To be bothered by how much we consume as a society...

[Cakelesswonder]

Don't get me wrong I love a retail therapy session but today just felt utterly gluttonous in the amount of ads for Black Friday, the 'deals, I couldn't move for emails offering me 20% off lots of things I don't need. I'm not suggesting everyone knits their own yogurt and lives like Mormons but I really feel we don't have the resources on Earth to keep consuming, throwing and consuming like we do. Everything is disposable, straws, clothes, we buy water in bottles then throw them away polluting the oceans and planet for ourselves and future generations. I have no idea what the overall solution is but it really got to me today .

Not read thread yet so forgive me if it's been said but :

if you are using wrapping paper it was reported last year that foil stuff can't be recycled via your household waste, so use non shiny.

Does anyone not do cards, or just minimal numbers of cards?
The "card for every kid in the class" is just mad.

Im pretty good with reusing items and a lot of my eldests toys are used by my youngest six yearsater. Im glad that they are not massive fans of lots of 'stuff'. My sister takes care of unwanted fabric as she makes her daughter clothes etc. Packaging is a pain though. I ought to be more conscious of that but i do recycle where necessary

Pure café at Waterloo station has a tap for commuters to refill their own water bottles...a step in the right direction.

I wish other places would do the same, and it doesn't have to be for free

• I'd pay a reasonable amount to refill my own bottle with tap water from a café or somewhere else.

Oxfam sells really nice reusable cups.

What about ethical Christmas crackers? I love the tradition of it but I HATE the waste of tat inside. Gets used between courses at Christmas dinner and then left on the table and binned later. Awful.

Where do I go to get ethical crackers?

Dunno about ethical crackers but trade ones really are the very definition of waste. A few seconds of 'fun'. Some bemusement trying to work out what the lump of plastic 'gift' is and then a pile of non-recyclable rubbish.

Trade?? I meant trad(itional)

Make your own crackers like the Goods

I agree with so much on this thread. For many years now I have tried to avoid waste/excessive consumption in the following ways.

Food - always plan meals and buy accordingly so I waste very little. I buy most of my fruit and veg at the greengrocers where most of it is loose, and only use a (paper) bag if absolutely necessary. I always take my own shopping bags (have been doing this for years).

Clothes - I wear most things until they are dropping apart, and cut things up for rags afterwards if possible. Outgrown clothes of ds's have always been charity shopped/eBayed if still ok, and I have often bought some of his clothes second hand (and some of mine).

Electrical goods, I use until they break and can't be repaired. Which is why I have a 10 year old laptop (it still works) and I only replaced my several-years-old phone when it got wet and wouldn't charge up any more. I think the idea that we all have to have the latest version of all the gadgets is criminal really.

Christmas gifts - my family all give each other ideas of what they would like, so we don't buy unwanted gifts. Any "surprise" gifts are usually edible (and we know each other's tastes) so never wasted.

Curlyhaired, some places sell "fill your own" crackers where the casing and snap is provided and you insert your own gifts. That way you can choose things you know people will like and actually use, rather than tat.

You can get fill your own cracker kits.

How to make your own!

www.jamieoliver.com/news-and-features/features/homemade-christmas-crackers/

@Nyx1 Crackers 18.35 point.

Nyx1

Sorry

Agreed. The concept of "secret santa" should be illegal as it just encourages people to buy novelty tat which is binned. Toiletry gift sets should also be illegal, unless presented with the bare mininum of packaging.

DH and I often have this conversation when we're out walking round a town or city or driving down a motorway, about how much extraneous 'stuff' there is in our world, whether it's street furniture, advertising hoardings, neon lights in shops, signage, heat curtains at shop doors. Just 'stuff' that intrinsically makes no positive difference to anyone's life, but uses up the earth's precious resources. We're really trying to be a bit more responsible with our consumption. It's just so easy these days to over consume - I'm in my fifties and was remembering childhood Christmases where we as a family had 1 tin of Quality Street, 1 family size packet of crisps etc., and this stuff was a wonderful treat because we didn't have it at any other time of the year. Now this kind of thing is consumed ALL the time, nothings a treat or special anymore, and we just seem to have to have more, or more expensive stuff just to make things seem special (for example all the ridiculous advent calendars appearing containing everything from gin to cheese to scented candles).

I am becoming increasingly more conscious of our greed and consumerism and absolutely HATE it.

Something else I think can easily be avoided is the disposable tins.

On the reusable coffee cup thing - I have one which I got in Waitrose for £3. Yes it's plastic, but it's a strong plastic which keeps the coffee hot. I've had it about a year, used it a couple of times a week, chucked it in the dishwasher repeatedly and it's great. It will be kept until it's dead, cracked and no longer usable. Starbucks gets a lot of stick for avoiding tax and other things but gives you 25p off every time you bring your own cup. www.starbucks.co.uk/responsibility/environment/recycling

I'm another huge charity shop fan. I volunteer in a charity shop and the amount of stuff which comes in is shocking, we're already bracing ourselves for the post-Christmas tat deluge.

I don't think giving up everything and living totally eco is achievable for many. But everyone can do some things which will reduce consumerism - one less present for people, buying experiences rather than stuff, mending something rather than chucking it out, getting an old bookcase and painting it rather than a new one from Ikea.

People laughed at Margo but now look at xmas deliveries.....!

PP mentioned a plastic ocean, there is also a plastic tide and a plastic whale. The latter was about a whale who had starved to death because its stomach was full of plastic. I think I read that there was t be a tax on single use plastic.

Interesting thread.

I feel compelled to hand myself in as a waster and consumer.
I have been growing increasingly frantic during December with that feeling of need to buy and it has made me feel unhappy.

I do recycle but clearly badly, I had no idea that you should clean containers that you put in recycling or you should remove labels?

I would like to make some big changes but in a simple way.

It would be so useful to have a small changes, big impact to do list for people like me. Sort of a Recycling for Dummies suggestions?

November

opal I think we need just that sort of a thread. I've got a few new habits that I've taken up to try and do my bit - I buy soap bars instead of plastic bottles of shower gel/handwash, and have bought glass water bottles to use and rubber drinking straws for the kids. Reusable San pro is great too, and obviously cloth nappies. We need a thread to inspire each other to make changes.

One thing that works fir me is not buying on impulse.

If it's online I put it in my basket and see if I still want it a week.
Same in the shops, just leave it for a while and think whether it will be useful or appreciated in a year or so.