#anticonsumerism
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New aesthetic idea: make your clothes actually last instead of constantly buying new clothes to fit trends.
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Fuck tiny pockets!! I finally got around to extending the pockets on these corduroy pants I thrifted over a month ago! My handsewing looks like shit but they're functional
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#Visible mending#anti fast fashion#anti consumerism#sustainable fashion#Tiktok#sustainability#Mending loom#mending#sewing#loom knitting#knitting#Anticonsumerism
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Thinking of your post on the problems of veganism as a movement vs veganism as a lifestyle choice/one technique amongst many, that also applys super well to my issues with degrowth (And anticonsumerism as well) as a movement vs degrowth as one technique amongst many for dealing with the hydra-crisis of overproduction/resource overuse/destroying people and places for resources.
Like, in particular as an autistic person the continual recurring insistence that we need to just "change our desires" creeps me out. As someone who's difficulties were dismissed as just "having a bad attitude" and who's interests were so often dismissed as a waste of time instead of preparing for a job in the "real world" IDK if they truly understand the full horrifying implications of that line of thought.
So here's the thing with the concept of "overconsumption"
I had to do this whole project on overconsumption in my Anthropology class where I compared my consumption habits to those of someone 2 generations older, the prof clearly had in mind that we would discover a particular result that I did not end up finding.
I had to watch this documentary called "Affluenza" which was all about how Americans consume too much and they shop and buy things for fun and it's killing the planet, and it kept making these statements like "The average american does X..." and "X" would be something insane that I've never dreamed of doing.
Now I technically grew up below the poverty line, we were always financially insecure and struggling to pay bills and there was never any extra money lying around.
But my upbringing felt average, even privileged. We had a house instead of a trailer on cinder blocks, we had food and clothes. Compared to the upbringing of my mom and virtually everyone she knew growing up, we lived in fabulous luxury.
And the "overconsumption" lesson was bizarre to me because it brought up things like "going shopping for fun once a week" and "owning 20+ pairs of shoes" as if they were normal. I wear my clothes until they're unwearable and shop for clothes like once a year, and my mom has half as many clothes as I do. She feels guilty buying anything for herself and HATES shopping.
It feels like the dominant resources on living an eco friendly lifestyle presume that we have far more agency in what we buy and use than we actually do, instead of being stuck with the cheapest or closest available thing, and that our lives are full of extraneous, non-essential "consumption."
That class brought up the idea of "conspicuous consumption" a lot, or buying things to obtain social status instead of for their concrete utility. The way "conspicuous consumption" was addressed in the class was not very immediately relatable to me—I never had the option of buying clothes just to appear "with it" socially. My parents couldn't buy an extra car to fit the aesthetic of the American dream—we had enough trouble keeping the one we had running. The "conspicuous consumption" that class addressed was just not available to me.
However, I don't think conspicuous consumption is endemic to stable members of a certain socioeconomic status, because consumption is partially driven by the trauma of poverty. People who grew up poor will buy you more Christmas gifts than you can store or use, because they want to spare you the shame they experienced. Their brains are molded around the trauma of not having enough, and giving you enough is their way of keeping you safe.
Conspicuous consumption as a habit is pushed on you if your ancestors were shaped by this trauma. It is a misrepresentation to think of it as driven by pride, because your ability to perform the behaviors and mimic the appearances of a higher socioeconomic status has a concrete effect on how people treat you.
I know J.D. Vance is a nutjob now and Hillbilly Elegy was...not great (I'm more appalachian than you bitch, and I'm not even appalachian!) but the one thing that book got incredibly right was the idea of "social capital" and the way access to financial security and wealth gives you social capital. This is the main thing the current understanding of "conspicuous consumption" gets wrong—the need to escape the appearance and behaviors of poverty is seen as vain and self-indulgent, when it's a survival mechanism and it's something you're expected to engage in to gain opportunities and respect.
Poverty is humiliating. People with money never think about the fact that they have money. They think of themselves as average, if they think of themselves in terms of socioeconomic status at all. Being poor ends up embedded in the grooves and folds of your brain.
I remember when I was about 12, I gave my friend an informal tour of our house the first time she came over, showing her every room. I realized later that this wasn't exactly a normal behavior—I had done it because my mom did the same thing when she brought her friend over, and my mom had done it because it was a way of saying look, I survived. Look, I have a place to live to call my own, isn't this nice?
At its worst, anti-consumerism just reinforces the myth that your consumption is purely a matter of personal choice. And unfortunately when the conversation is ruled by the privileged, this idea will appear substantiated—because rich people can choose the aesthetics of poverty without concretely affecting the way the world treats them. A rich person can choose to live in a "tiny house" but they will never be "trailer trash."
Anti-consumerism revolves around ideas that are almost irreparably tainted by the mythology of an unequal society. Rich people possess and control the aesthetic of restraint and frugality, allowing them to playact living a Simple Life where they live in a tiny minimalist cottage and eat Healthy Vegan Oat Gruel, while McDonalds is the emblem of American excess. It is poor people's behaviors and habits that exemplify excess and greed.
Anti-consumerism isn't going to change anything until it openly confronts the fact that poverty is traumatic and consumption patterns often arise from poverty survival mechanisms.
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Finished a semi-freestyled hat as a gift for my dad. He is always complaining about how cold he is. The yarn is alpaca, so it is the softed hat I've ever felt, and is much warmer than other fibers like wool.
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My partner's work sweatshirt needed some attention. The company will eventually hand out new ones but this one will be around for a while either way.
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"Buy Nothing Friday / Anti-Ad Zone"
Subverted ad spotted in Brussels, Belgium
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youtube
i can't be the only one with a consumption problem?
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I got this awesome pin from the Edinburgh Fruit Market (if you haven’t been I highly recommend it!) and it very unfortunately broke so I mended it while I was at my Grandma’s house this morning ^^ I’m quite happy with it, it’s now going on my blazer for school :3
#visible mending#mending#sewing#slow fashion#solarpunk#anticonsumerism#anti capitalism#anti fast fashion
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What to expect from us:
Happy timezone, fellow Wayfarers!
We previously introduced our values, but we also wanted to introduce what you can expect from us in both our original and reposted content.
We explore various themes relevant to our contemporary society and the society we wish to build. Here is some of what to expect:
A highlight on current events.
Discussions of urban design and transportation systems.
Diverse community building and maintenance for online and in person.
Conversations about sustainability.
On topic book, podcast, and video reviews and suggestions.
And so much other content that aligns with our values.
Please engage, share your thoughts, and follow to be a part of the conversation!
-Wayfarer ❤️
#urban design#community building#Sustainable Living#Current#Events#innovations#Media Recommendations#Empowerment#Social impact#solarpunk#hopepunk#Environmentalism#social good#climate solutions#anticapitalism#anticonsumerism#decolonization#wayfarer society
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I adore using scraps. Little bits and bobs and offcuts and trinkets. Each little treasure holding its own little unknown story. Touchable memory. Tactile joys and sorrows lost to time and place, but passed on with loving intent. Tangible history through recycling, repurposing, reusing.
#pippinmakesthings#my art#anticonsumerism#textile art#textiles#fabric#art#craft#sewing#stitching#handmade#hand stitching#hand sewing#vintage#recycling#recycle#repurpose#reduce reuse recycle
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Lesbian patch for my bestie @gay-nebulae 💜💗🧡
#visible mending#mending#embroidery#slow fashion#mine#anticonsumerism#fiber arts#sustainability#queer art
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It's so frustrating how there is so much *stuff* (clothing, electronics, furniture, food, etc) in the world and so much of that *stuff* eventually just gets thrown away and if you put effort into buying things used to try and reduce the unsustainable about of STUFF it's often just more expensive than buying it brand new and feeding into the material death march we have collectively built and something like 75 percent of donated STUFF still gets thrown away ANYWAY due to the sheer uncontrollable VOLUME OF STUFF but God forbid they let you take! any of that stuff that they were going to! Throw away! Anyway! and urhrjr sdhwhnmwh swpwpqjkadf!!!! SNQMWLWwN WNJ DNFBBdRFS
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They create the problem and then sell you the solution.
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A beautiful afternoon, and the strawberries have finally ripened, perfect time to make Strawberry Honey Butter to save for winter.
I and friends picked strawberries at the farm, which took a very long time as we ate every other one.
I rinsed and trimmed the berries. The leaves will be saved for chicken food.
I pureed the berries with a bit of raw honey and cane sugar, and cooked them down till thick.
I then canned the strawberry butter to save for when strawberries are out of season.
The extra that didn't fit in the jar on homemade sourdough toast from a friend, very delicious 💕
#homesteading#homemade#homemade bread#solarpunk#ecofriendly#nature#anticonsumerism#anti capitalism#food photography#Commune
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I'm thoroughly amused by glow in the dark skeletal dinosaur parts popping up on things around the house.
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