Allyce M. Andricola
Internal Managing Editor, Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, Volume 50
I. The Social Media Pipeline to Overconsumption
Consumerism drives an economy, but at what point does purchasing products do more harm than good?
In today’s world, social media is the driving force for consumerism. Advertisements bombard social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. With the rising strength of influencers and customized advertisements on personalized feeds, social media enjoyers are bombarded with enticing advertisements during the time they spend on the apps.[1] In 2020, approximately 69% of Americans used social media.[2] Studies have shown that the more time people spend on social media, the more likely they impulse buy on conspicuous goods.[3]
Social media is a conduit for consumerism. Influencers utilize the apps to share photos or videos of their new products, review the products, and display shopping hauls of extreme proportions.[4] These reviews encourage and normalize impulse buying.[5] Influencer endorsements increase a consumer’s impulse buying by up to 50%.[6]
Impulse buying products is a consumer’s way of feeling included in society. In other words, pressure on social media incentivizes overconsumption.[7] According to Meta, 54% of people impulse-bought a product after seeing the product advertisement on Instagram.[8] Impulse buying encourages consumers to buy more than what they generally need or could ever want. Overconsumption is defined as “the excessive use of resources and the unrestrained accumulation of goods and services.”[9] The detrimental result of overconsumption leads to loading up landfills at a much higher rate with no end in sight.
II. Need vs. Want
In particular, the makeup and beauty market numbers are staggering. In 2023, the United States beauty market was valued at approximately 98 billion dollars.[10] Beauty product spending in the average American household added up to approximately 211.7 dollars per year as the highest average recorded in the past thirteen years.[11]
Makeup packaging contributes to environmental degradation.[12] Metal tubes that held lipsticks, plastic containers that held eyeshadows and powders, and pressurized canisters that held setting spray fill landfills that will take hundreds of years to decompose.[13] Given how quickly makeup trends change, consumers are buying items fast without truly thinking of the long-term effects.
Bloggers write about the mental toll social media places on makeup overconsumption. Belinda Bennett writes, “[r]epeatedly chasing the latest trends or striving for unattainable beauty standards promoted by the industry can take a toll on mental well-being. Social media . . . exacerbates this issue.”[14] The reality behind makeup purchases is that very few consumers use the products until empty.[15] Social media’s encouragement of buying more without thinking proactively is a prevalent issue.
III. Project Pan: Common Sense or Revolutionary?
Social media will continue to affect shopping behaviors. On the other side of social media, there is a rise of environmentally conscious trends to combat and prevent impulse buying and overconsumption. These trends enforce “intentional engagement” with products and shopping.[16]
So, what is Project Pan?
The trend focuses on using products to its fullest extent, such as hitting the metal pan of a bronzer powder.[17] Makeup and beauty product enjoyers post photos of their intended products they want to “pan,” progress photos, and photos of their finished products.[18] The trend is “not about cutting beauty out of [their] lives; it’s about learning to appreciate [the products] even more.”[19]
For some consumers, this mindset is natural and, even arguably, common sense to use products to their fullest extent. But to make sustainability a trend may be the answer for younger populations. The #ProjectPan videos on TikTok and over 742,000 posts on Instagram are eye-opening—with Gen Z and older generations displaying enough products to last a lifetime.[20] The Project Pan trend continues to grow in numbers. There are over 24,000 members on the r/ProjectPan Reddit thread where members show off their Project Pan planned products and updates with their process.[21] For some, the trend “opens up [their] eyes about how much use [consumers] can get from one product.”[22]
Leaders from environmental organizations find the new trend to cut back on waste and disincentivize impulse buying.[23] The concept can be applied to other products as well—from groceries to clothing to candles.[24] Project Pan will most likely be one of the creative ways environmentalists will combat the startling overconsumption behavior largely caused by social media.
About the Author
Allyce Andricola is a third-year law student at Widener University Delaware Law School. She is the current Internal Managing Editor of the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law. Aside from a successful career in law, her life aspirations include traveling the world, mastering the art of crocheting, and being the best mother to her beloved cat, Rue. Her interests include multicultural foods, Adult Swim television shows, and fantasy books. Allyce’s most recent and proudest achievement is coaching a USAIGC Bronze Level gymnastics team that recently won first place at the annual Pink Invitational in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[1] Alfonso Pellegrino et al., The Dark Side of Social Media: Content Effects on the Relationship Between Materialism and Consumption Behaviors, Frontiers in Psych., Apr. 28, 2022, at 2.
[2] The Role of Social Media in Promoting Overconsumption, Overconsumption.org (Oct. 12, 2024), https://overconsumption.org/blogs/news/the-role-of-social-media-in-promoting-overconsumption. The Pew Research Center published the 2020 report. Id.
[3] Pellegrino et al., supra note 1, at 3–4.
[4] See, e.g., Lisa Madeleine (@lisarosii), First Part of My Shein Haul Like for the Next Parts, Instagram (Oct. 10, 2024), https://www.instagram.com/reel/DA9AWf0tU0C/?igsh=MXJtNm9mZ2M0aDRjcA==. In this video, the influencer displays approximately seven clothing items as part one to her extravagant shopping haul.
[5] Pellegrino et al., supra note 1, at 4.
[6] The Role of Social Media in Promoting Overconsumption, supra note 2. According to the article, the Journal of Marketing published the study. Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Arianna Johnson, Rise of the Deinfluencer: Growing Social-Media Movement Challenges Influencers and Consumerism, Forbes (Mar. 8, 2023, 3:31 PM), https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/03/08/rise-of-the-deinfluencer-growing-social-media-movement-challenges-influencers-and-consumerism/.
[9] The Role of Social Media in Promoting Overconsumption, supra note 2.
[10] Cosmetic Consumer Behavior in the U.S. – Statistics & Facts, Statista Rsch. Dep’t (July 16, 2024), https://www.statista.com/topics/3138/cosmetics-consumer-behavior-in-the-us/#topicOverview.
[11] Id. In 2010, the average American household spent 134 dollars. Id.
[12] Belinda Bennett, Makeup Overconsumption: What You Need to Know, Regime Skin Care, https://www.regimeskincare.co.uk/post/makeup-overconsumption-what-you-need-to-know (last updated Jan. 30, 2025).
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] The Role of Social Media in Promoting Overconsumption, supra note 2.
[17] Dia Adams, What is Project Pan? Why Is It Taking Over Social Media?, Fortune Mag. (Jan. 14, 2025, 3:01 AM), https://fortune.com/article/what-is-project-pan/.
[18] Monica Burke, How “Project Pan” Is Promoting Creativity in Beauty and Helping the Environment, Verily Mag. (Aug. 7, 2020), https://verilymag.com/2020/08/project-pan-makeup-eyeshadow-ideas.
[19] Id.
[20] See Lils (@lilly_claire8), I Didn’t Even Know It Was This Bad., TikTok (Dec. 29, 2024), https://www.tiktok.com/@lilly_claire8/video/7454057967336607022?_r=1&_t=ZT-8uJ9fECcMLm; Aves (@aaaveeryyy), Is This a Problem?, TikTok (Dec. 30, 2024), https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2HjyHsc/; (@cherrymazz), And I Have Load More at My Bfs Lol, TikTok (Jan. 1, 2025), https://www.tiktok.com/@cherrymazz/video/7455311307995122977?_r=1&_t=ZT-8uJ9kE8WbJy; (@kaitlyn.rose.111), Ironically TikTok is the Reason for Like 80% of My Purchases, TikTok (Dec. 29, 2024), https://www.tiktok.com/@kaitlyn.rose.111/video/7454034686038347054?_r=1&_t=ZT-8uJ9oxHujtr.
[21] r/ProjectPan, Reddit, https://www.reddit.com/r/ProjectPan/ (last visited Feb. 28, 2025).
[22] Kim Bedene, What Is Project Pan and Why You Need to Try It, Kim Bedene Minimalist Fashion & Beauty, https://kimbedene.com/what-is-project-pan/ (last visited Feb. 25, 2025).
[23] Alyssa Gautieri, What Pro Organizers Really Think of TikTok’s Viral “Project Pan” Challenge, Good Housekeeping (Jan. 4, 2025), https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/organizing/a63331551/what-is-project-pan/.
[24] Adams, supra note 17.
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