3 Articles That Made Me Think

Posted by Jill Chivers in Attitudes and Habits, Shopping Messages

I’m fortunate to find articles that write intelligently and thought provokingly on topics of consumption, style, fashion and clothing, body image, and communication. Three such articles recently have come to my attention and I’d like to share them with you here.

You. Ms Greedy. Just Stop It.

This piece by Catherine Deveny, an Australian writer, comic and anarchist, was short and pertinent. Ms Deveny talks about greed, the “cost of a lifestyle”, debt, worry, contentment and gives her own unique brand of solution.

My favourite quote?

People are in debt up to their eyebrows and they tell me it’s good for the economy. But it’s destroying our spiritual economy.

One Rolex Short of Contentment

This thought provoking piece by British writer, explorer and activist George Monbiot gives a thorough rendering of Mr Monbiot’s observations about materialism and all it spawns. And in his opinion, that is mainly despair, desperation and destruction.

My favourite quote?

This is the dreadful mistake we are making: allowing ourselves to believe that more money and more stuff enhances our well-being… Worldly ambition, material aspiration, perpetual growth: these are a formula for mass unhappiness.

6 Things You Should Know About Your Clothes

This piece by US writer, sustainable apparel consultant and designer Shannon Whitehead made me uncomfortable. As it was intended to. Ms Whitehead talks about the chemicals in our clothes, the slaves that make them (I’m quoting directly), the impact our disposal patterns are having on undeveloped economies and social systems and the hideous role big retailers are playing in this unhappy picture. But there’s also hope. (and some simple things you can do – see part 2).

My favourite quote?

Consumers have the purchasing power… [by] educating yourself and adjusting your lifestyle in a way that doesn’t require excessive consumption of disposable clothing.