Plastic Religion - A Post for Ethics

In Ethics, the theme of capitalism and consumerism have surfaced again and again. I have been thinking about the issue some, but didn't have anything to post about it. Then this weekend, I was reading my friend Nell's livejournal, and she has this to say:
Everything is so cheaply made these days because of the consumeristic attitude of this country. Case in point: Sewing machines aren't made out of cast iron anymore, they are made out of plastic, and therefore break in 5 years so you have to go out and buy a new one. On the other hand, the two sewing machines my grandmother got when my mom was young are still perfectly functional, and they are 40 years old. We have an apple peeler that 60 years old or something crazy like that, and guess what. It still works. 'The Graduate' was right, there was a great future in plastics. But by great we don't mean good. I want to write a minizine about how plastic and the governmental farm subsidies were the downfall of society.
Im interested in this idea that consumerist attitudes reduce quality. I have heard that consumerist attitudes can increase creativity, as we strive to satisfy our need to buy crap, we keep inventing crap to buy. So, where is this boundary for the Church? I don’t think that the Church can ignore the culture we live in. But how do we know when we are simply producing to fill the need to consume, versus when we are producing to fill the need to have relationship with Christ? I think the answer comes back again to the guidance of the Spirit and the Fruits of the Spirit.