumption of consumption into good and bad consumption?
the growing middle class. And what is so strange about
that? Nothing at all, it is perfectly normal as those deve- It would be simplistic to think that we can discard con-
loping countries today has access to the same, interna- sumption completely. But we do have the opportunity to,
tional view of the world as everyone else - a world full of through our consumption and our choices, create a better
products and services. world (one mustn’t forget that the power of the consumer
is enormous). It is all about WHAT we buy and WHAT we
Everything in our society is based upon the idea that con- choose to invest in, the world we live in will be the result
sumption should be as easy as possible. ...”money makes of those choices. There is a difference between shopping
the world go round...”. We take instantaneous loans via our and shopping. There’s both cool and uncool consumption.
cellphones and not many minutes of our lives passes by
without some kind of commercial message. The mes- One can also put an ethical value in consumption. Is it
sage is that we become happy buy buying, buying, buying. right to consume as a hobby when 800 million people go
Often we even consume just for the sake of consuming. to bed hungry? As you see in this issue of David Report
As leisure and a way to pass time. Unfortunately our con- we want to highlight consumption from different point of
sumption participates in filling our refuse dumps as well views; both ethical, social, political, economical and huma-
as polluting and using up resources. Things, stuff, gad- nistic. Consumption is not black or white even though it’s
gets, widgets, devices; our homes and our lives are more often debated is if it is. Each and every person of course
than full. Up until now it has not been an exaggeration to has the right to satisfy his or her basal needs such as nu-
say “the one who has the most things when he dies wins”. tritious food and a roof over their head. That is fundamen-
tal justice and equality for everyone on planet earth. But
But the power of consumption is being questioned and then what? Are there moral aspects as well that needs to
there’s a change in attitude and way of life. A suitable ex- be taken into consideration? Follow us!
pression for the future could be “the one with most insight
when he dies wins”. Many are realizing that the power of
consumption is stopping us from finding true and sincere
happiness; and that shopping often works as a substitute
for something that we’re missing in life.

Illustration by Martin Sandström

What is consumption then?

The word ”consume” often has a negative and fleeting

connotation and the digital encyclopaedia Dictionary.com
describes it as ”use up, to spend wastefully, to destroy”.
Thus the opposite of consumption would be to create,
save, make and build.

To only assess consumption from encyclopaedias or op-

posites is therefore incorrect, because it would show only
its negative sides. Or what about the current happenings
with the American bank Bear Stearn and its collapse this
spring, due to risky lendings to consumption; ”use up, to
spend wastefully, to destroy”...

But to consume is at the same time something positive.

We consume restaurant visits, theatre shows, travels,
education and so forth. Many enriching and life enhancing
experiences springs from consumption. To use the word
destroy about a wonderful travel, a magical concert or a
university degree would be quite wrong.

Consumption is quite simply both positive AND negative,

from different aspects.
Our consumption cocktail (stirred, not shaken)

Production behind consumption

Behind consumption there is production. Who runs and “I have always believed that one of the tools of indi-
who is run? Are companies speeding up development vidual empowerment given each and everyone of us
towards creating a global sustainable society populated upon birth or immigration into an economically liberal
by happy people, or do they just want us to exchange our democratic society is the power of the political vote, but
belongings in a faster rate so they’ll make more money? equally important is the power of the ‘economic vote’.
Consumption is needed to keep companies alive. Con- Each and every dollar (or euro or whatever) we spend
sumption is also needed to keep our earth alive. To be- on a product or service is a vote for (or against) the
lieve anything else is naive. The pattern of our consump- process, quality, belief system or form of what we buy.
tion is however changing. Many people think twice before Every dollar we spend is a vote - you use what you buy
accepting the companies invites. The carefully made up to empower what you believe in!”
aura that each company wants to surround themselves This free will comes with a responsibility and an obli-
with is slowly fading. We, the consumers, don’t believe in gation, that goes for both consumers and producers.
the messages anymore, we are questioning their dream In an ideal world the teamwork between the two goes
worlds and we’re turning anti-brand and anti-logo. We’re smoothly. Today however we must unfortunately say that
looking for something more, something authentic and companies often lack knowledge of the market, the sur-
real. We want transparency. We want relations with aware rounding world and of the future. More of them must put
producers. energy into this. In many cases they also lack knowledge
of strategical and tactic design decisions. This is not
Herein lies a new chance for companies to win market
good as companies to a large degree affect our choices
shares. Perhaps through a new form of social responsibi-
and our consumption. Many are unfortunately also blasé
lity, by being more sustainable and socially conscious than
and choose simple, short term profitable ways. They are
what companies in general have been before? Qualities
simply not able go all the way. Because smart design and
that slowly are growing into hygiene factors. The chal-
innovation doesn’t come easily. It takes time. It takes a big
lenge is for companies to keep up if they’re to survive in
the future. But we’re not talking about idealism. The com- and serious effort to develop products that actually can
panies are offered a chance to capitalize from peoples change our world. But mass produce crap products could
wishes to do the right thing and conceptualize sustaina- any deadpan do....
bility and social responsibility and use it as ”competitive
weapons”. It is first when companies see the opportunity
to make money that real change will be made - that’s the
name of the game.
If we as consumers demand better products (and aware
producers) we will get it, sooner or later. In our market
ruled world changes are made fast if they concern con-
sumption patterns. No matter if it’s a pro-social entrepre-
neurship or strictly a business initiative we have only seen
the beginning of this development.

Conscious consumption

The relation between producers and consumers is

important when consumerism is discussed. The “poor”
consumers are often portrayed as victims in relation to
the exploiting companies. We are however all equipped
with a free will and we all contribute. No one is really
more of a victim than anyone else. Therefor our choices
are important.
The architect and designer Tim Power has described the
power our money provides us with like this;
Makeover consumption

When the outside world feels unsafe our home becomes We on David Report grew up in the seventies, a very po-
the safe haven we all seek, miss and need. To decorate litical decade. The influence of fashion was debated and
our home therefor becomes more and more important strongly questioned. In an exhibition called “The fashion
to a growing group of people. It is no longer just a small carousel” from 1976, this comparison was made between
crowd of people who put time and money into their ho- fashion and interior design; “imagine if...we threw out all
mes, today “everyone” is interested in interior design. We of our furniture and bought new each year just because
discuss sofas, curtains and cushions in staff rooms and the old ones were out of fashion”. This was a dystopia
at dinner parties. We paint, change lighting and put zesty thirty years ago but now we’ve reached that point! In the
design objects on our windowsills. seventies the consumption hysteria had not yet come into
our homes.
On David Report we’re getting tired and bored of inte-
rior magazines and their reportage’s on identical homes. Is this constant change of colours and furnishings a new
How much styling can a home take? How many times middle class phenomena or could it even be a new phe-
should one exchange the furniture, the colour of the walls nomena of the working class?
and wallpaper before one is satisfied and at peace? It is That is perhaps a provocative statement but we would like
an enormous restlessness that is exposed here. A race to state that we see the contours of a new class system
where the mass medial hunt for the latest new product where the privileged and well off buy environmentally
(just for the sake of being new) drives consumers to buy friendly, durable and regionally produced goods while your
new. Is it when it comes down to it a meaningless hunt average Joe is busy with lavish and irresponsible spen-
for the newest thing, a race that in the long run has no ding on goods “made in China”.
winner? Do we really need another chair? One thing is High prices and inaccessibility are probably partly the
certain, we’re living in a true makeover culture. reasons to this.
It is a true challenge for producers to to make sustainable
Unfortunately this new interest for interior design isn’t
design, furnishings, food and fashion inclusive as opposed
always very responsible. Our homes are filled with things
to exclusive, as it is today.
that we do not really need. We are restless and buy more
We should all do our best and be a part in the process
and more cheap products of bad quality. Things with a
of turning this negative spiral of todays wear and tear
short life span, both in design and material.
society around.
At the same time we throw away functioning things.
Whatever happened to container finds and thrift stores?
Products that could be given a new life and in that way
save resources. The designer Satyendra Pakhale nails
the problem when he says; “we can’t afford to buy cheap
things”.

In an attempt to be considered trendy and hip people con-

stantly turn to new, short lived trends. Unfortunately that
does not signal awareness but the complete opposite.
“Over consumption is no longer a sign of success” as
Chris Sanderson of Future Laboratory in London recently
commented the current consumption hysteria. We agree.
Some quick calls proved that many of the friends of David
Report no longer feel satisfied by big cars, flashy watches
or a constantly new wardrobe. Because it gives the wrong
signals. We don’t want to be consuming goofs, we want
to be considered aware and responsible. The group force
is hence an important ingredient in our choices regarding
shopping. The traditional device of our consumption so-
ciety “more is always better”, which tells us we can never
be happy or satisfied is, to some people, changing into a
more aware thought - “less is more”.
Every generation laughs
at the old fashions, but
follows religiously the
new. Henry David Thoreau
Our interview

The work of Mathilda Tham include trend forecasting,

fashion and sustainable issues. Mathilda has also been
working with design, pr and marketing. Mathilda Tham
works as professor at Beckmans college of design in
Stockholm and teaches about eco-design at Goldsmith
college in England.

How many pieces of clothing that we never use

hang in our wardrobes?
Only about 40% of the clothes in our wardrobes are ’ac-
tive’ - the rest are not in use

You have been talking about a “subscription ser-

vice”, is it a possible solution to the problem with
spontaneous shopping?
A subscription service cater to our desire for fast fashion, Mathilda Tham
instead of buying for example a party top that will only be
worn one or two nights out, we could rent it. The environ-
mental gain from this would be less material in circulation,
and energy and water savings as all clothes could be bulk
washed instead of washed by individuals at home. The
fashion company would make money on a service instead
of a product and the user could enjoy fast fashion with a Could it be that it is sometimes a waste of resour-
good conscience ce to create fashion/clothes of high quality when
we’ll only use it shortly anyway?
How come clothes shopping is often portrayed as Durability is an often favoured environmental strategy, ho-
especially sinful? wever, in the case of for example fashion clothes - which
Fashion epitomises general tendencies in society - such are not discarded because they they no longer work in a
as our bulimic relationship to objects, and disassociation material sense, appropriate rather than long lifetimes is
from the reality of people making our products, and the better to strive for.
natural habitat. Yet fashion is not only ’bad’. Fashion offers For example, if a top is only going to be worn for a couple
a highly creative means of expression, and a means for of times before it ends up in a bin somewhere, producing
making a living for millions of people. it from fine organic cotton is a waste. Instead it is wiser to
use resources that may be slightly inferior in quality, but
As a consumer what should one do if one wants to are already in the loop.
shop clothes in awareness?
More sustainable fashion choices include choosing Is there a difference between the terms fashion
organic cotton, buying second hand clothes, only buying and clothes?
favourite clothes and washing less. Fashion and clothes are different, although they often
coincide. Clothes operate on a material level - to keep us
Which road should the fashion industry take; try- warm, and shelter us against wind and sun. Fashion ope-
ing to make existing materials more sustainable rates on a symbolical level - we use it to communicate, to
(such as organic cotton) or invent completely new, express individuality or group belonging. When we discard
synthetical materials? a fashion item, it is not because it is threadbare, but be-
The fashion industry needs to address environmental cause it has ceased to communicate what we want it to.
issues at both product and systems levels. In terms of
products, the conversion from convention to organic We seek inner satisfaction through outer objects.
cotton is one major change, however keeping synthetic Is this statement true also for clothes? What is it
materials in the loop, such as recycling PETbottles into that we’re looking for?
fleece is also important. Additionally, we need to look at Fashion works on several levels. Through the use of
new, resource efficient, renewable and biodegradable fashion we seek novelty, a sense of belonging to a parti-
materials - corn starch, soy protein. cular group, or to differentiate ourselves.
Psychological/sociological consumption

As we mentioned in the introduction text shopping seems

to function more and more as a substitute for something
that we lack in life. Is it happiness? Because in that case
we must ask ourselves if it’s possible to buy happiness;
does material things make us happy?
No, there are no studies that shows that. Consumption
does not contribute to a higher standard of life. The For many consumption becomes an addiction. Therefore
question is if only a good economy and a high material it is important to give oneself time to reflect upon ones
standard of life has made anyone happy? Possibly it com- life. To not forget that there is something even more
forts briefly and gives a higher sense of self or relief from important. Something bigger. To be able to do the things
anxiety, like an expensive drug. you love and are passionate about; to spend time with
the family, to have the opportunity to be by yourself (how
A classical psychological symptom is also reflected in our often does that happen?), to enjoy nature, eat and drink
shopping, humans are group animals and will do anything well in the company of good friends, enjoy art and poetry.
to stay in their group. To be excluded means death and Everything is of course individual but the common factor
to avoid being excluded people do what all other people of all these things is TIME. This fleeting object that most
are doing, in this case shop! Don’t be different, look like people feel they have too little of. The possibility to be
everyone else, do like everyone else etc. This is especi- in the present, to find balance and harmony. Appreciate
ally difficult in Scandinavia where we have Jante (http:// what we have and not feel pressured to constantly strive
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jante_Law) on one shoulder and for something new.
Luther (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther) on
our other. The ones of us here on earth fortunate enough not having
to worry about surviving can instead focus on living, and
Dalai Lama means that we need an inner peace before then take it one step further and start experiencing. What
we can be happy about outer assets and conditions. This is to each and everyone to decide for themselves.
also means that if one has this inner quality one has the
ability to live happily even without many of the things that, Our contributor Sante Poromaa, teacher at the Zenbudd-
according to some, are the traditional conditions for hap- hist Society in Stockholm has some interesting view on
piness; big cars, bling and branded clothing. this on the following pages.
Our Zen-Buddhist friend says:

By Sante Poromaa, teacher at the Zenbuddhist Society

in Stockholm.

To enjoy what you are doing

Hedonism is the answer to the question how to live life

“to it’s fullest degree”, to search for pleasure and avoid
discomfort. To do only what pleases us and in that way
fill our lives with maximal pleasure. Hedonism today lives
as the ruling religion in our secularised societies. Just as
before hedonists today seek to shape their life and spend
their time so that each moment will be as comfortable,
pleasurable and joyful as possible. Since we no longer
believe in higher powers and a predetermined world there
is not much left but to enjoy each moment as if it was the
last. “After us the Deluge!”

But the difference between the hedonist of the past and

those of today is worth to reflect upon. The image of a he-
donist in ancient Greece is perhaps the one of a person,
laying on a daybed, sipping a good wine and listening to
divine music. The hedonist of today however, has not time
for that. He’s rushing ahead in a fast car, listening to his
MP3 player while talking on his cellphone.

Today we’ve convinced ourselves that the more we can

fit into the moment, the more meaningful it becomes. Our
simultaneous capacity is stretched to it’s fullest and in our
inner sphere numerous different voices now live, fighting
for space. We want to do so much, see so many things,
live so much more. SMS, MMS, Java and Bluetooth. DVD
and MP4. They’re all fighting for a place in our inner
sphere, now known as MySpace.com. Our inner sphere,
the place where we are free and present, lucid and atten-
tive has been occupied by demons fighting a war for our
attention. Most of these demons come from the special
hell known as the Market. Sante Poromaa

The truth is that modern life demands a lot more from

us than we have time for. The only solution is to do many
things at once, to pay attention to many different voices at
the same time. The effect of this “multitasking” is a sense At the same time this extreme disruption has had another
of disharmony, or what the writer Saul Bellow described effect as well. It has made us bored. We can’t stand long
as “an unbearable state of distraction”. This state of pieces of music anymore but prefer “classical favourites
disharmony is perhaps the most distinguishing feature of in short version”. While watching films from the fifties
our time. and sixties we feel an almost subconscious urge to
The feeling of having too many forces fighting for our fast forward through the “dead time”. Impatience and a
attention and demanding something of us is causing disability to do nothing is the result. We all, compared to
more and more of us to live with a constant feeling of not older generations, suffer from attention disorders. In other
“having enough time”. As if everything was going faster words we have become addicted to our own simultaneous
and faster. The paradoxical effect of trying to fit more life capacity and constantly demand new impressions, just as
into each moment is that we never seem to be quite in it a junkie needs his fix. In the fifties, before television, an
ourselves, the moment we want to enjoy is the place and entire family could sit at home and listen to the radio. Just
time where we are not. “Life is what happens while ma- listen. Without cleaning or talking on the phone or play
king other plans” John Lennon sang. Life goes on while video games at the same time. Just sit silently and listen.
we are someplace else.

Shinkansen railway in Japan

Nowadays we rarely give something our full attention.
We may give the radio twenty or thirty percent, hardly
more. It is more and more common that we call so-
meone to talk and hear how the person on the other line
is simultaneously tapping on their keyboard, perhaps
answering mails or just surfing. Radio producers today
are of course aware of this disharmony and no longer
communicate with us as adults, intelligent and indepen-
dent individuals. Instead they’re fooling around and be-
ing silly, preferably as loud as possible since they know
that that is the only way to catch at least a fragment of
our attention.

Conclusively one can say that our modern hedonism and

shopping frenzy has given our lives, not more life, but
these side effects: we have become disharmonious and
stressed. We have lost touch with our inner clarity. We
have lost our ability to concentrate and are easily bored.
We’re practically never completely present. And the
things that are supposed to entertain and feed our minds
- books, theatre, music, movies have become shallower
and louder, less serious. The finer shades of life has
been lost. Our inner, mental room has been sold to the
market forces. The consumption demons runs our lives.
We are the losers.

Zen masters have a completely different idea of how to

live life. In Zen we admit that the moment is all we have.
To a Zen master the present isn’t a piece of time in bet-
ween the past and the future - there to be filled with as
many “experiences” as possible. It is instead “an eternal
spring”, an infinite place outside of what we call time and
space.

Release from sufferance and dissatisfaction is, accor-

ding to this ancient wisdom, about learning how to live
consciously. To live consciously is to live now. Not by
filling the moment with more but by being completely
present. Not to constantly divide our minds and chase
after only that which gives us pleasure, but learning how
to find pleasure in what one does. In the future it is the-
refor likely that more and more people willingly will give
up shopping. Choose to live simple, or at least avoid the
excess. Not because of an ascetic wish for self-sufferan-
ce, but from realising that happiness cannot be bought.
How much is
enough?
 Our consumption anecdote
by Heinrich Böll:

An American businessman was standing at the pier of a

small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just
one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were seve-
Decreased consumption ral large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the
Mexican on the quality of his fish.

An international movement about Downshifting (in the US “How long it took you to catch them?” The American
also known as Voluntary Simplicity) is growing rapidly. It asked.
is about taking control over one’s life and not following
the stream. Freedom. Decrease consumption, work less “Only a little while.” The Mexican replied.
and have more leisure time - about not detouring through
money to live a happy life. Inner peace and fulfilment over “Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”
wealth, status and power. The trend expert Faith Popcorn The American then asked.
describes this trend like this; “It’s not about coping out,
or dropping out or selling out. It’s cashing in the career “I have enough to support my family’s immediate needs.”
chips you’ve stacked up all these years and going so- The Mexican said.
mewhere else to work at something you want to do, the
way you want to do it”. “But,” The American then asked, “What do you do with
the rest of your time?”
The five core values of Downshifting are: economical
awareness, material simplicity, self sufficiency, small- The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little,
scaliness and personal development. In other words they play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria,
are quite similar to the values of the Slow Food and Slow stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and
City movements. On David Report we try as far as pos- play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life,
sible to choose the smart life. To be able to stroll down to senor.”
the ocean and dip our toes in the water when we feel like
it. Or to cut the roses in the garden. Spend time with our The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could
children every day instead of keeping them in kindergar- help you. You should spend more time fishing and with
ten. Dare to move away from the current norm. Dare to go the proceeds you buy a bigger boat, and with the pro-
our own way, based on our own philosophies. Life is far ceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats,
too short to be wasted. It is really just a question of taking eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.”
control over our situation. To be aware of how we live.
Simple to say, more difficult to live by... “Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would
sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your
The Downshifting-movement does not tell us we should own can factory. You would control the product, proces-
stop consuming all together, that would be like stop eating sing and distribution. You would need to leave this small
while on a diet, you couldn’t survive. But perhaps it’s pos- coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA
sible to share the car and the lawn mower with the neigh- and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding
bour. Or perhaps even borrow things from each other and enterprise.”
at the same time gain a social contact. We mustn’t forget
that besides from costing money consumption also steals The Mexican fisherman asked, “But senor, how long will
time. The average American spends six hours per week this all take?”
shopping. On top of this material managing is another
side effect of our consumption. To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”

In Sweden parents that live together has increased their “But what then, senor?”
income with approximately thirty percent over the last
thirteen years, inflation disregarded. Hence we could, if The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part.
we went back to the standard of life we had in 1995, have When the time is right you would announce an IPO (Ini-
thirty percent more leisure time, in principle. tial Public Offering) and sell your company stock to the
public and become very rich, you would make millions.”
The Downshifting-movement is sometimes criticised for
being elitist as many of its followers are well educated “Millions, senor? Then what?”
middle class people. You have probably read articles
about people quitting top jobs in the business world The American said slowly, “Then you would retire. Move
because they feel they’ve lost control of their lives. But it to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep
can also be as simple as choosing to work from home ins- late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with
tead of from nine to five in an office. Life is about making your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you
choices, aware economy or shop til you drop? could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos…”
Future consumption

The goal is not the most important thing, it’s the me- Perhaps we shall also buy fewer but better products, aim
ans to get to it. We shall not quit consuming, but begin for quality (both in material and design)? True sustai-
to consume in a new, more aware fashion. To take nability is achieved first when we keep the things that
responsibility through shopping is the way to do it. we buy. It could because we’ve become emotionally
Regardless if we base our decisions on intellectual or connected to them, because they’re special and has a
sentimental values how we consume will clearly state special meaning to us or because we saved up to be
which social class we belong to. Today we can detect able to buy them, or perhaps even that they were difficult
a similar change in our consumption patterns as we’ve to get by. If we still want to get rid of them it is important
earlier seen with smoking (remember the glamour that that the products can be given away or put back on the
surrounded smoking just a few decades ago) or over- market, preferably unaltered to save material and energy.
weight (half a century ago it was a sign of success to be Defenders of consumption are however not the least
fat - the picture of an overweight director). worried about the social and environmental problems
caused by our consumption. Their motivation being that
In the future consumption will be more about experienc- innovation and new technical solutions will save us.
es and services than things. What do you think?
There is always a stop somewhere, the strong gene-
ration of the forties, with a big purchasing power, who As thinking individuals we also have a responsibility to
had nothing as children and grew up in a constantly make sure the people who produce the goods we buy
ascending conjuncture and hence could buy everything! are paid properly, and that they live in an environment not
They are decreasing. This generation and earlier are/ destroyed by the production. Today people love price
were very possessive and materialistic. Today the world hunting. But we nee to think twice before buying a three
looks very different. The importance of owning is slowly euro t-shirt in a low price store. A product that cheap
turning into the importance of experiencing. It may be cannot be produced in a way that is okay. And what
looked upon as an escape from a turbulent world (pos- does the notion cheap mean? The thing that at the mo-
sessions can be lost but memories are for ever) as well ment can be obtained for a small amount of money may
as the natural order. There is always a reaction to an very well turn out to be very expensive, in the long run.
action. And the action of that generation was buying, Both because of it’s effect on the environment and your
owning, buying, owning… wallet, as you will have to buy it again and again. That is
the reason to why it’s often better to aspire to buy pro-
Traditional luxury consumption, as we define it now, ducts that are priceworthy, instead of just cheap ones.
will not provide the same status in the future as it does Yvonne McArthur describes her thoughts about this in
today. If one seeks attention money is better spent (if you her blog; “The more I knew about the consequences of
necessarily need to spend them) on something useful. our rampant consumerism and global economic expan-
Something that will benefit many people. Perhaps in the sion, the more it made me feel totally insignificant and
future giving will be more important than having. Are the completely overwhelmed. How could I, as an individual,
companies, who survive on our consumption, prepared make a difference?”
for this transition?
“Life is what happens
while making other
plans”John Lennon
Our strategist friend says:

Kristina Dryza is a trend forecaster whose exposure to

global consumer trends and cultural knowledge leads her
to bring the experiential and forward looking aspects of
design to the projects. She recently started KRLT studio,
a conceptual design studio based in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The first products from the studio is a luxury fashion col-
lection based on the regional heritage.

The best lifestyle accessory:

mindful presence

Sometimes with our purchases we seek fulfillment, other

times authenticity, and at other moments, knowledge.
When we’re in pure acquisition mode it’s just about ‘get-
ting the stuff’. Dependent on our mood whilst consuming,
we can be in an authoritative state and so demand proven
and recognised sources and services, or we can be in a
meditative state, and so want our purchases to bring us
greater emotional wellbeing.

More and more consumers are becoming increasingly

inquisitive with their purchasing power and are demanding
to know the provenance of products. Today, a silent ques-
tion of ‘what is the process of this product having come
before me?’ is very common. These inquisitive consumers
have such a strong comparative awareness, so are always
demanding the back-story of products as they’re so well
versed in the power of the first person narrative.

Being a connoisseur, learning about products - going

above and beyond - to find out the nuances of a product’s
details, as well as being able to regale a product’s
timelines and history means the quest for knowledge is
sometimes more important than the product.

Knowledge of subject is key. More and more consumers

want to be experts in the food they eat and the places
they go. ‘Insider tips’ take on greater importance as this
group want (and need) to know about special products
and destinations. For those at the top of the consumption
pyramid, conversational currency and access - something
money can’t buy - take on an even greater value.
Discerning consumers also want quality at all levels - both
of life and of products and services. They have the time
and money to be discriminating and informed. Those in
the west who don’t have to worry about shelter and food,
are seeking choices that help them live better, rather than
have more. They are seeking the best from life. Not just
the best product choice. Their desire for personal enrich-
ment and value connected sensations goes beyond a
commodity.

For these consumers luxury is a state of mind. It is not a

designer handbag. But for many, luxury (in all its various
guises and meanings) has become an expected tangible
byproduct of consumption. For those free from obligation,
luxury as such, is all about a way of life - a style of living.
These consumers define value on their own terms and
have intrinsic, individually ascertained value systems. They
have defined their own success criteria, rather than fol-
lowing the ones placed on them by society.

These consumers have a sophisticated lifestyle palate,

so for them the personal touch becomes increasingly
important. They want engaging, exclusive, emotional,
personal experiences. Their desire for experience is
often greater than their desire for product. As a matter
of course, they expect brands to deliver the ’end to end’
experience, and to understand them as individuals. For
this consumer group, it’s crucially important to be known,
and to be understood. Just think of the lyrics from the
TV sitcom Cheers: ‘where everybody knows your name’.
Therefore the staff that cater to this consumer segment
have to be charm personified - a million fold.

Luxury brands are very good at selling us ‘parts’ of the

luxury lifestyle: first class travel, bespoke fragrances, and
atelier worthy chocolate creations. But by accumulating
all the parts, we believe they’ll somehow fit into a perfect
whole. But in reality, the whole is the beginning. It has
to be the starting point. Otherwise you’re trapped in the
vicious cycle of always needing the next ‘part’. You’re star-
ting with incompleteness - so it always feels like there’s a
piece missing. The whole must be - and is - the sense of
self from whence the journey begins.

Consumers in emerging markets though want to know

‘what’s next’ and new, and spend their time franticly
acquiring tangible material milestones. The luxury expe-
rience for them is derived from the possession.
But the question to ask is: do our purchases fulfill us?
Well yes, sometimes they can. But not always. And they
shouldn’t - and can’t - always fill us up emotionally. There
have to be other things in our lives that we turn to (as
well as looking within) that give us the experience of ap-
preciating our true selves. The trick is to be content with
what you have. Nothing more, nothing less. The ‘having
more’ usually doesn’t give you that much more extra life
enjoyment anyway. It’s through pausing and taking time
for self reflection (as we spend so much of our lives going
through the motions) that we remember the true joy of
living.

As Professor Arlie Russell Hochschild of The University

of California, Berkeley wrote: “Constant busyness is the
most potent opiate of the masses”. We need to build in
periods of reflection to increase our consciousness. As
spiritual leaders say, we need to remind ourselves that
we’re spiritual beings having a human experience, and not
human beings having a spiritual experience.

The ‘always on’ 24/7 mentality, and the achievement

culture of always chasing the bigger, better deal; together
with the pressure to maximise idle time means many of
us are becoming prisoners of efficiency. More and more
of us want to slow down and have more mindful connec-
tions to all that it means to live. As defined by the slow
movement this means richer relationships with people, the
pleasure of eating well, greater knowledge of our cultural
heritage, and a greater connection to ourselves, and to
our own movement and rhythm through life.

Maybe in the future the most sought after purchases will

be the ones that create ‘moments of time’ for reflection.
That a mindful presence will become the ultimate lifestyle
accessory. And that a product’s core benefit is that it puts
you in a meditative state of mind. One thing’s for certain,
this constant and acquisitive nature of consumption is
emotionally unsustainable.

Photos visualizing this article by Kristina Dryza

Our windup

Our consumption grows in the same pace as our growth.

Studies shows that in hundred years we consume eight ti-
mes as much per capita as today. One thing is certain: we
cannot continue consuming as we do today - our globe
simply cannot take such a strain. In west many has a rela-
tive abundance of money which could give us more leisure
time as well as reduce our stress level - yet we choose to
consume more. How much is enough? At what point does
the accumulation of material goods become less fulfilling
and more stressful and overwhelming? Studies shows
that we are satisfied and happy with enough (see image).
Our consumption in the beginning of the curve is based
on use, the higher on the curve the more our consumption
is about entertainment.
After we’ve reached the “enough” level, we don’t become
happier, the curve evens out and after a while it starts
plummeting. Do we really need more and more things
when we know that over consumption doesn’t make us
happy? Socrates asked, a long time ago; “how shall we
live?”, maybe it’s time for each and everyone to finally
answer his question.... Image form the Encyclopedia of earth

David Report Team

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Contributing Editor: About David Report Bulletin

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Sante Poromaa YOUR PATHFINDER INTO THE FUTURE
Kristina Dryza
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