13 March 2012

Modifying Mindless Consumption

Do you give much thought to what you buy?

I have been thinking about the life-cycle of what I buy and about the ceaseless waste-stream to which I contribute.

It isn't pretty.

Considering some pre-purchase questions has set me on a path to modify a life-long pattern of mindless consumption.

I began to ask questions like, "What will become of this plastic container holding my iced latte?"
"In a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy."~ Ivan Illich
Before buying an item, I have been trying to be mindful of:
  • How it is packaged?
  • What will I use it for? 
  • How long will I use it?
  • Who else might use it? 
  • How might it be re-purposed?
  • Where will it go when I'm done using it? 
  • Where does it end up?
  • How long until it's decomposed?
I am not trying to motivate myself with guilt, rather I am looking for rules of thumb to modify mindless behavior.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for commenting.