#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 😬😕

Yep can’t stand it buying new shite every season

we have homemade Halloween decorations that come out each year and we do carve pumpkins

I have some nice ghost and cat candle holders but I use those all year as I like them

I also have Halloween cat cushions that my kids are obsessed with and use in their beds all year too

I never buy single use stuff

have had my Christmas tree years and same decorations and lights forever too

i suppose when their kids are fucked in the future in flash floods and fires they will at least have a load Halloween tat - that plastic pumpkin lantern might be a comfort to them 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I carve two real pumpkins, flesh goes in a veg soup and they go on the compost heap after Halloween. I cannot stand plastic tat .

People do think though they have a right to shite. They deserve the "nice things" in life and think that nice things involve lots of disposable, cheaply made items.

DD has just moved into a student flat - furnished - with some very what you would call old fashioned, sturdy, brown furniture. When she viewed the flat she was horrified. SO UGLY, why didn;t they just go and get it all new from Ikea? Now they've actually moved in and started to use the ugly, old-fashioned chests of drawers, wardrobes and sideboards they have realised that they are so much sturdier and better made, and can stand up to years of use by not so careful student tenants.

A lot of people are now only having one child though (a couple of generations ago, this wasn't the norm, and it now is in some areas), which will make more difference overall, as in fewer consumers, and a lot of the plastic tat tends to be bought by younger people/for kids. You talk about Boomers, but they tended to recycle more than us, and yes they had "stuff" but didn't tend to nip to Home Bargains for plastic pumpkins, update their Christmas tat each year, buy plastic nails/botox/fillers, or a new outfit everytime they went out.

It’s depressing how many people don’t give a fuck about the environment, yesterday I saw an ad for a device that allows you to collect food scraps at the corner of your sink in a Single use plastic net you then throw in the bin. So many people in the comments asking for the link to buy it.

Overconsumption and the amount of chemicals in our homes from cheap tat is a massive problem.

A big issue we've had is loads of vintage China that cannot be used due to high lead and cadmium levels.
It's so sad, but people don't display plates or dishes anymore.
I've kept what I can, but so much went in the skip 😕

I think you would be ok to use anything made post war (lead glazes were banned in the UK in 1949 to protect pottery workers ) and certainly anything made in the last 50 years, so that’s most crockery that is finding its way into the second hand market. So mick online info picks up American safety legislation and they do seem to be later in banning lead glazes.
Caveated to add I wouldn’t eat off plates that were originally made to be decorative items rather than dinner services or ones where the glaze has worn down to the under painting.

I would be more concerned about the glazes on cheap imported China after reading the info on the AsdA handbag recall.

I’m a year round Halloween person so whilst it probably looks like I’m buying a load of stuff, it’s not just for Halloween
these are my permanent sofa cushions
this year I have bought 2 mugs, 2 tea towels and a cushion which will be used year round

Also some paint and plastic on toys etc. It’s really not good for you to use.

Cushions and stuffed toys is also things I would never ever buy second hand.

Some of it was Victorian and pre WW1. Really lovely stuff.

@arcticduck
I agree. I think soft furnishings, cuddly toys, painted vintage anything really. You have to be careful.

My friend is the same. It's Halloween 12 months a year in her house 😊

I feel I must make a confession...
I found (another) gorgeous 100% cotton hand embroidered Tablecloth in a box.
I do not need anymore tablecloths but I just couldn't bare to send it to the charity shop where it might end up in a scrap bag 😒
So...I've got another Tablecloth 😄

I couldn't believe how little some of the 18/19th century furniture was worth.
£40!!?
Crazy.

The value given to older furniture is absurd. It’s much better quality in terms of timber and craftsmanship than anything that can be bought today in the mass market shops. It’s imho more beautiful too. If big business could find a way of making money from it then I think it would be pushed all over instagram, but they can’t, so it isn’t.
Theres always comments about it being too big for modern houses but an awful lot of it was made for modest Victorian homes and 30s semis and isn’t too big at all. I can’t stand how it’s referred to as ‘brown furniture’ to further downgrade it ,rather than oak or mahogany. At least 60s teak is fairing slightly better and occasionally gets seen in advertisements.
Sorry for the rant - it’s a particular bugbear of mine, although it does mean I own some beautiful 18th century dining chairs that I could never have afforded when I was younger.

There are worse places and pumpkin vines actually smell quite nice! I have 3 swirling round my back garden right now! The scent is divine - which incidentally, doesn’t smell anything like the many pumpkin-scented candles of TK Maxx, come autumn

I don't Smoke,drink,eat dead things,wear fur,leather,suede,feather&down,silk or wool .

Can I have the odd bit of tat as my Carbon Footprint is small

Oh and I have 2 Hallowe'en -ey black cats but they're a permanent fixture

I completely agree

How do you feel about child labour and human rights violations?
To answer your question, yes, of course you can. Most people do, it seems.

@Itsnouse
A phrase I keep hearing is mid century modern, which as far as I understand is very teak and formica heavy?
Teak is problematic due to the devastation of teak wood forests iirc?
Probably why it's holding some value.
I'm not a fan of mahogany, but you can't even give really beautiful stuff away.
I dunno. I can't help but think an 18th century (napoleonic era), good condition piece of furniture should cost more than an ikea kalkax unit 🤷‍♀️

My youngest dc informs me ikea is not as eco friendly as it seems.

Which other vintage things should we not be buying?

We have Halloween and autumn decorations. We have used them for +10 years now. I like them.

I try to avoid waste and fast fashion.
I have shoes and boots that are several winters old till I replace them.
But I cannot do everything for everyone.
My toiletries cosmetics and cleaning products all have the leaping bunny logo