Ditch the fake plants and opt for real ones

Add some color to your life! No green thumb? No worries: get yourself a fake plant.

But why do fake plants really exist? Some say it is a phase, a form of fast fashion or a ploy by companies to get you to contribute to the profits of oil companies. But are these “plants” really necessary?

U.S. culture today has promoted the mass production of “stuff,” with society putting an emphasis on capitalism and the market instead of individual happiness and fulfillment.

This has led people down the path of consumerism and fast fashion, causing further irreversible damage to the environment.

Americans are guided by the idea that we must define ourselves by the things we own and by what we wear in order to be seen and understood in the world.

This can easily be seen in the way people decorate their houses or living spaces.

Fake plants are also a product of politics. Oil companies, plastic plant industries and corporations spend money on promotional ads to get you to buy their product, furthering their own agenda of resource exploitation and supporting their destructive environmental practices.

Oil extraction is not pretty. Many companies have also resorted to “green-washing” by promoting something to be environmentally friendly without it truly being so. An example of this could include the use of fake Christmas trees.

Reusing your fake, plastic Christmas tree, helps save other pine and fir trees from being killed, helping the planet and reducing your carbon footprint, right? Nope.

Where does your old, re-usable Christmas tree (and all your other fake plants) go after you get tired of them or after the colors fade?

Likely, it will go to a landfill where it will sit for hundreds of years before decomposing.

The desire to express ourselves and define our “identity” through the accumulation of “stuff ” like plastic plants is very strong, and most people do not realize the impact this has on the environment. Green-washing, consumer culture and ultimately capitalism all promote the purchasing of things made from plastic, plants included.

The stereotypes surrounding the “American dream” and the history of the culture in America make it easy to blame the use of plastic plants on the actions and agendas of those in higher positions of power (i.e. green-washing, capitalism, etc.), but consumer culture and capitalism only have power if the people give it to them.

Next time, opt for the real plants, visit a local Christmas tree farm or try out a “new” fad: minimalism.