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hi Ryan,

I was going through essay in writing section of ieltsielts.com, and found below essay regarding consumerism.

I have a doubt: as the first statement says benefits of consumerism to global economy, so question about negative effects should focus on global economy again. but the essay is talking about environmental problems such as resources & pollution.

please clarify & help me understand.
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Most would argue that growing consumerism has increased the health and stability of the global economy. In your opinion, what are some of the negative effects of growing international consumerism?

Consumerism and the adoption of market-driven economic models are phenomena that are changing the world quickly. This trend has accelerated as global income levels have increased allowing people to buy things they could not previously afford. However, increased consumerism is taxing to the planet and ramifies itself negatively in several ways. Environmental pollution and resource depletion are two main consequences of increased consumerism, and their effects will be analyzed in this essay.

For one, growing demand for consumer products is needlessly resulting in increased environmental pollution. As an example, many plastic products are difficult to recycle and use chemicals in the manufacturing process that negate their ability to biodegrade. With growing consumerism, the amount of such waste is swelling to dangerous levels. Thus, the link between consumerism and rising levels of environmental damage can be seen.

In addition to this, the assembly of consumer products often requires the use of resources that are non-renewable and perhaps even conflict producing. For example, the production process for many plastics requires petroleum, while cell phones require rare earth metals such as gold. Because such resources exist only in finite amounts, control over them can lead to conflict. Thus, it is clear that consumerism can act as a precursor to resource shortages and damaged international relationships.

As has been shown, consumerism is a growing global trend that is having a significant impact upon the world. Among the more negative effects, demand for goods encourages greater pollution while also contributing to resource depletion and poor international relations between countries. It is therefore important for people to take responsibility and make ethical decisions when purchasing.

The questions requirement is to discuss about the negative side of consumerism which is "acquisition of goods and services in ever-greater amounts." So if people will buy goods in large amounts then it will result in depletion of resources which are used to make or package such goods which would require industrial processes to manufacture these resources. Ultimately, the result will be pollution. The ideas are unfailingly correct. Just try to visualize if people will buy more than what they need what will happen and going deeper you'll get the answer.

I guess the word "ramify" is only used in America, isn't it? It's weird because my Oxford, Longman and Collins dictionary doesn't have this word.

to ramify is surely incorrect (for now) , although there are such things as ramifications.
OP, the model essay discusses environment and resources, but you could consider other negative effects of global consumerism, eg on traditional culture and beliefs , on the diversity of values and ways of life etc.