#landfillcore...so depressing 😞

[Badvocthebad]

I've been irl shopping recently and, of course, ads all over SM...
The absolute tat being sold in all shops with an "autmnal theme"!
Pumpkin cushions, pumpkin mugs, highland cows (?) on everything from socks to pjs to blankets...
Its all mass produced, plastic crap, probably made by children in sweatshops. (Polyester is plastic for those who aren't aware)
The world is burning. Literally. The over consumption is killing us all slowly (some of us not so slowly..)
I'm not against buying things you need (although how much of what what we buy do we really need?) <just spent a year clearing out 2 relatives houses....trust me, you don't need 2/3 of what's in your home>
Just this week I've bought vintage 100% linen napkins and some dinner plates from vinted. All as new, but used. (I don't use plastic or paper napkins)
Cost me about £25.
Plastic tat is killing this planet, plastic grass is killing the pollinators (they die, we all die...)
It's just so...depressing. It's why I don't really do irl shopping anymore. Even clothes are all polyester/viscose/acrylic messes.
I'm currently in the process of de cluttering my house/loft. I don't want my kids to have to go through what I have over the past few years (this is the 3rd house I've had to clear in a decade)
By 2032, there will be the largest weather transfer in history.
The boomers are dying out and there houses and garages and sheds and lofts and cellars which are full of stuff which will be saturating the market.
It's a sunny Sunday morning here and- yet again - I'm going to be doing a tip run to give things to the re-home section.
I know some will say "well, its free will"
But..is it? Really? When we are now bombarded with ads and insta worthy houses and influencers flogging the latest highland cow merch from b&m?
Aren't we all just being played?
Sorry, bit of a rant for a Sunday morning 😬😕

For me it's something I've had to be really self aware of. Honestly I quite like some of the tat although equally a lot of it looks like cheap shite. I'm also a sucker for pumpkin spice latte although at least I'm actually consuming that.

Can I just say - I’ve found my people. I’ve felt like this all my life - im not a hemp wearing eco warrior either - but I hate ‘stuff’. Useful stuff - lovely. But stuff for the sake of stuff makes me feel claustrophobic and when you see it in the shops it does make you sad to think of the waste at every single level. We burnt the planet for some novelty Santa’s -whoops - sorry dear great grandchildren.

And yet it is so difficult to get rid of good quality things.

We are clearing out MILs house and she had top quality crockery, glassware and furniture and we can’t give it away because it’s not fashionable atm.

You must realise that this isn't typical though?

Of course there will be a range of buying habits, but you all seem to be hyper focused on the minority of people that are compeltely OTT and irresponsible, just so you can revel in your own smugness and suppsed superiority.

The Asda bag recall reminds me of one I bought from Tu many years ago. DS was quite little and we were going abroad for our first holiday. I wanted a bag that had lots of pockets and was cross body and one I bought was perfect. Imagine my horror when I was stopped at the security scanner for the first time ever as my bag tested positive for explosives!

I was taken to one side and had to have all my belongings swabbed and was searched. It was made very clear to me that if there were any more traces on anything then I would be arrested. Fortunately the trace amounts on the bag were under the threshold for action and no more was found so I was allowed on my way.

@IStillHearTheWaves It isn’t typical to have a skip on your driveway twice a year, no, but others may well be creating just as much waste but taking it to the tip every month, or disposing of it gradually in their household waste. I’m not smug btw, just anxious and despairing really. 😬

8 year old just come home from a party with a decent sized plastic bag (not the standard old fashioned ones) with loads of plastic tat, a mini teddy bear, even the cake came in a plastic box. Why?

Yes, I've found this, too.
Luckily the local Sally army shop has taken lots of stuff that other charity shops said no to (200 sherry glasses anyone??)
I could weep at some of the stuff we did have to throw away...leather sofa (no fire cert), garden furniture, so many lovely pictures - no one would take them.

@Iheartmysmart😲😲😲😲

Amongst my circle (well educated professionals) it’s very normal to buy excessive stuff (clothing, toys, redecorating etc.). It’s not all cheap tat but it still ends up in landfill soon enough.

Oh, that's awful 😖
I used to give out books as party gifts 😬😄

i always wonder at the assumption on here by people like @Badvocthebadthat seasonal stuff being bought will be thrown away after a couple of weeks, not stored for next year. Other than seasonal consumables (like scented candles, flowers, foods), we do decorate for Halloween, Christmas, Easter etc but we reuse previous years stuff, often just add something new to replace things broken/worn out. There’s an understanding that few people who decorate for Christmas buy entirely new stuff every year, yet somehow the idea that other people store and use other decorations for years, doesn’t seem to occur to the anti-decoration people (sorry- “tat”).

The vast quantities of this stuff on sale though doesn't support the idea that nearly everyone is making carefully considered purchases and only replacing things which are broken.

I do reuse mine but agree that shops wouldn't be stocking it in such quantities if people weren't buying it.

I don’t disagree at all, it’s tacky as hell and sooooo much plastic. However, thankfully, only about 50% of waste (in England, at least) actually goes to landfill. The other 50% is burnt at waste-to-energy-recovery plants. Sadly it’s a lot less in other areas of the UK…. But yes, either way I completely agree this pumpkin obsession has gone way too far.
I grow Pumpkins in my garden and they don’t look anything like the pumpkins on Primark/Next/Asda duvets/tea towels/tablecloths/mugs etc etc!

I'm not Anti decorations.

I'm anti child labour made, plastic, unsafe temu/shein rubbish made in countries with horrendous human rights records that ends up in landfill by January 2nd.

The mug I understand as they have a function and a nice hot chocolate or coffee requires a chunky mug imo. However, declaring your living room to be a Pumpkin Patch when it is 1. Nothing of the sort and 2. Barely anyone except you, actually sees said sign, is odd to me but it’s not my house!

Do the people who buy this crap never stop and think?
Who made this? Where? Why? What were their working conditions like? Does it conform to uk safety regs?
What happens to it all once valentines day/easter/halloween/Christmas is over?
By the sheer amount of tat being sold, I'd assume not many do 😕

I've cut right back on gift giving for this reason. So many times we give pointless, token gifts to people because it is "the done thing" and they don't even want them. About 5 years ago I was tidying up our porch in about August and I found a carrier bag of presents our family had received at DH's large extended family's Christmas party that I'd hung on a peg, put a coat over and forgotten about. Nobody had missed it or looked for their gifts. I therefore suggested we didn't bother with presents the following year and the entire family bar one person agreed it was a good idea. We still have the get together but there is no giving of gifts that people didn't want to buy to people who don't want to receive! I think everyone enjoys it just as much, probably more in fact.
I try to buy gifts that people really want or need now,or non physical things like concert tickets, tickets to an attraction etc or something I have made. Our adult DC have followed suit and started clubbing together to buy DH and me one bigger present rather than a pile of parcels which is much better.
I'd like to see the end of things like workplace Secret Santas and token gift giving in general as so much ends up unused afterwards.

We did this a few years ago too. It was after I'd been to m&s for something. I was just mooching around waiting for dh when I saw multiple people just grabbing and throwing the 3 for 2 gifts in their shopping trolley (I've seen similar on boots, too)
"That'll do for Janet"
No thought or tine spent.
You always see such gifts at the charity shops or as raffle prizes cone January. What a waste!

Maybe I want to live in a pumpkin patch? Fake it until you make it, right?

Also, I don’t buy decor to for other people to see. It’s for me…

Old china dishes are not always safe for everyday use though because they may contain toxic heavy metals like lead and cadmium in their glazes and paints!

There are lots of other vintage stuff you really should not buy either.

Same reasons people spend their days scrolling/ watching slop/ popping antidepressants- modern life especially the social disconnect brought about by technology and the way life is set up to drain you so you keep spending the max amount has made everyone either clinically depressed or subclinically depressed.

I agree. Especially regarding seasonal decor. It seems to get more and more every year. Even right down to bedding to match the season. What's the point?

All we do each year, is go as a family to the local garden centre and pick one (or sometimes two if we can't agree) new bauble for the Christmas tree.

I was in The Range earlier in the week to get some cleaning bits, and all their Christmas stuff is already out. Aisles and aisles of the stuff, and most of it, pure and absolute tat. Some people must be buying all new every year, which I personally find so sad. Surely it's nicer to build on the collection slowly each year? And remember the Christmases of previous years?

Same.