Most shops are just landfill waiting to happen.

[SummerDaytoNight]

I mean, all are to a point, but I’m talking about the non essential ones.

Our society is engineering its own collapse. We only need food, health, house basics and clothing. And I suppose, technology.

Fast fashion could go. Housing should just be the essentials.

My friend took me into a shop called sostrene grene. It was lovely, but nothing was essential. Most shops are like that.

The horse has bolted, but I wish we could limit the unnecessarily stuff and just have the basics. Im not talking Amish level, but there’s no need for all this waste. It would be so much better if only the essentials were produced.

At the point of production, it’s already basically landfill.

There is just so much shit produced. China seems to thinks we want all this crap in the world and keeps churning it out for 10p on Temu.

It's actually grotesque and makes me feel sick with disappointment if I think about it for too long.

The biggest question is: why can't people stop buying all this absolute rubbish???

Life is hard, monotonous, sometimes boring so people want these things as a distraction. Decorating their home, buying clothes, celebrating events.. let people have their bit of fun and happiness. It isn’t going anywhere anyway.

Well sort it out them please.

I am trying to buy less and less and only buy what we need. It is hard though when government etc are measured so much on consumption based growth measures. Policy and decision makers want us buying more and more and more.

I agree that home decoration aren't essential to life but there's nothing wrong with decorating one's home.

There is if it's going to landfill, which is what this thread is about.

Ridiculous amount of the Earth's resources needed to create it, ship it all over the world, store it, use for the selling facility, then destroy it a year or two later with the chemicals and microplastics leeching into the earth for centuries to come.

Then people will wonder why food isn't growing and there are wars over resources.

Obviously buying things that you keep isn't quite as big a problem. It's the disposable stuff that will suffocate us.

We're conditioned to measure ourselves and our value against others. Marketing is such a sophisticated thing, based in propaganda techniques. It exploits and encourages vulnerabilities and FOMO. Internet, social media and YouTube are full of "influencers" promising that your life will be magically improved by this or that "lifestyle" which requires a bunch of accessories to achieve.

The first episode of the new Black Mirror series is chilling and enlightening.

Never heard of sostrene green but it seems to be usual tat but in posher looking shops?

The name is far too close to soylent green for comfort!

There are plenty of ways to find joy in life that don't involve buying excessive amounts of cheap plastic shite from Temu/Shein/B&M.

it's not hard to make a personal decision not to consume as much.
I'm struggling to think of a single gov. policy which would make me buy stuff I don't need

We can buy services and experiences rather than items.

We can eat at local organic food, use local cabs (not giant chains), eat locally made ice cream, cheese, beers, wines. Hire a local venue and a band/dj for your birthday instead of getting an expensive item as a present, buy locally grown plants, local art or craft or food for people as presents instead of items made a thousand miles away.

We can still spend money and fuel the economy without buying shit.

It isn’t going anywhere anyway.

If there wasn't demand for it, the resources could be used for essential things. So that's what would happen in an ideal world.

Honestly if you genuinely need a piece of coloured plastic from China every three months to make your life worth living then you have problems than need sorting... and I am sympathetic but I realise this isn't going to fix it so why screw with the things we actually need for a temporary fix?

There's so much out there that could be reused yet we churn out more and more of it.

@MrsWinslowsSoothingSyrup ’china seems to think we want’ could just as well read ‘China is just the latest in a line of countries feeding our inexorable appetite for…’

Yes there is lobbying from the retail industry, but much of the stuff this thread is talking about us not only made in China but sold directly from Chinese retailers, so it doesn't even benefit the UK economy.

Agree, but its supply and demand so even though 70% agree with you, there are also creating a need for all this crap

I bought a hand made wreath for Christmas this year.

it cost me three times the price of the plastic one I normally put up that I’ve had for twenty years.

it was lovely but because it was all real holly etc after Christmas I had to dis assemble it and the plants could be composted but the ribbons etc went in the bin.

it takes time and or money to decorate with plants.

plastic tat is a lot cheaper.

I bought my baby an Easter themed babygrow for £1 in the charity shop.
That was last years £15 babygrow worn once and at least given to charity.

I had considered buying her one for Easter Sunday but really I didn’t want to spend money on something that is barely worn. I’m as guilty as the next person - so was delighted with this find!

Yes let's only have what we need no room for wants no Christmas cards gifts that are ethical only clothing that is reliably sourced and not dyed frivolous colours because that's bad for the environment too pare everything to the bone who cares if jobs go and people can't afford to live without them we need less people on the planet anyway plus isn't the government pulling in that assisted suicide law anyway so we will be fine will we still do cremation? Apparently in other countries they are composting people that might be more eco friendly and we could probably fit more people in

Dunno my children have played with their squishmallows for years and when they're done, I'll stick them in the wash and donate them to a charity shop as they're pretty well made they will have plenty of life left in them.

Hear hear.

I've just had enough with crap, and feel a combination of bewilderment and disgust at the extent of it.

I also feel the same way about UPFs (ultra processed foods). Supermarkets are heaving with them, and could easily be half the size by cutting half of them out.

Its things like cushions and bedding with seasonal things I don't understand. I use the same bedding and cushions all year round..

Also same with ornaments. I have a few Xmas ones which I swap with the other things I have out on display for 340 days of the year. You don't need have summer ornaments ffs.

This is great in principle, but overlooks that a good proportion of the population has very little disposable income. So a treat has to be cheap or not at all.

Most of the things you mention such as local arts and crafts are out of the price range for average people.

See also the fact that local arts and crafts people often barely make back the cost of materials, never mind time, and it's not a sustainable living, usually a side hustle or hobby. There are many, many reasons why we're trapped in overblown consumerism.

It's not always possible to "make better choices" unless you're prepared to forgotten societal inclusion. Another little marketing trick.

I agree, OP. Friends have just offered me their perfectly good, expensive garden furniture set (£2000+ new three years ago) for free because they feel like a change. It's that plastic rattan stuff. I think they feel sorry for me because we've made do for years with simple wooden chairs which we rub down and paint every few years.

Going to the local authority recycling centre/ dump leaves me feeling shaky. I see people dumping massive amounts of perfectly serviceable stuff — and so much plastic junk. My partner and I are paring down as we get older and avoiding anything plastic or made from artificial fibres as much as we possibly can.

I see you're doing your bit by economising on punctuation...

As I get older the less I want or need. Not because I have everything (far from it) but you can see the tat so much clearer than when you’re younger. My son is still at that age when he wants ‘stuff’ and I remember being just like it in my early twenties.

My weekly rubbish has gone down hugely compared to just a few year’s ago. I no long have Amazon Prime which was a big culprit in me buying stuff (I can’t justify the p&p on it now). It pleases me greatly to see how little rubbish I have for the binman now, sometimes I don’t even bother putting the bins out that week.

I am in the process of decluttering my house as I just can’t tolerate unnecessary stuff/tat anymore.

I know MN hates B&M, but I've had loads of furniture from there. In fact, my coffee table is about 9 years old and from B&M. It's wooden, not plastic too.
I also buy houseplants and pots etc from there. Also food and general consumables (soap etc). Yeah there are a couple of aisles for homeware and seasonal stuff, but the shop is hardly the plastic pit people on here make it out to be.