Despite the fact that although 2020 has ended and the chaos has not, we have reason to be more optimistic about the environment in 2021.
consumerism
Low-Waste Self-Care that Costs (Almost) Nothing

These low-waste, self-care ideas can help alleviate stress and anxiety without requiring you to spend money buying stuff you don’t need.
7 Ways to Spot Greenwashing and How to Avoid It

We consumers want to do the right thing and marketers know this. Hence the vague language, fuzzy animals and other greenwashing tactics.
Plan to Reduce Waste

When in human history have we ever not had to plan ahead for our needs? Overnight shipping is only a recent development.
How Do I Make My Parents Live More Sustainably?

“I’m a teenager living at home with unsupportive parents. What can I do to make them stop using so much plastic and be more sustainable?”
Zero-Waste Babies and Toddlers

Like all things zero-waste, with a bit of planning, you can drastically reduce waste with babies and toddlers.
49 Zero-Waste Ways to Save Thousands of Dollars

Some aspects of zero-waste living cost more but most cost less.
Needs Are Problems Looking for Solutions, not Products

The marketing industry has trained us well to buy products that will supposedly solve all of life’s problems. But you might already have what you need.
Want to Combat Climate Change? Pick Up Your Damn Socks

To tackle the challenges brought on by climate change—and the grassroots, anti-consumer, zero-waste movement plays a role—we women could use some help.
I’m not Extreme, Consumerism Is

A woman rides her bike to the farmers’ market to buy locally grown fresh fruit and vegetables. After carefully selecting some apples, oranges, avocados, potatoes and kale, all grown on small farms without the use of synthetic pesticides, she places them in her homemade cloth produce bags. Before she hops back on her bike, she […]
21 Consumer Products You Can (Likely) Live Without

Updated 12/18/17: This post does NOT contain affiliate links. If you buy any of the products I link to below, I will NOT receive a commission. I haven’t written a rant for some time… I was slow to see the hit show Mad Men. I found it difficult to watch a bunch of white, sexist, […]
5 Buy Nothing Day Activities

Updated 11/27/20 Buy Nothing Day (previously known as Black Friday) may come around just once a year but you can embrace it year round. Adbusters launched the day in the early 1990s to protest the consumer madness that kicks off in the U.S. (and now all over) the day after Thanksgiving. You can read more […]
Amnesia of Things Past

Yesterday, I attended an antique fair in Moss Landing, just north of Monterey. I bought the two honeycomb shaped ice-cube trays pictured below. Not only do these ice-cube trays replace icky plastic, they evoke childhood memories.