“Humanism” has a specific philosophical meaning, and I fear that you may be misusing it here. Or not.

That said, you nailed it when you pointed out that the funnest part of a new toy is showing it off and thereby satisfying the human desire for recognition. Since you won’t get much recognition showing off the same shit over and over, obtaining new shiny things becomes a ceaseless treadmill of acquisition and our planet becomes buried in plastic.

Perhaps if we can understand this very human desire we can reach out to people who seem unreachable.