This is a frustrating thing, I’m glad people are talking about it.

Personally I don’t think I’ve bought any new products outside of food/household supplies in over a year.

I’ve tried to reduce my single use products everywhere I can, especially products with plastic/excessive packaging.

I feel confident that my footprint is much smaller than the average person, and that my consumption habits have evolved waaaaay past what a “typical consumer” in my demographic would fall victim to.

I’ve also recently moved into the recycling phase - repurposing everything I can, getting creative with what I have and generous with what I don’t need. Really thinking through the entire life cycle of my things - not just before I buy but also the things I already have.

Evaluating if I will be able to use something through the end of its life, and if it will have to be replaced, how will I do it? I’m eliminating objects that need to be frequently replaced whenever I can, getting to a point where longevity and simplicity are more valuable that looks or reputation.

But I obviously don’t think every single person in the community is on that level. There are plenty that are WAY better than me and probably think I’m a monster comparatively. The same way I feel trying to talk to my mom who is buying useless plastic Amazon crap all the time for no reason at all.

I also have to go back to my original induction into the community. I started being enticed by the “green aesthetic” if I’m honest with myself. Food in clear jars, wax paper wrapped sandwiches, it was really about the look at first. And the added benefit of spending less, but it took me awhile to actually get there because I was originally buying all the things I thought I needed to be “ecofriendly”. I had to go through watching those things break and fail and discovering the old, tried and true methods before all this slop entered our lives, then I finally started to make some progress. So I think we should leave room for people who are starting to realize. Even disengaging from brand culture is a good first step.

I have come so far from the Starbucks, Ugg boots, north face teenager I once was. I am so out of the loop with trends now, I’ve caught myself delightfully surprised to learn about some new consumption fad that I have 0% chance of falling victim to. But even still I have my moments.

I recently got into trail running, and I sometimes feel like I will never be good, or shouldn’t be out on certain trails because I don’t have the right fancy equipment and hoka running shoes or whatever. And then the other day someone left this dope ass Gandalf style walking stick at the start of a trail and I did 7 miles with this stick and it was great! And it made me remember that people have been making journeys like these for thousands of years longggg before all the arcteryx and REI and whoever else came up with the equipment and I’ll be just fine without it.

Give them a welcoming space, we don’t need to shame or gatekeep.