A long table. Plates filled with pie. People crowding. The starting gun goes off. The contestants dig in, eating as fast as they can, paying no attention to each other, only themselves. They are definitely not sharing. At a pie eating contest, the participants devour as much pie as possible, with no concern for others. Someone always loses. For the competitors, it’s just a game--they’ll live. But take this competitive pie consumption and turn it into out of control consumption on a national level, and the game changes. Instead of a single person with a stomach ache, everyone loses. American consumers are becoming gluttonous, focused only on getting their own piece of the pie. Consumers are acting primarily to improve their own self-interest, not the general public’s. In other words, private consumers, who are self-oriented, are replacing socially-conscious consumers, who are community oriented. We need to halt the American citizens’ march down the selfish path of consumerism before it reaches a point of no return. We need to look at how consumerism has a harmful effect on many aspects of our lives, such as the economy and the environment. Fortunately, there is a solution to counteract conspicuous consumption.
The record for pie-eating is 33 pies in 12 minutes, according to Eat Feats. Americans have the impression that “one should be able to buy what one likes, where one likes, and as much as one likes, with nary a glance from the government, neighbors, ministers, or political parties”, according to Juliet Schor, a professor of sociology at Boston College. Consumerism’s definition is a particular way of relating to consumer goods in which they take on central importance in the construction of culture, identity, and social life. To show our country’s economy isn’t immune to the effects of consumerism, look at the stock market crash of 1929. Americans spent money like there was no tomorrow, and the economy imploded, creating the Great Depression. Another loser in the pie-eating contest would be the environment. Consumption requires the use of natural resources - wood, ore, fossil fuels, and water; and factories, which then create pollution and waste. However, according to the Journal of Consumer Culture, most people don’t even consider consumption a factor in harming the environment. Take clothes for example. They are not often connected with environmental degradation, but many harmful processes are used to manufacture clothes. Pesticides are used in the cultivation of the cotton. Toxic dyes are used to color the clothes. As you can see, conspicuous consumption is not free.
The worst outcome of a pie eating contest is a stomach ache. The worst outcome of unchecked consumption is quite a bit worse. One way to deal with this issue is to introduce something called cause marketing. It is often described as a new concept, but it has been around since the early 1980’s, when it was first started by American Express, according to 3bl Media, an organization devoted to corporate social responsibility. AmEx decided to donate one penny for every card transaction and one dollar for every new application to AmEx, to the Restoration Fund, whose mission is to restore marine habitats. Contrary to expectations, people were more willing to buy. American Express raised $1.7 million dollars in three months, applications rose 45%, and there was a 27% usage increase in one year, reports 3bl Media. Cause marketing can appear in many forms and styles. Jocelyn Daw, in her book titled Cause Marketing for Nonprofits, states there are five main types: product sales, purchase plus, licensing of the nonprofit’s logo, co-branded events, and public service marketing programs. Product sales is the most common form, and the style most often associated with cause marketing. When a specifically marked product is sold, a certain amount of the proceeds goes to a cause. For instance, the Join Red program. When any product marked with (Red)’s logo is sold, up to 50 dollars of the money goes to the Global Fund. From there, 100 dollars of the money goes to financing HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. Purchase plus simply means asking a customer if they would like to add a small donation to their bill. Licensing of the non-profit organization’s logo or brand involves putting a logo on promotional items. Komen’s walk for the Cure is an an example of co-branded events--where the organization holds an event to raise money. The definition of social marketing programs is using marketing techniques to encourage behavior changes in a certain audience.


Something as simple as putting cause marketing into the grocery world could be a solution. Grocery shopping is a part of everyday life, so why not help the world at the same time? According to Cone Communications, a Boston-based public relations and marketing firm, 94% of people say they will switch brands that are similar to the one that supports a cause. As of March 2012, 58% of customers would tolerate price rises, states consumer analyst Phil Lempert, editor of the Supermarket News. The Filanthropist’s program, a cause-marketing online mall, is another example of a solution. On their website, a person can choose from over 20 categories of items. Once they have found the item they want to purchase, they can select from over 20 non-profit organizations or specific causes. For example, if I were need of a watch, I would simply click on the category marked ‘jewelry and watches’, or type in ‘watches’ in the search box. From there, I would find a watch that promotes the organization that I support. I get what I want, and help someone else at the same time!
When I see those entered in a pie-eating contest, I can only imagine the unpleasantness of their impending stomach ache. Before our conspicuous consumption leads us to economy ache, we need to emphasize the importance of how we spend our money. The American idea of freedom to buy what we want is harming the economy and the environment. In order to solve this issue, we need to instill cause marketing in our daily lives. There are several ways to do this, such as introducing it to grocery stores, and creating more programs like the Filanthropist’s website. Cause marketing is a way to soothe the stomach ache of consumerism by sharing a piece of the pie with others. Remember, we don’t want to end up with pie on our faces.