Globalization, Manufacturing & Economic Sectors

• Globalisation refers to the increased interconnectedness and interdependence of the world through trade and technology.
• Everyone is a consumer.

Manufacturing System

• The production of a product is a manufacturing system involving inputs, processes, and outputs.

Economic Sectors

• Primary sector provides raw materials.
• Secondary sector manufactures goods from raw materials or semi-finished goods.
• Tertiary sector provides services to other industries or people.

Factors Influencing Consumption

• Affluence: Wealth enables a comfortable lifestyle and increased consumption.
• Many developed nations face growing income disparities, despite high GDP per capita.
• People in affluent countries have higher incomes, leading to increased spending on goods, energy, food, and water.
• Economic Change: Industrial development in developing countries increases resource needs.
• Industrial growth results in increased job availability which leads to rising affluence.
• Shifting manufacturing to cheaper locations lowers product prices, increasing affordability and consumption.
• Lifestyle changes such as rising affluence result in Lifestyle changes.
• The increasing affluence of less developed countries, paired with greater availability of goods and services, is allowing people to afford and consume more than before.

Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity

• Ecological Footprint: The amount of land and water needed to produce resources and absorb waste.
• Biocapacity: The Earth's biologically productive area available for renewable resources and waste absorption.
• Overconsumption occurs when resource use exceeds the planet's sustainable capacity.

Economic Impact of Food Wastage (From Overconsumption)

• Overconsumption leads to buying more food than needed.
• Excess food is then thrown away leading to wasted money.

Food Miles

• Food Miles is the distance food travels from farm to consumer.

Environmental Impact of Food Transportation

• Increased food miles result in increased greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
• Greenhouse gas emissions trap heat leading to increased temperature and global warming.

Environmental Impact of Food Production

• Deforestation is done to meet increasing food demands in order to have more land and this removal of land is converted to a non-forest use.
• Deforestation can lead to soil erosion, loss of wildlife sites, and reduced biodiversity.
• Unsustainable agricultural activities can also lead to overuse of pesticides that pollute nearby rivers.

Fast Fashion

• Fast Fashion is a term for quickly produced, trendy, and affordable clothing.

Sweatshops

• Sweatshops are workplaces with poor working conditions, low wages, long hours, and few benefits.
• These poor conditions are due to efforts to meet rising consumer demand and keep prices low.

Economic Impact of Fast Fashion Production

• Factory workers receive low income and minimum wages in Bangladesh increased From 38 to 68 per month in 2014.
• Water pollution: Factories release untreated wastewater, such as indigo dye, polluting water sources for nearby residents.