The spotlight
In one of Julie George’s most popular TikTok videos from this past summer, she highlights some of the quality items she owns and cherishes — some fine jewelry, a single pair of Ray-Bans, a nearly empty bottle of YSL perfume . It feels luxurious and aspirational, as so many popular influencer videos do. But George’s video is not an attempt to get you to buy the items she’s showing off, or a celebration of the new. It’s an example of another kind of trend that has swept social media — 2024’s new take on minimalism: “underconsumption core.”
“I first came across underuse as a trend on TikTok earlier this summer, maybe in June or July, and I was immediately like, ‘Wow, I’ve never related to anything on social media as much as I do. ,” George said. a financial manager and podcaster based in Austin, Texas, whose account is described as “Life in my 30s.”
George has always been active on social media, she said, promoting various side jobs such as her podcast and a previous job as a fitness and nutrition coach. But she was always put off by influencer culture. “It’s terrible for the environment — the constant stream of shopping and discount codes and you need it and you need it,” she said.
When she discovered underconsumption, she felt she had found her corner of the internet. Her July video, titled “underconsumption core as a luxurious minimalist,” quickly gained more than 2 million views. Since then, she’s continued to use her platform to share insights into how she embodies underconsumption and minimalism — a journey she’s been on since her 20s, when frequent moves made her question the amount of stuff she stockpiled in her home . In another one of her recent videosGeorge describes how underconsumption “completely changed my life” – getting ready to move, sort and pack again this time was a breeze, she says.
Julie George’s first underuse video, captioned “Finally a trend I can get behind.” Julie George / TikTok
Underconsumption core (“core” being a suffix that essentially defines something as a trend, united by a particular aesthetic or mindset), is generally about reuse and reduction. The videos are often set to soothing background music – something like Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why” or Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” — and show creators who proudly display the longevity of their favorite possessions, or how they use up products to the last drop: a simple, yet cute tank top that has been a wardrobe staple for years; a refurbished reusable water bottle which is the only one the poster needs; a makeup palette that hit pan (aka bottomed out).
Creators see this as a contradiction to the prevailing norm of excessive consumption increasingly driven by social media – a norm that contributes to a host of environmental problems, from the (increasingly low quality) raw materials used to push out a steady stream of new products, to the emissions from shipping items around the world, to the waste that clogs (or ends up in) landfills burning in deserts).
On platforms like Youtube, TikTok and Instagram, brands go crazy over their latest gadgets or clothing styles, show off influencers massive shopping spreesand the platforms themselves make it ridiculously easy to “buy now” with just a simple tap. (A few months ago, TikTok launched a partnership which allows users to make Amazon purchases without even exiting the application.)
Why underutilized core, why now
Since it appeared this summer, the hashtag #underconsumption has gained more than 20,000 posts on TikTok (nowhere near as many as tags like #wicked or #chappellroan, but more than enough to mean that it somehow has many mainstream users achieved). It’s the latest evolution of a movement that rejects overconsumption in favor of more mindful, budget-friendly and sustainable habits – building on trends such as de-influence (the 2023 trend in which social media users explicitly rejected the idea of influence, instead of trying to convince their followers not trendy new items for sale), the no-buy yearand even Marie Kondo-inspired minimalism.
“I feel like I was at ground zero of underutilized core,” says Jade Taylor, aka The Fashion Mana sustainable fashion content creator with over 120,000 followers on TikTok. “The way I grew up was low-income, and I was always raised with the idea that sustainability was just something you did out of necessity.”
She sees underconsumption as a much more accessible form of minimalism than some of its predecessors. It doesn’t require throwing away a bunch of stuff, or putting strict limits on yourself, or even achieving a certain aesthetic. Instead, it celebrates having sturdy items for a long time and using products to the last drop — things that are easy on the wallet and lighter on the planet, too.
Taylor (who uses both she and he pronouns) also has a theory about why this particular trend emerged in the summer of 2024. “I think it’s been two-fold a response to the type of normalized overconsumption that influencers have been driving, with their marketing, but also because of climate fear and economic instability,” he said. “People are holding on to this idea because they’re becoming more aware of us effect on the environment as consumers and the role that influencer marketing played in it.”
Climate change ranks high as an area of concern for Gen Z and millennials, and they have continually pushed for better sustainability practices from the companies they shop at. More than 50 percent of respondents to a 2024 Deloitte survey reported to either avoid fast fashion or plan to do so in the future.
In the same survey, the cost of living surpassed the climate as the number one concern for members of both generations. About 30 percent of participants said they did not feel financially secure, and nearly 60 percent were living paycheck to paycheck.
“This flagrant display of wealth is now insensitive and out of touch — because how do these influencers buy, you know, this $300 load of makeup when so much of their audience can’t afford to keep a roof over their heads?” Taylor said.
What’s next
The financial pull of underutilized core was echoed by others I spoke with, including Mia McGrathA London-based TikToker who focuses on personal finance. “I think underconsumption and frugality have a lot in common,” McGrath said. “I think the cost of living and inflation have helped push this trend to the fore.”
As a result, she said, she expects to see some of the principles of underconsumption reflected by producers as well, as brands grapple with what consumers want and how much they’re willing to buy. “I think we’ll see more brands pushing timeless, versatile basics because people are less experimental and more eager to invest in items that will be with them for the long haul,” she said.
In an underutilized video from July, Shelby Orme shows off a cracked mirror she rescued from the trash and has been using for years. Shelby Orme / TikTok
That is, if the core of underconsumption can avoid some of the pitfalls of minimalism trends that preceded it, which either turned out to be a flash in the pan or were hijacked by influencer culture as yet another way to promote certain looks or lifestyles that involve purchasing different types of products. It happened with de-influence, Taylor said. Influencers were quick to jump on that trend, claiming to “disinfluence” their followers away from certain viral products, and instead recommending others that were said to be better. “Influencers are like the top predators of the consumer environment, so to speak,” she said. “They will always adapt.”
But some observers of this trendand even some creators themselves, were also quick to point out that “under-consumption” really looks a lot like a normal amount of consumption – not necessarily hardcore sustainability or minimalism, but more of a reality check for the ostentatious consumption that has traditionally been a hallmark of influencer culture.
“We see so much more people’s closets and homes on social media every day than our brains ever intended,” said Shelby Ormea longtime sustainability advocate and content creator with around 275,000 TikTok followers. “I think people are just hungry to be told that other people are experiencing the same things that they are experiencing, and that’s why the trend has become so big,” she said.
Orme thinks under-consumption core reflects a desire for more realism on social media – a mindset shift away from picture-perfect moments and unrealistic lifestyles. “It’s good to see that there are other people out there living where they don’t overconsume all the time.”
Whatever the fate of the trend, Orme and others see it as part of a broader anti-consumer movement that sends a clear message: Most people don’t live like social media influencers. And with continued financial uncertainty and growing concerns about sustainability, many are content to consume less – not more.
“I would like to hope that as these little trends come to light, that more and more people become aware of them and that they have more conversations with their friends and family,” said Orme, “and we slowly see progress in every sector after consumption a way that will sustain human life on this planet – because ultimately that’s what this conversation is about.”
– Claire Elise Thompson
More exposure
A parting shot
Here is my attempt at an under consumption post for you guys. This simple mug is my favorite. I got it at a Grist holiday fair in 2019, again a gift from a colleague who never used it, and I still use it almost every day. (It’s pictured here on my very cluttered desk, in the interest of full transparency — I’m no minimalist! But working on this story certainly inspired me to continue to think more carefully about the new things I bring to my add cache and my house )
