confounding form of economic behaviour. Veblen's scathing proposal that this unnecessary consumption is a form of status display is made in darkly humorous observations like the following, from his 1899 book, The Theory of the Leisure Class: In 1955, economist Victor Lebow stated (as quoted by William Rees, 2009): According to archaeologists, evidence of conspicuous consumption up to several millennia ago has been found, suggesting that such behavior is inherent to humans. Collaborative consumption Collaborative consumption describes the way that consumers of a good engage in shared consumption either through temporary rentals or second-hand purchases. Anti-consumerism opposes the continuous consumption of material possessions in part because of the unsustainability that individuals who seek the experience of consumer culture without the desire of long-term possession. Collaborative consumption is understood as anti-consumption by focusing on the temporary usage of the products, consumers are able to express sustainable attitudes with the intent of reducing natural resources by reducing direct consumption of a product or brand. Modern day creative destruction culture causes sustainability issues, and in order to mitigate them, a more collaborative mindset is necessary when it comes to consumption. Consumerism and advertising Anti-consumerists believe advertising plays a huge role in human life by informing values and assumptions of the cultural system, deeming what is acceptable, and determining social standards. They declare that ads create a hyper-real world where commodities appear as the key to securing happiness. Anti-consumerists cite studies that find that individuals believe their quality of life improves in relation to social values that lie outside the capability of the marketplace. Therefore, advertising attempts to equate the social with the material by utilizing images and slogans to link commodities with the real sources of human happiness, such as meaningful relationships. Ads are then a detriment to society because they tell consumers that accumulating more and more possessions will bring them closer to self-actualization, or the concept of a complete and secure being. "The underlying message is that owning these products will enhance our image and ensure our popularity with others." And while advertising promises that a product will make the consumer happy, advertising simultaneously depends upon the consumer never being truly happy, as then the consumer would no longer feel the need to consume needless products. Anti-consumerists claim that in a consumerist society, advertisement images disempower and objectify the consumer. By stressing individual power, choice and desire, advertising falsely implies the