Anti-consumerism

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Anti-consumerism has gotten trendy where I live. Especially second-hand clothing has become very popular. "Repair cafés" are popping up out of nowhere. I have heard it's also popular on TikTok. What about you guys?

I stopped buying single-use bottles and switched to a reusable bottle. I stopped buying cartridge razors (way too expensive anyway) and switched to a double-edged safety razor. I personally still buy new clothes, about 7 pieces per year (let's say 2 shirts, pants, shoes, socks, underwear and an undershirt), but I try to stick to 100% cotton. That way I can wear each piece for 5-10 years. I still have some clothes from when I was a teenager (currently 26 yo).

I have noticed that modern stuff isn't made to last. This is called "planned obsolescence". We had a printer from 2000 and another from 2005. The newer one stopped working and the older one will probably work forever. They stopped selling the old ink cartridges, but you can buy cheap off-brand cartridges online that cost less than half the price and last forever. I have zero incentive to buy a new printer with insanely expensive cartridges that will stop working after a couple of years.

There are so many other examples of planned obsolescence. The apps on Smart TVs also stop working after a couple of years, so in no time you are stuck with a normal TV. Modern phones don't even have replaceable batteries anymore. I bought Samsung XCover-5, one of the few Samsungs that still has it. Luckily the European Union is making this nonsense illegal.

The rubber band of my watch broke and the store told me it would be cheaper to buy a new watch (€75) than to repair it. I went to our local Sunday market and a man on the street repaired it for €2.

I refuse to get a credit card and stick to a debit card. I refuse to buy anything on Amazon except for books. I praise myself lucky that I live in Belgium, where debit cards are king and we have local-ish alternatives to Amazon.

Lastly, I stopped collecting things when I became a teenager. Junk only takes up space and it doesn't really make me happy, unless it has some use to it. For presents, I ask for experiences, vouchers, plants or very specific stuff that I need.

I have had this feeling for a very long time. I remember being 11 years old and going to one of those luxury department stores in the UK. The top floor had nothing but luxury toys for children. After a long day of watching my parents shop, my brother and I were each allowed to pick one toy. After some exploration, I concluded that I didn't want anything from that. My parents were tired and didn't want to hear that answer. I reluctantly picked Ben 10 Top Trumps cards, which has always remained the symbol of consumerism for me. These cards smell like Diesel for some reason.

I feel like all of this consumerism is just meant to keep us poor and dependent on our landlords for eternity.

What about you guys?

 

[Moe]

Higher and painful inflation in the US forced Americans to cut on expenses, especially switch brand name to generic name, much less rely to consumerism and their kids have much less stuffs for Christmas. Many of them eat more at home than fast foods and restaurants. The savings are all gone - baby boomers believed in savings. The minimalist got popular and most young Americans don't have much stuffs at home. Less people goes to malls now.

Life become more miserable after retirement because you don't have enough 401K + Social Security to have comfortable life and have extra money for traveling. Social Security is going to run out of money in 2034 that lead to less benefit (80%) and Medicare Part A will be run out of money in 2031 - it means less coverage on inpatient treatment. Health care costs are getting crazy in the US.

Those contributed to anti-consumerism and I don't buy much stuffs now as I used to be. I bought a lot of games in 2014 but not anymore now. I gave up on collecting Funko. I'm working to get much of balance down with my credit card right now. I don't buy games that are live service and entirely multiplayer, so I want single player game like Hogwarts Legacy.

I buy a high quality TV like Sony and expected to use for 10 years or more, so I don't bother to use their Android built-in because they got outdated faster. Sony cares about PS4/PS5 than TV. I use Apple TV device that is last longer than crappy Android built-in on TV.

 

[Red Arrow]

Many of them eat more at home than fast foods and restaurants.

This is interesting to me!

From this Vox article: According to a 2018 report by the NPD Group, about 82% of meals and snacks are prepared at home — significantly more than a decade ago. And despite a relatively strong economy, the estimated number of per-person restaurant visits (from fast food to fine dining) dropped to a 28-year low of 185. Per-person restaurant visits reached a peak of 216 in 2000 and have fallen steadily since 2008.

185 visits a year, that's still 3 or 4 times a week! 91% of Europeans eat out less than that. However, we are catching up with y'all. Belgian Millennials and Gen Z go more on restaurant and order more take-out than the older generations. (Source in Dutch)

 

[Moe]

This is interesting to me!

From this Vox article: According to a 2018 report by the NPD Group, about 82% of meals and snacks are prepared at home — significantly more than a decade ago. And despite a relatively strong economy, the estimated number of per-person restaurant visits (from fast food to fine dining) dropped to a 28-year low of 185. Per-person restaurant visits reached a peak of 216 in 2000 and have fallen steadily since 2008.

185 visits a year, that's still 3 or 4 times a week! 91% of Europeans eat out less than that. However, we are catching up with y'all. Belgian Millennials and Gen Z go more on restaurant and order more take-out than the older generations. (Source in Dutch)

When my dad was around, we went out to eat 4 times per week and I was normally excited about eat at restaurants, but not anymore after food quality went downhill and I don't enjoy fast foods as I did when I was child and teen. I only get dinner from fast food if I'm not in mood to cook and they taste better than frozen TV dinner. I order two cheeseburgers, that all and I have my own soda at home.

After my dad died, we had to cut some expenses and less go out to eat as we swap restaurant with fast food. We only go to restaurant 1-2 times per week. Pension goes to spouse after death in the US is all gone now and my mom didn't get his pension after my dad died, unlike my grandma.

Deaf pastors told me that food at fast foods and restaurants in Brazil taste much better than in the US and yeah, he notice food quality went down, so I didn't know why about quality went down.

I miss my dad.

 

[Shiloh Otter]

Nope. I buy what I want to, just less often than before due to higher prices. There are lots of trends I'm not much a fan of.

 

[SanaaDean]

It's great to see how anti-consumerism and the call for responsible consumption are growing in popularity, initiatives such as buying second-hand clothes and running repair cafes can really inspire changes in our lifestyles, helping to conserve resources and reduce waste, which is certainly a positive step in the direction a more sustainable future.