r/Anticonsumption

▲ 192 r/Anticonsumption+1 crossposts

Neutrogena finally responds after Hayden Panettiere’s death and backlash over ‘firing’ her

I’m so sick of these big corps. Has anyone seen this? Neutrogena has only just responded after the huge backlash and the stocks drop. People were boycotting the brand. If they don’t care about the people representing them, then they defo don’t care about the people buying their products.

thetab.com
u/CoMmOdOrEtHrAwN69 — 4 hours ago
🔥 Hot ▲ 5.1k r/Anticonsumption

Hate to see all the teachers struggle to get classroom supplies

Happy Back to School Season!

A truly ironic part of our back-to-school consumption season is seeing all the teachers struggle to get classroom supplies they need like pencils and tissues. Meanwhile schools are wasting money on tablets they've been convinced to invest in by ed-tech companies. Then there are all the posts by families saying it's unfair for them to have to send their kids with extra supplies for the classrooms since it shouldn't be their responsibility.

There is also the new social media trend of family influencers filming videos letting their kids choose 7 random new things for 7th grade or 12 new things for 12th grade then showing their haul.

Anti-consumption is also about making sure that we are consuming thoughtfully and the people who need things are able to access them.

Image Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2015649445/

u/robotscantrecaptcha — 16 hours ago

The UK uses roughly 9 billion to 13 billion PLASTIC single use dog poo bags each year

There is Zero need for it. Paper ones would be fine as dog poo bins are often just a few feet away. In UK, we use billions of plastic bags a year just to wrap up dog waste and throw it into a landfill (or worse, leave them hanging on trees).

Single-use plastic dog bags should be banned. There’s no reason we shouldn't be using paper bags instead. They are completely compostable, break down naturally, and do the exact same job without leaving plastic waste behind for the next few centuries.

Anyone else think this or do you enjoy dog poo baubles hanging on trees FOREVER?

Edit: I am not suggesting that ALL dog poo bags are non plastic. There are times a plastic one might be needed. But the plastic should be biodegradable. And YES thick paper or waxed paper should be the norm. OBVIOUSLY. Now grow up.

reddit.com
u/R3DSmurf — 18 hours ago

It is possible to live a (nearly) ad-free life

I have managed to curate a nearly ad-free life. ngl, some things are more practical/easier to implement than others and I'm not saying everyone should do all this. Just sharing what I do to avoid the tsunami of advertising that is prevalent today.

I do no realtime streaming. Every show we watch, I'll sub to that streamer's ad-free tier, rip the entire run-to-date, cancel, then watch at our leisure using VLC running on a small computer attached to the TV's HDMI port. My TV is a virgin -- it has never seen the internet.

On my laptop and desktop, I use Firefox with uBO and DNS level blocking. I see zero online ads.

On my mobile, I use an ad-blocking DNS service to quell in-app advertising. Mostly works, a few leak through. If app is good and reasonably priced I'll buy it. I also set up a challenge/response system that blocks 100% of robocallers. And since damn near all live telemarketers still use robodialers that transfer to a closer upon answering, then I don't get them, either. So when my phone rings, it's a real person calling, and not a telemarketer.

I've not been to a mainstream movie theater since the original Avatar dropped. I do support our local art house theater, they don't play ads. I buy movies on Blu-ray when they drop. I'll rip them to my NAS before watching.

I drive an EV, no gas pump ads for me. Except for renting car after flying somewhere, I've not bought gas in over four years. Bonus: Saved probably $6k during that time, too.

Listening to radio in the car, when an ad comes on, I either hit mute (on the steering wheel) for 30 secs or whatever, or tap another station memory. I also listen to our local NPR affiliate so there's no ads, except for short sponsor live reads. I support them as well.

I generally dislike Walmart, but their "sensory hours" is the best kept secret. Lights are dimmed a little, no fucking Walmart radio, and far fewer shoppers. If you've avoided Walmart due to the horrendous shopping experience, sensory hours (8a to 10a) might be for you. istg, it's magical.

That's my list.

What do you do to avoid advertising?

reddit.com
u/valkyriebiker — 18 hours ago

Food waste averages 132 kilograms per person globally each year

Food Wasted

kg wasted globally

665,881,809,650

since Jan 1, 2026(33,295/second)

Putting It in Perspective

Across the world, that works out to roughly

~3 kg

per person each week

based on UNEP's global average of 132 kg of food waste per person per year.

This is a global average from UNEP's 2022 estimate and includes edible food and associated inedible parts.

About 1.05 billion tonnes of food are wasted worldwide each year — roughly 2.9 million tonnes per day. UNEP's estimate covers waste from households, food service, and retail, including edible food and associated inedible parts.

humanconsumption.live
u/DistinctMachine2300 — 22 hours ago

Being medicated and poor changed my life

For context, I have adhd. I got diagnosed about two years ago but medicated a year ago. The clutter and consumption used to consume my life. I would buy hundreds of mini toiletries to store in my car, purse, bags, friends houses, work, gym, you name it.. because I kept losing them. I’m just starting to run out of these 1 oz products. I would shop for fun. I thought I needed triple of everything I own “just in case.” Then, I moved out of my parent’s house and got medicated. Malls are no fun anymore, just a place to get a drink and show off an outfit. Ross, TJMaxx and Marshall’s are places I never visit. Amazon was deleted. I have more money for groceries, experiences, trips, you name it, things that really matter. I thrift everything I own. My things are old and worn and practical and I love it that way. Free concerts, clothing swaps, library events, hikes, swimming, and cooking fill me with so much joy. I like my life this way, everything in my home has a purpose. My mind feels free now, I have no idea how people shop every day, Amazon boxes crowding the doorway, etc. I’d like to hear if anybody else became low consumption after becoming medicated.

reddit.com
u/Hefty_Shoe_7081 — 19 hours ago

I deleted social media for 2 months and haven't bought anything besides necessity

When i deleted social media I did it to stay away from the constant news and unnecessary information. Besides reddit which I consider more of a messaging and discussion board (up for debate of course). Anyways before this i noticed every week or 2 weeks I'd buy some kitchen utensils, fashion item, makeup, scarf, new accessory majnly influenced by the trends I was constantly seeing online. On average I was spending 20 dollars a week from what I was seeing online. Since my detox, I dont feel the n3ed to buy more clothes or things. I just noticed I dont even have the urge. I'm completely fine with everything I have. I dont need new lip gloss, no new car seats, no new tea flavour or shoes.

reddit.com
u/littlekween — 19 hours ago
▲ 4.3k r/Anticonsumption+2 crossposts

The premium pyramid tea bags? Just plastic mesh. You’re paying extra for microplastics in your cup.

This has to be one of the most frustrating examples of "premium" marketing working directly against consumers and the environment.

You know those silky, pyramid-shaped tea bags that specialty brands always charge a premium for? They aren't silk. They are almost always made of nylon or PET plastic. The companies market them as a gourmet experience because the 3D shape "allows whole leaves to expand better."

What it actually does is sit in near-boiling water and shed synthetic polymers into your drink. A 2019 study out of McGill University found that a single plastic mesh tea bag releases roughly 11.6 billion microplastic particles and 3.1 billion nanoplastic particles straight into your cup. The researchers even noted this is several orders of magnitude higher than the plastic loads found in other everyday foods.

It gets worse: even those "compostable" PLA bags are still synthetic polymers that shed particles in hot water. And most standard paper bags use polypropylene plastic just to heat-seal the edges shut.

The solution is literally cheaper and older than the problem itself: just buy loose leaf tea and use a reusable stainless steel infuser. There is zero plastic waste, zero microplastics entering your body, and it actually costs less per cup in the long run.

We really need to stop letting companies upcharge us for plastic trash disguised as a luxury experience.

u/Bestaccounts4u — 2 days ago

I recoiled at this advert at the fair

This seems tone deaf with how people are genuinely struggling.

u/Stoliana12 — 2 days ago

Can y'all talk to me about your drinking water?

I had yet another encounter with someone who was shocked that pretty solely only drink tap water. It's a zero-waste source of hydration.

Should I be filtering my water? Should I go through the hassle of loading up at the local artesian well? What are y'all doing?

I'm happy with my tap water but so many people are acting like it's some chemically polluted product that'll kill me. (It hasn't)

Edit: I got my answer. A kind redditor suggested I look into my local drinking water reports. I found them. They report I'm good. I will continue to drink from the tap and additionally, I will continue to call my colleagues puss-ballz when they try and tell me it's bad.

Edit2: please stop commenting. Surely you have nothing new to add to the conversation that's not already been said.

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u/1800-bakes-a-lot — 2 days ago

Rant time

I just got an email that my iTunes family plan is going from $17 to $20 per month.

I am so sick of these huge corporations milking their loyal customers for everything we have. They’re not even nickel and diming anymore. They are 3 dollar-ing!

How can they justify raising subscription prices? Did the rights they already own go up in price?

You can’t win. I ditched Spotify bc they allowed ICE commercials. I skipped Tidal bc it was more expensive and Jay Z and co don’t need my money. Neither does Apple obv but it was less expensive. Guess I’ll keep looking for a good music streaming option. Maybe tidal is it?

Rant over. Thanks for reading.

reddit.com
u/SnackCityUtah — 1 day ago

What is a feature you REALLY wanted in your “dream” home that you realized you actually hate?

So per the title, I’m very curious if there is anything, big or small, that people really wanted to have in their home, just to realize they don’t actually like it. Whether you realized before OR after getting it.

I’ll go first. I have always told myself that when my husband and I are ready to buy a house, it needs to have a big shower in the master bathroom. I thought these bathrooms were beautiful and luxurious, until I actually tried one.

I house sat for someone and used their shower. I realized not only did I not particularly like a huge shower, I hate it. This shower didn’t have a door attached to it, the glass didn’t go up to the ceiling, and there was no door connected to the bathroom at all. Which is a common design here. They were the coldest showers of my life. I had the water turned up super hot and if I wasn‘t directly under it, I was freezing. So much steam was escaping throughout the bathroom and bedroom, but I couldn’t even get the whole shower warm. It felt like such a waste of water to try to get everything to a decent temperature.

I now don’t care to have a huge shower and find it to be completely unappealing when touring homes. I’m glad I realized this now.

Not sure if this totally falls until this community, but I do feel like a lot of popular home features that we pay good money for and that use a lot of resources, are actually unnecessary and we don’t even end up loving them. It‘s consumption on a bigger scale but maybe some renovations or big home purchases would be avoided if we realized these things sooner.

reddit.com
u/Yes_Occasion9068 — 3 days ago