Haiyue Long

Overproduction keeps pushing new products into everyday life, encouraging people to buy more than they actually need. In online shopping, social media posts, recommendations and constant discounts make cheap products feel easy to buy, try and return. Yet when these products are no longer wanted, many are difficult to resell, reuse or recycle. They often end up as clutter at home or as waste. One failed purchase can still create resource waste and environmental burden through production, logistics, transport and disposal, while responsibility remains unclear between platforms, sellers, consumers and local waste systems.
This project explores how shopping regret can become visible evidence. By collecting young consumers’ stories of impulse purchases and “online shopping trash”, it reveals the hidden waste behind low-quality online consumption. Through user participation, these personal stories become collective data and public evidence. The project aims to encourage platforms and policymakers to take more responsibility and support a less wasteful way of shopping online.