What happens to modern business when consumers stop consuming?

For as long as we can remember, the business has been built around a simple model. Create demand, serve that demand and reap the profits. As a result, we have created a society that sees mass consumption as second nature, chasing the next hit of dopamine in its online shopping cart.

But what happens when consumers stop consuming? In recent years, we’ve seen the tide begin to turn away from mindless shopping in favor of mindful buying, second-hand shopping, or sharing. With environmental factors on the minds of many, this change is not a bad thing, but it will be a game changer for the business world as we know it.

One company at the forefront of this transformation is Patagonia, a company that has challenged the norms of the retail industry with its anti-consumerist stance. Their “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign, launched during Black Friday in 2011, highlighted the environmental costs of overconsumption. They also focus on product longevity by offering free repairs on their products and encourage customers to value and maintain their equipment longer, reducing the need for new purchases.

For a more sustainable society we need more examples of this trend than Patagonia. To better understand the need for a shift in consumption philosophy and how we can get there, I recently had the pleasure of speaking to Alex Beeproject manager and semiologist in cultural and creative consulting services Space Doctorsabout how he’s seen attitudes change in recent years and how he believes businesses can fit into this new landscape that will question what value they actually have.

Christopher Marquis: What are the main issues surrounding the current production and consumption model?

Alex Bee: We know that we exceed most of the planetary boundaries needed for life on earth to survive and thrive. Our current model of production and consumption contributes to this excess: throwaway culture, fast fashion, soil degradation from over-cropping, and a normalized expectation of basically being able to order anything you want and have it delivered to your doorstep the next day!

If we want to have a future on this planet, we will have to make changes in most aspects of our lives. Whether it’s how we travel, what we buy, how we work. In the not too distant future, we won’t just be able to jump on a plane. we will not be able to see everything we need or want on the supermarket shelves. So, to put it simply, we have no choice but to change.

We’re already seeing examples of this shift in action, just look at the recent success of many rental and sharing services. We can see that the concept of “need” in relation to transaction and ownership begins to spin. People wonder and weigh what they really need to own. We may want to feel great at a party, but we need to mine a new outfit to make you feel happy and confident? Not really. We can rent or borrow a costume and get that feeling.

With most roles, goals, and objectives in business centered around growth, applying this thinking can be difficult. But that doesn’t mean sacrificing expansion or profits, but reframing “growth” in terms of the long term and asking what we can do today that will ensure our organizations exist for years to come, not just to get to next quarter.

Marquis: Have you noticed this kind of attitude change from the general public?

Bee: Anyway. Behavioral change is driven by the added value that comes from sharing, rather than feeling like a sacrifice. Vinted, for example, is convenient, saves money, and offers an exploration that feels even better than shopping firsthand. It combines convenience with second-hand shopping in a way that just makes sense, while also capturing a yearning for unique or vintage pieces from a younger generation trying to carve hyper-individual visual identities post-pandemic. It’s not about belief systems or lifestyle, it’s about what makes logical sense and fulfills a consumer need.

Culturally, we see people making more connections that facilitate sharing. This could be through hyperlocal WhatsApp groups, Facebook Marketplace or organizations such as GoodGym, which matches people who want to exercise with people who need help with manual labor tasks such as gardening, moving furniture or sorting food at a bank food.

The cost of living crisis has played no small role as communities find ways to share resources with those around them – it’s a shift in attitude but also a very tangible need. People are taking matters into their own hands as they lose faith in governments and local authorities to care for those around them.

Marquis: If sharing is increasing and our relationship with ownership is changing, how do businesses fit into that? Is there room for profitable businesses in this new future of consumption?

Bee: It is understandable that brands see this as a threat to sales and profit, but looking beyond the point of purchase, there is the opportunity for continuous contact and relationship with people – repairs, renewal services, modifications and updates, spare parts, innovation etc. have longevity or more users or uses, there are more opportunities for brands and organizations to create a deeper connection and work with people to deliver what they really need. This relationship is increasingly important to cultivate for business longevity, especially at a time when trust is in short supply.

It is also worth redefining our thinking from business profit to business survival, here. Businesses need to remember that it doesn’t take much for a competitor to completely reframe the narrative and create a new core expectation from people. Many of the industries we work with at Space Doctors are extremely saturated, so while these changes may feel disruptive and uncomfortable at first, they are necessary to ensure a more peaceful future and catch up with innovative up-and-comers. It is arguably not only an environmental imperative, but also a business imperative.

Marquis: What are the main things businesses need to learn about this mindset shift?

Bee: When you shift your thinking to focus on the human need at the core of the decisions people make—what they prioritize and reject—innovation becomes clearer and more interesting.

For businesses, it’s about seeking out and embracing opportunities to create a deeper connection with their customers. More than ever, people are looking for meaning in their everyday lives and expect brands to understand them on a more subtle and emotional level. It’s not just about trying to get them to buy more and more, it’s about cultivating this mutual relationship that benefits both sides.

Marquis: Why should they think about it now?

Bee: In addition to the pressure to and from the planet due to the climate crisis, we see supply chains collapsing, access to materials disrupted and, perhaps most importantly, a growing fear from people (especially Gen-Z and Gen Alpha) of the future.

We will experience a series of “shocks” in the coming years due to climate collapse where innovation and change will accelerate, such as the shift to working from home brought about by COVID-19. There is a phrase we refer to in our work: “Emergencies create disturbances.” However, waiting until we I have Letting go of certain ways of being often leaves us behind when we could be thinking, planning ahead and preventing or reducing some of the consequences and reverberations of what is likely to come.

Other than that, we’ve seen some clear examples of a setup that will power brands in transition, such as the UK’s ban on single-use e-cigarettes or France’s move to add a per-item tax to fast-fashion to reflect the real cost to the environment. Whether it is a demand from people, a climate “shock” or government regulation, we must learn to lead these transitions ourselves, or they may get completely out of our hands.

Marquis: What positive steps have you seen from businesses responding to this? What can we learn from them?

Bee: Brands that are responsible for the entire life of a product is something we are seeing a shift towards. This means from the creation/cultivation of materials until the product is used to its full potential and is ready for recycling or breakdown and disposal. For some industries in particular, there is a move towards brands using their recycling systems in-house, with the idea that they should not be able to label their product as recyclable or circular unless they actually provide that service themselves .

Brands like Patagonia have pioneered offering lifetime repair on their items, meaning not only is there added value for customers, but an imperative for the brand to create well-made products in the first place. We’re also seeing community-led programs emerge, such as the Library of Things, a hyperlocal device and tool sharing system where people can affordably rent items they use less often—think DIY tools, sewing machines, or camping gear.

The overall learning for businesses is that this becomes a key factor for people making pre-purchases, rather than an afterthought when an item is at the end of its life.

Marquis: How is Space Doctors working with companies to help them realize and prepare for this new consumption mindset?

Bee: We use a culture-first approach to show how organizations are shaped by people. Whether this is through decentralizing networks, finding ways to creatively avoid buying more than you need, sharing waste, sharing information or democratizing things that previously required specialist knowledge, our multi-layered understanding of culture allows us to advise companies on where they are now – and where they could be.

Many of our clients want to make a positive transformation, but don’t always know how to deal with that transition. Our work encourages them to think of their business as part of the wider ecosystem in which it exists.

Us What Matters 2024 Report explored the types of change that brands, businesses and organizations are making in this space – detailing how as well as why. The reframing of ownership is a key theme from what we’ve uncovered throughout our analysis of it: people are looking for more meaning and less stuff.