Despite the constant bombardment of ads and affiliate links, the truth is that we don’t need half the stuff we own. Compared to the eternal wonder of knowing Christ, our earthly treasures only gather dust, waiting for moths to destroy them (Matthew 6:19). Yet even though the Bible is clear about our duty to care for our neighbour and the environment, moral clarity can feel elusive when budgets come into play. It’s one thing to know how much carbon dioxide a single shirt produces—and quite another to pay five times as much for a sustainable option.
There’s no denying that consumer culture fuels the exploitation of vulnerable people. Across the world, people are mistreated in the name of cheap clothing, tech, and chocolate.
The fashion industry, which employs over sixty million workers worldwide, is notorious for its poor conditions—low wages, unsafe working conditions, bans on unions, and sexual harassment.1
More than half the world’s cobalt (needed to make everyday technology like smartphones and electric cars) is produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Twenty percent comes from ‘artisanal mining’; small operations with nearly no regulation. Children labor for a pittance, with little to no protective equipment.2
There are more children illegally employed in the cocoa industry than there are across all of Ireland. Over two million children work in the cocoa industries in Ghana and the Ivory Coast, which supply 70 percent of the world’s cocoa beans.3
The earth itself suffers for our excess too. The fashion industry alone contributes 10 percent of global greenhouse emissions4—more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. It’s estimated that 35 percent of microplastics polluting our oceans come from washing synthetic fabrics like polyester.5 Manufacturing a single smartphone produces 85 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions in its first year of use,6 and over 2.3 million pounds of wrapping paper ends up in landfills each year in the US alone.7
As Christians, we can’t ignore these facts. The Bible’s view of consumerism is relentlessly unmodern—it insists that we care more about others than about what we accumulate.
When we follow Jesus, we consecrate our lives to him, including our spending habits. It’s not as simple as direct-debiting tithes to the church every month and then doing what we want with the rest. Those of us who are privileged to have money must also undertake the responsibility to use it well.
God’s perfect design is for us to take care of the land and each other.
We should care for the earth with a practical reverence, not seeing it as land to exploit but to steward. After all, the earth, and everything in it, is the Lord’s (Psalm 24:1), not ours. “Fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28 ESV) was not a command for exploitation but for thoughtful work in pursuit of flourishing communities.
All our little treasures and trinkets grow dim in the light of Jesus, who clearly tells us to care for the poor. “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,” he says, “you did for me” (Matthew 25:40 NIV).
The prophets repeatedly proclaim God’s command to care for the vulnerable, and his anger when they are exploited. (There are over two thousand verses about helping the poor; see Psalm 82:3, Proverbs 14:31, and Amos 5:11–14 for examples.)
But for all the facts, figures, and biblical commands, it’s still not easy to resist the dopamine rush of shiny new things.
After all, I want to look nice, I want my house to look nice, and I want to dress my baby in nice-looking clothes. A scroll on my phone affirms (and amplifies) those desires. Jesus warns against storing up treasures on earth (Matthew 6:19), but social media is filled with invitations to do just that.
Consumerism presents items as self-contained objects, encouraging us to forget about the people involved, and focus on the product at the end. But everything we buy takes a journey to reach us. A t-shirt begins as cotton in a field, then passes through a weaving mill, factories, trucks, ships, and shops before it ends up in our wardrobes (and washing machines). All stages contribute their own waste products and involve different hands who receive disproportionate compensation.
We can’t escape being consumers, but we can certainly be better, more thoughtful ones. We don’t need to aim for austerity or extreme minimalism—our goal should be for contentment, and the strange freedom it offers. After all, if the apostle Paul can write from prison, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11 NIV), surely we can learn to be content without ten pairs of shoes.
There are inherent contradictions to ethical consumerism, but we can trust that God—who is far more powerful than corporate greed, complex supply chains, and misinformation—will work our small actions for good.
The things we buy are an opportunity to love our neighbour and care for the earth, to be faithful to seeking God’s kingdom first (Matthew 6:33).
That might look different for each of us, but it could include:
- Buying less—the most ethical, sustainable option is what we already own.
- Pausing before purchases—try to wait at least seventy-two hours to avoid impulse shopping.
- Making and repairing what we can—creation over consumption.
- Borrowing where possible—we don’t need to own everything we use.
- Buying second-hand—save something from going to waste, and skip the carbon cost of “brand-new.”
- Buying fair trade—where possible, spend more money for the sake of fair wages and sustainability. This website has a list of the main certifications to look out for.
- Choosing quality over quantity—invest in durable pieces that will last a long time.
- Choosing plastic-free options—pick paper or glass alternatives, and consider products in minimal or recyclable packaging.
Without a doubt, there is a Christian duty to care about what we buy. We cannot plead ignorance to the fact that our consumerism can oppress people and pollute the environment. Not only that, but the Bible clearly tells us not to find our worth in what we own. The call to contentment dovetails with the call to care for others and the natural world.
Our faith is not confined to Sunday services. It stretches into every part of our lives, including how we steward our money. If the gospel changes everything, it must also change the way we consume.
Reflection Questions
- What might it look like for you to seek God’s kingdom first in your shopping habits?
- Look around you—what you’re wearing, where you’re sitting, the device you’re using to read this article. Have you considered where these items come from, and the hands involved in their manufacture?
- In what ways do your spending habits reflect what you value?
- What’s the biggest barrier for you when it comes to responsible shopping? Is it budget, inconvenience, accessibility, ignorance?
Notes
- Sarah Ditty, “Why We Still Need a Fashion Revolution,” Fashion Revolution White Paper, April 21, 2020, https://issuu.com/fashionrevolution/docs/fr_whitepaper_2020_digital_singlepages, flipbook, 24. ↩︎
- Clare Church and Alec Crawford, “Green Conflict Minerals: The fuels of conflict in the transition to a low-carbon economy,” International Institute for Sustainable Development, August, 2018, https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/green-conflict-minerals.pdf. ↩︎
- Food Empowerment Project, “Slavery in the Chocolate Industry,” updated January 2022, https://foodispower.org/human-labor-slavery/slavery-in-the-chocolate-industry/. ↩︎
- “Putting the brakes on fast fashion, United Nations Environment Programme, updated June 28, 2021, https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/putting-brakes-fast-fashion. ↩︎
- Boucher, J. and Friot D. (2017). Primary Microplastics in the Oceans: A Global Evaluation of Sources. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. 43pp. https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/46622. ↩︎
- Paul Lee, et al., “Making smartphones sustainable: Live long and greener,” Deloitte Insights, December 1, 2021, https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/technology/technology-media-and-telecom-predictions/2022/environmental-impact-smartphones.html. ↩︎
- Megan Malone, “Holiday Tip: Don’t Recycle Gift Wrap,” Earth911, (2018) https://earth911.com/home-garden/holiday-tip-dont-recycle-gift-wrap/. ↩︎
Photo credit: Sarah Brossart
Corine loves Jesus, rocks, and books. She is a geologist by trade, and also enjoys writing a newsletter, Sunshine Theologians, where she shares what she’s learning in her faith journey. She lives in Ireland with her husband and the world's best cat.
