A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy
Previous blog posts have touched upon the subject of consumerism, a topic on which the opinions are very diverse. Various economist praise consumerism as the driver of progress, yet various people are not too happy about consumerism. Not only is consumerism questionable for the price war it creates, and hence the poor labour conditions it reinforces. Various environmentalists, such as myself, have also criticised consumerism for being the main reason for depleting the earth's resources.
Fashion is a main driver of consumerism. With the continuous renewal of trends, the fashionable society spreads the message that whatever you bought last month, can no longer be worn this month. This reinforces the idea that clothes are 'one-seasonal only' products and gives people an excuse to buy products they already have and hence, don't need. Resulting in a society in which people keep buying the same dress, top and pants, but in a slightly different colour, model or with a different print.
Illustrator Sarah Lazarovic created a book out of this issue. She was fed up with her buying habits and decided to go cold-turkey on consumerism, meaning; no shopping for a year. During this period, instead of purchasing items, she drew them. Not only did she draw the things she did not buy, she also documented her withdrawals and all the lessons she learned. This resulted in the book: A bunch of pretty things I did not buy.
In an interview with Yes! Magazine she says that the main personal gain from not buying stuff is time. Next to that she also freed herself from longing: It simply became unnecessary - as she could just use the stuff she already has. Next to this personal gain Sarah highlights that there is a bigger gain in not buying stuff. "For a long time we viewed shopping too much as merely a personal thing—bad for one’s own pocketbook and mental health, but fairly contained. In recent years, we’ve learned that the way we shop has deep social justice implications—from sweatshop fast fashion to environmental degradation and climate change." Hence, it is our responsibility to act up, not just for our personal gain - an increase in freedom and time -, but also for the world around us. There is no denying that this is a tough battle, but I am convinced it is worth it.
If you are wondering what Sarah is up to now, next to maintaining her hilarious Tumblr account, she is doing something that she calls “covet counselling” in which she helps others to stop buying. In her sessions, she asks her clients to draw the item they want to buy and talk about why the individual wants it item (emotional value) and whether the item makes a good purchase (rational value). Simply by creating a tangible image of the item, the longing to own the item often floats away. To explain this Sarah refers to Daniel Kahneman. In his book, Thinking fast and Slow, he explains that we have two ways of processing things, a fast way (emotional decisions) and a slow way (more rational decision). For shopping we mostly rely on the fast way, resulting in irrational behaviour.
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References:
Dunn, T. (2016). A Fun Way to Stop Buying Things You Don’t Really Need. YES! Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/a-fun-way-to-stop-buying-things-you-dont-really-need-20160908
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Dunn, T. (2016). A Fun Way to Stop Buying Things You Don’t Really Need. YES! Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/a-fun-way-to-stop-buying-things-you-dont-really-need-20160908
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
