Most shops are just landfill waiting to happen.

Why not arrange a jumble sale? Be the change you want to see.

We’re all consumers and we can all do something about it - consume less.

Not biodegradable. Recyclable (with an energy cost of course), and you may have noticed that cans are much flimsier now as manufacturers are trying to cut costs.

Or instead of five pairs of imported jeans you could buy one British-made one.

So just...keep on buying??

Even when cheap clothes are made of natural fibres, they’re still made in sweatshops - that’s why they’re cheap. Basically they’re the clothing equivalent of battery chicken except it’s people who suffer instead of animals.

Sostren Grene has some lovely stuff. I wanted to order some bows for my bannister for Christmas like the beautiful ones DD had bought for her tree. Unfortunately the ones I liked couldn't be purchased online and the nearest store is quite a drive away. I don't know how they made them for the price the ones my DD bought were lovely.

I thought the name indicated a Nordic/Scandinavian country as the producer but they do tell you where each product is made and it's either China or India. So I will have to learn how to make the bows myself as I'm not being responsible for transporting stuff across the ocean. Shame I can't sew😂I'll have to do without

I watch 'Sort your life out' and it blows my mind.

All this crap is making people poor AND sad.

Imagine if they added up the cost of all the items binned and money wasted, plus the carbon and nature impacts.

I had a pair of green linen cropped summer "holiday" trousers from Primark which I wore for about a decade every holiday until they ripped beyond the point of repair. I also have a few of their cotton long sleeve t-shirts which are going strong after about 5 years. I also picked up very recently a 100% cotton short summer dress from Primark in a charity shop, the quality is pretty good and it cost me £2. I am not a slave to fashion though and I will probably keep it for several years at least.

But Primark, Zara, H&M and shitey Shein don't want you keeping things for years. Their entire business model is built around only making pennies profit per item so they need you coming back every couple of weeks to buy more and more and more. And because very few of us live in houses with endless wardrobe space, there comes a point when you can't store any more and so declutter, take 5 bags to the tip (because nobody wants second hand primark) and so the cycle starts again.

Stuff that lasts doesn't have to be expensive. We have 30 YO Ikea bookcases that have survived a house move and I wish they would fall apart so I could justify replacing them with some that fit better in the house we're in.

Our crockery, which MIL bought us from Argos, is of similar vintage and cost very little. But it's still fine, so obviously I can't allow myself to replace it with one of the lovely designs I see in shops, because we don't need more stuff.

Absolutely. Sites like Temu and Shein are a big problem.

I buy secondhand, and only when we absolutely need a particular item. Most of my furniture is antique, which is built to last. It’s a shame that modern furniture and clothes etc. aren’t built to last like they once were.

Big companies want us to keep spending, so items aren’t well made, so we keep replacing them when they break.

@Pumpkinforever Re the house 'feels better', I totally agree. I try to think of decluttering as gaining space rather than getting rid of stuff. The idea of gaining something is much more appealing than losing something. It's also good to think that somebody might need or make good use of the things I don't want.

Again, unless you've inspected every piece, you can't possibly know what's there...

Recyling/buying secondhand has finally become fashionable, which can only be a good thing. (I with they’d bring back jumble sales too). Not sure about all the hate for primark - I have clothing from there that’s lasted very well.
I’m on holiday at the moment and the latest thing seems to be shops totally devoted to the needs of dogs.

@WithManyTot
"The film Wall-E becomes more and more of a "fly on the wall" documentary every day."

Yers. That, and 'The Idiocracy'. I wonder if a remake of Wall-E as a non animation film would be a good idea...

Exactly. And IMO is even more likely to end up on landfill as the higher price points will likely mean that not all of it sells. Now that IS wasteful.

I want a future with breathable air and pollinators that allow me to eat.

I want a world that is not 3'C hotter (which means 6'C in cities.)

I want a home that is not flooded.

I don't want wars over water and mass migration.

Economics and money are made up human ideas. We can change the rules.

Aluminium in neurofibrillary tangles - cause or effect?

There was some evidence that aluminium was found in post mortem of those involved in the Camelford contamination.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelford_water_pollution_incident

I limit my aluminium exposure. I also limit my exposure to pthalates & bisphenolA but still use non-stick cookware & greaseproof paper despite the issue of PFAS.

From what I've seen the Al connection to Alzheimers is still suspected, but as I said upthread I haven't kept up with that particular issue.

It's also disgustingly cheap (which should tell you all you need to know about the quality!) and buying to last is often out of price range. I know it often is for us as a family.

Metal tins for hand cream, metal tubes for toothpaste, glass bottles for bubble bath, bars of soap in cardboard boxes.

I absolutely HATE it. All the Easter crap absolutely everywhere. Ten years ago it wasn't even a thing. But I understand why parents feel obliged to get half of it. Keeping up with the Jones' and all that. Feeling their children will be the only ones without the massive haul of plastic shit. I refuse to participate, but it's easy when mine is only a toddler. I have no intention of bowing to peer pressure, but I should imagine it will become more difficult as my DC gets older, especially around Christmas.

You’re right, @jellyfishperiwinkle, but you can do some research into brands. If something is B Corp, for example, it isn’t necessarily perfect but it has been through an arduous certification process. Natural fibres from a B Corp retailer are definitely a start.

I don't trust that more expensive brands are ethically produced. Polyester in Reiss, Whistles or Hobbs is still polyester, they just have a bigger mark up on it. Some is more environmentally friendly but most doesn't say either way, so I wouldn't assume it was better.

Have you ever been to a landfill. There is stillage after stillage full of perfectly good pink plastic tat. It's enough to make you weep.

Most of my frivolous expenditure in the last month has been on plants and making a wildlife pond. Hope it helps the local insect population and also amphibians.