In recent years, it has become necessary to study how we consume products and how this behavior affects the environment and society.

Society's current economic model is linear.

Extraction of raw materials, manufacturing and production, distribution, purchase, consumption, and finally disposal.

During the first phase of the process, natural resources are extracted to obtain raw materials, products, or energy.

Many of these resources are non-renewable or regenerate very slowly.

During production, harmful chemicals are used in the process to facilitate and increase production.

Production is offshored to developing countries, which often have very lax regulations.

Polluting or toxic by-products are generated.

Massive extraction and production may even interfere with nature's cycles.

There is a dual problem in the product distribution and purchase phase.

Many times, a product's price does not reflect its true environmental or social costs, such as the effects of pollution or cheap labor, which affect people's health and living standards.

Moreover, the growth is based on planned obsolescence, that is, on having to repeatedly buy the same product, which has an ever shorter useful life.

In the end, most products are thrown away.

The volume of waste production has doubled in the last 30 years, and managing it is a real problem.

This consumption model is not sustainable in the long run.

The solution lies in a transformation of the economy driven by governments, companies, and citizens.

Governments must encourage responsible production and legislate, so that companies produce in an environmentally-friendly way and take responsibility for their externalities.

Consumers must demand responsible products and make informed decisions while shopping.

Companies must design products responsibly and replace the linear production model with a circular one, in which obsolete products are repaired and reused.

A lot of people are already working to achieve a circular economy.

But, it is necessary to keep on innovating in order to create a more sustainable planet.