Looking at Consumption: part 2 "A wasting disease"

Looking at Consumption: part 2 A wasting disease

consumption |kənˈsəm(p) sh ən|
noun
1 the using up of a resource
• the eating, drinking, or ingesting of something
• an amount of something that is used up or ingested
• the purchase and use of goods and services by the public
• the reception of information or entertainment, esp. by a mass audience

2 dated a wasting disease, esp. pulmonary tuberculosis.


I often shop at resale and thrift stores, as well as trade, consign and donate there. But I also shopped at many chain stores and local stores for whatever I thought I needed. As our perspective on consumption changed, our shopping habits plummeted. When I thought I needed something, I had to ask myself some important questions.

Is it fairly traded?
Is it produced by exploiting resources or people?
Is it shipped long distance, using fossil fuels?

Last Winter, when I wanted to buy christmas lights that were not made in China, I found none, so I settled for buying lights second hand. At least I was not supporting the unfair labour and wasted fossil fuel directly. With buying criteria like fairly traded, organic, sweat-free, and local, there were so many products that I could not buy, so I just stopped going to the stores that would not carry these products. I had already stopped shopping at Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart. Now I stopped shopping Target, Fred Meyer, Home Depot, Old Navy, etc. to purchase my whims. I started looking for things made and sold by local companies, or through resale shops, thrift stores, and craigslist.

With such limitations on what I buy, I have seriously curtailed my drive for shopping, consuming and owning. I still make lists of things that I would like to buy, but after awhile, I find that I am living just fine without most of those things on my list. Occasionally I would go to a thrift store looking for a particular thing and find myself tempted to buy several things I hadn't thought I needed until I saw them there. I would feel more free to buy them because my purchase is not directly linked to the source. (I have not yet done the research to know if there is any reason I should not support Goodwill or Value Village stores). I began to ask myself a new set of questions.

Do I actually have the money?
Is it going to sit in my possession until I die?
Is it an attempt to store up/fortify/secure for the future?
Is it for comparison to or acceptance from others?
Is it a mass produced substitute for creativity?
Am I going to use it this month/this year?
How is it going to enhance my life?
Am I consuming to secure against interdependence
Am I consuming the goods and services associated with a certain identity?

These are some notes I wrote while reading "Not Buying It"

"You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough" -Blake
"Luxury Fever"
"The upward creep of desire"
"Reject consumer as my sole role and reclaim my other public identity: Citizen." - from the book "Not Buying It"
The sleep of the laborer is sweet
Those who go after ill-gotten gain - do not go with them
Sabbath - rest from working for provision and security. Rest in God's provision and security.

I wanted to know how others made their consumption choices, so I sent a survey to friends. I posted it on this blog as well. Soon I will compile the responses, but I still want to hear from a few people.