Anti-consumerist messaging?

November 21, 2023 12:14 PM

Green Friday seems to be gaining a bit of traction given the environmental havoc of Black Friday, Adbusters still puts out images for Buy Nothing Day but is that it? Can you point me to current counter-narratives to overconsumption (op-eds in your local paper, an Instagram account, a funny meme, a good podcast episode, a personal blog post, anything)?

My brain is throbbing with the relentless drumbeat of BUY BUY BUY best gifts for blank OMG must-haves that has taken over half of the internet. I know, I should stay off sites like realsimple (WHY ARE THERE SO MANY GIFT GUIDES that's not very simplifying at all y'all). I found this list but some of the examples just feel like greenwashing? At least REI closed stores. I need antidotes, please help me!

posted by spamandkimchi to Shopping (7 answers total)

Buy Less Stuff from Vox.
posted by catquas at 12:39 PM on November 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

Reverend Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping have been on this message for a long time and I’m happy to see they’re still at it.
posted by doift at 1:03 PM on November 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

You might want to check out Strong Town's Black Friday Parking Lot project which shines a light on how much space that is given over to cars goes unused on the busiest shopping day of the year. That is space that could go for trees, small businesses, pedestrians, cyclists, public art, etc.
posted by brookeb at 2:52 PM on November 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

Consumerism is necessary as long as we live under colonialism.

Endless acquisition is needed for "growth", even more so since there is no more territory to actually conquer.

Making people aware of the symptom has always failed and still will because it doesn't get to the cause.
posted by KMH at 2:40 AM on November 22, 2023

There’s a growing ‘no buy’ trend I’m seeing a lot of. I’m personally conflicted about it, as while it sounds like a great idea to me in theory and I’ve tried and failed a few times, I do increasingly wonder if setting such rigid goals is setting us up to fail. Maybe it’s like going on a capitalism ‘diet’ which inevitably won’t work and could ultimately end up reinforcing the idea that buying stuff we don’t need is natural and enjoyable. I enjoyed some of these youtube videos from someone doing this sort of project for a year however, especially the reflective recap ones about how this person’s relationship with desire to acquire stuff changed over the course of the year.
posted by chives at 2:53 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Oh and I believe the no buy thing originally came from this book, which I’ve read and personally had a few problems with (painfully and obliviously british middle class, no real acknowledgement that a lot of people are poor without choosing to be) but if you’re thinking of doing something similar it could be useful.
posted by chives at 6:57 AM on November 22, 2023

These guys, The Minimalists. If you scroll down that page there’s a free ebook or something they’ll send you called Minimalist Rulebook.
They also have a movie on Netflix from a couple years back. I haven’t watched it.
posted by SomethinsWrong at 7:31 AM on November 22, 2023