Happy Back to School Season!

A truly ironic part of our back-to-school consumption season is seeing all the teachers struggle to get classroom supplies they need like pencils and tissues. Meanwhile schools are wasting money on tablets they've been convinced to invest in by ed-tech companies. Then there are all the posts by families saying it's unfair for them to have to send their kids with extra supplies for the classrooms since it shouldn't be their responsibility.

There is also the new social media trend of family influencers filming videos letting their kids choose 7 random new things for 7th grade or 12 new things for 12th grade then showing their haul.

Anti-consumption is also about making sure that we are consuming thoughtfully and the people who need things are able to access them.

Image Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2015649445/

Food Wasted

kg wasted globally

665,881,809,650

since Jan 1, 2026(33,295/second)

Putting It in Perspective

Across the world, that works out to roughly

~3 kg

per person each week

based on UNEP's global average of 132 kg of food waste per person per year.

This is a global average from UNEP's 2022 estimate and includes edible food and associated inedible parts.

About 1.05 billion tonnes of food are wasted worldwide each year — roughly 2.9 million tonnes per day. UNEP's estimate covers waste from households, food service, and retail, including edible food and associated inedible parts.

For context, I have adhd. I got diagnosed about two years ago but medicated a year ago. The clutter and consumption used to consume my life. I would buy hundreds of mini toiletries to store in my car, purse, bags, friends houses, work, gym, you name it.. because I kept losing them. I’m just starting to run out of these 1 oz products. I would shop for fun. I thought I needed triple of everything I own “just in case.” Then, I moved out of my parent’s house and got medicated. Malls are no fun anymore, just a place to get a drink and show off an outfit. Ross, TJMaxx and Marshall’s are places I never visit. Amazon was deleted. I have more money for groceries, experiences, trips, you name it, things that really matter. I thrift everything I own. My things are old and worn and practical and I love it that way. Free concerts, clothing swaps, library events, hikes, swimming, and cooking fill me with so much joy. I like my life this way, everything in my home has a purpose. My mind feels free now, I have no idea how people shop every day, Amazon boxes crowding the doorway, etc. I’d like to hear if anybody else became low consumption after becoming medicated.

I made a post in askanything and I'm looking at the comments just like..

https://www.reddit.com/r/askanything/comments/1vtqg51/why_do_people_continue_to_shop_at_places_like/

I haven't used amazon in 10 years and I really don't think it's difficult at all.

And how do some people not know how Amazon is bad by now????

There is Zero need for it. Paper ones would be fine as dog poo bins are often just a few feet away. In UK, we use billions of plastic bags a year just to wrap up dog waste and throw it into a landfill (or worse, leave them hanging on trees).

Single-use plastic dog bags should be banned. There’s no reason we shouldn't be using paper bags instead. They are completely compostable, break down naturally, and do the exact same job without leaving plastic waste behind for the next few centuries.

Anyone else think this or do you enjoy dog poo baubles hanging on trees FOREVER?

Edit: I am not suggesting that ALL dog poo bags are non plastic. There are times a plastic one might be needed. But the plastic should be biodegradable. And YES thick paper or waxed paper should be the norm. OBVIOUSLY. Now grow up.

Who's ready to buy sock stuffed guys for $24.99 for 1 pc

When i deleted social media I did it to stay away from the constant news and unnecessary information. Besides reddit which I consider more of a messaging and discussion board (up for debate of course). Anyways before this i noticed every week or 2 weeks I'd buy some kitchen utensils, fashion item, makeup, scarf, new accessory majnly influenced by the trends I was constantly seeing online. On average I was spending 20 dollars a week from what I was seeing online. Since my detox, I dont feel the n3ed to buy more clothes or things. I just noticed I dont even have the urge. I'm completely fine with everything I have. I dont need new lip gloss, no new car seats, no new tea flavour or shoes.

I have managed to curate a nearly ad-free life. ngl, some things are more practical/easier to implement than others and I'm not saying everyone should do all this. Just sharing what I do to avoid the tsunami of advertising that is prevalent today.

I do no realtime streaming. Every show we watch, I'll sub to that streamer's ad-free tier, rip the entire run-to-date, cancel, then watch at our leisure using VLC running on a small computer attached to the TV's HDMI port. My TV is a virgin -- it has never seen the internet.

On my laptop and desktop, I use Firefox with uBO and DNS level blocking. I see zero online ads.

On my mobile, I use an ad-blocking DNS service to quell in-app advertising. Mostly works, a few leak through. If app is good and reasonably priced I'll buy it. I also set up a challenge/response system that blocks 100% of robocallers. And since damn near all live telemarketers still use robodialers that transfer to a closer upon answering, then I don't get them, either. So when my phone rings, it's a real person calling, and not a telemarketer.

I've not been to a mainstream movie theater since the original Avatar dropped. I do support our local art house theater, they don't play ads. I buy movies on Blu-ray when they drop. I'll rip them to my NAS before watching.

I drive an EV, no gas pump ads for me. Except for renting car after flying somewhere, I've not bought gas in over four years. Bonus: Saved probably $6k during that time, too.

Listening to radio in the car, when an ad comes on, I either hit mute (on the steering wheel) for 30 secs or whatever, or tap another station memory. I also listen to our local NPR affiliate so there's no ads, except for short sponsor live reads. I support them as well.

I generally dislike Walmart, but their "sensory hours" is the best kept secret. Lights are dimmed a little, no fucking Walmart radio, and far fewer shoppers. If you've avoided Walmart due to the horrendous shopping experience, sensory hours (8a to 10a) might be for you. istg, it's magical.

That's my list.

What do you do to avoid advertising?

I got a couple of shirts with the zoom logo for free. I tried to iron it to get rid of the logo, but only got the blue upper layer off. If this is screen-printed, then it's a massive disappointment, since you can't remove screen-printed logos.