A casual stroll down most grocery store aisles will reveal a glut of options that can be a bit overwhelming. And if you have ever thought that it was excessive, you aren’t alone, there is a growing consciousness around rampant consumerism and what it’s ultimately doing to the planet.

The “AntiConsumption” internet group showcases the effects of producing, moving, and buying too much stuff through memes and insightful posts. Hopefully, these images might be some good food for thought, so be sure to upvote the posts that caught your eye and comment your thoughts below. 

#1 Spooky Reusables

Image credits: cornishwildman76

#2 Insecurity Is The Lifeblood Of Our Economy

Image credits: EsmeraldaWilliams

#3 Things Used To Last For More Time

Image credits: n0body_official

The depressing truth is that most of us have unsustainable spending habits. And I’m not talking about finances, although for many that can be an issue as well. No, many of the products we buy and buy and buy are not even close to being environmentally friendly and are often shipped halfway across the world, adding to their carbon footprint. 

As disheartening as this sounds, it’s important to also highlight all the progress certain people and groups have made to try and stem the tide of rampant consumerism. For example, the Italian city of Prato has grown into a world leader in recycled clothing, all because of an old law prohibiting the importation of raw wool. Now its methods could be key to redesigning the fashion industry into something that won’t end the world. 

#4 Yes! You Should Wear Stuff For Years

Image credits: Cheasq

#5 ??

Image credits: gelu73

#6 This Small Act Of Kindness Can Make Such A Huge Difference! Love To See It

Image credits: Altruistic_Eagle_906

While it’s easy to close our eyes to factories in faraway lands, one often does not have to look further than a river near any town or city to see what plastic and human laziness have wrought. In the Netherlands, one innovator has created a method to trap and catch plastic that ends up in waterways. It utilizes a “net” of bubbles to create a barrier that still allows water to flow but traps all the junk that we deposit in rivers, canals, and lakes. 

#7 Climate Dad Knows Better

Image credits: urgentlyqueasyglam

#8 Pretty Much Sums It Up

Image credits: Lunatrixology

#9 Let’s Be Real

Image credits: faith_crusader

Modern humans are also aware that pollution doesn’t just come from not throwing trash away properly. Through carbon announcing, we can see very accurately just how much damage a simple flight can do. So one company is attempting to undo this damage by turning CO2, the cause of much woe, into profitable jet fuel. Perhaps it’s more wise to mitigate human damage instead of accepting that people will actually change their behavior.

#10 Apologies For The Quality, Got A Kick Out Of This!

Image credits: SeniorSlimey

#11 Gucci-Poochie Can't Go Potty

Image credits: Deatonsd

#12 Where Can I Buy A Card With This On It?

Image credits: SeniorSlimey

One area where progress has been more visible is the electrification of driving. One sticking point is the batteries that power the whole thing. Now, if you’ve ever tried to eat a battery, you would know that they are pretty toxic. They also get worn out and need replacement. Fortunately, the US has passed battery recycling incentives that mean that most of them do not end up in a scrapheap, but instead are remade and reused. 

#13 Never Forget, The Electric Car Is Here To Save The Car Industry, Not The Planet

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#14 Capitalism Drives Innovation! The Innovations:

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#15 On Black Friday 2008, 34 Yr Old Walmart Employee, Jdimytai Damour, Was Asked By His Employer To Use His 6’5 Body As A Barrier For A Crowd Of Over 2,000 People. He Died That Day After Being Trampled By The Crowd. The Shoppers Did Not Concerned About His Death, And Even Complained Of Waiting Too Long

Image credits: BurntNeurons

Speaking of electric cars, while not the standard, EV sales have exceeded new diesel cars for the first time in the EU, in a trend that is likely to continue as infrastructure develops, prices decrease and incentives grow. There may be a time in the near future when gas stations end up being less common than charging stations were at the beginning of the EV revolution. Children will bemusedly listen to old people speak about physically pumping gas into a car and roll their eyes. 

#16 Eco Friendly

Image credits: depressed-n-awkward

#17 This Entire Bin Full Of Brand New, Intentionally Destroyed Shoes, Destined For Landfill. All To Prevent Reselling And To Maintain An Artificially High Price

Image credits: flipou83

#18 Felt Like This Belonged Here

Image credits: GundamPilotMex

Fast fashion is almost too nice of a name for business practices that use a massive amount of water and produce huge amounts of waste. Some countries are now trying innovative ways to limit clothing ending up thrown out, for example, France is paying out bonuses to sewing workshops and shoemakers who repair and remake items, creating a demand for “old” clothes. This way, that cheap H&M shirt doesn’t end up in a landfill, but gets reused. 

#19 This Library Has Cake Pans You Can Check Out

Image credits: PerspectiveConnect73

#20 No Amount Of Wealth Could Ever Stop This

Image credits: jackwrangler

#21 This Is Ridiculous And Makes Me Feel Icky When I Look At It

Image credits: -Hermione-Granger-

In South Africa, fashion designers are in turn taking old clothing and designing entire fashion shows around them. Aspiring designers, Khumo Morojele and Klein Muis pick out used clothing that ends up shipped to South Africa and refurbish and develop certain pieces. While upcycling might limit the waste caused by fast fashion, it’s initiatives like this that might actually make it popular. 

#22 It Never Worked In The First Place. Ever Since The Pandemic Started, We Are All Collectively Realizing This

Image credits: ADignifiedLife

#23 This Aluminum Can Comes Wrapped In Plastic

Image credits: Celtic-Bhoy

#24 One Apple Slice In This Plastic Baggie, Advertising A Movie About The Ocean…

Image credits: sjdjenen

And it’s not just clothes, ‘Deconstructing the Sneaker’ is a brand attempting to make shoes with materials sourced from sustainable wild rubber. Their goal is to make sneakers that take as little as possible from the environment, with materials and energy that is renewable, in contrast to most shoe manufacturers that produce as cheaply as possible and pump most of their profits into marketing. 

#25 Marketing Meme Of The Week

Image credits: lazymentors

#26 Saw This On R/Tumblr, Knew It Fit Here

Image credits: Interesting-Law6707

#27 Please Continue

Image credits: Dankjeoxp

Of course, even if we do all start only consuming from sustainable sources, there is still a lot of trash already floating around the world. One Nigerian school has a novel approach to cleaning up its environment: it will allow people to exchange recyclable bottles instead of paying school fees. These sorts of initiatives not only help push people to clean up a bit but provide low-income households with a way to get their kids an education. 

#28 "The Void You Fill With Consumerism Is Your Own Disempowerment." Pasteup In Austin

Image credits: Everything4Everyone

#29 Told Everyone Not To Get Me Anything Except A Trip To Go Hike And Be With Nature. For Once, Everyone Respected Not Getting Me Anything And I Got To Hike. I Even Got In For Free. :)

Image credits: AlarmVarious1991

#30 Bunch Of Escooters Becoming Ewaste

Image credits: DangerStranger138

These are all good solutions to help limit a lot of the damage that is being done to our planet right now, but it’s important to not lose track of the fact that the average person does a lot less to harm the environment than just a handful of companies. And at the very top of every company is a person who profits. In the US, there have been proposals to tax the ultra-rich and funnel these resources into climate initiatives. If they aren’t going to change how they do business, they should at least pay for the damage. 

#31 ?

Image credits: expertlifestyler

#32 We Can Do Our Best But At The End Of The Day The Force Of Capitalism Is What’s Destroying The Planet

Image credits: Theodore_Buckland_

#33 Irony. Not For The Average Consumer. [original]

Image credits: sawitontheweb

#34 In NYC They Just Cut The Lights Off Of Trees After The Holidays And (I Assume) Throw Them Away

Image credits: JayCaj

#35 Am I The Only One Infuriated By Cooler Screens?? These Video Screens At Gas Stations Are Worse Than Just A Glass Door In Every Way

Image credits: illegalopinion3

#36 $2000 Garbage Bag, Unreal

Image credits: JGinHD

#37 I Feel This So Hard

Image credits: Realistic_Humanoid

#38 Spotted In The Wild At A Hipster Coffee Shop. They Said They Sell At Least One A Week…

Image credits: Dapper_Ad_5894

#39 Embodiment Of This Sub

Image credits: _Gandalf-The-Gay

#40 Kind Of A Small Change, But Those Tiny Plastic Chairs Only Have One Use

Image credits: 1961tracy

#41 Ad Free Subways Make The Inside Look Larger And Lighter

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#42 I Hate That This Is Becoming A Trend, So Wasteful

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#43 This Gross Commercialization Of Bob Ross Into Mints And Energy Drinks

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#44 It's Not A Lot, But It's Definitely More Than Nothing

Image credits: reddit.com

#45 Green Chef Sent Me Two Separately Packaged Green Onions For The Same Recipe

Image credits: reddit.com

#46 I've Saved So Much Money By Not Buying Things I Don't Need

Image credits: Bellybutton_fluffjar

#47 Libraries Are The Bastions Of Anti-Consumption

Image credits: Bellybutton_fluffjar

#48 New Amazon Marketing Technique: Manipulate People Into Believing Consumption=happiness

Image credits: c_lynch_18

#49 The Flossing Stick Perfectly Summarizes Wasteful Western Ideology Under Capitalism

Take a perfectly fine solution (floss) and generate a new solution to improve efficiency while creating mountains of plastic garbage in the process

Image credits: 4ofclubs

#50 Milka's Greed

Image credits: Asocil_porquesi

#51 The Sheer Amount Of Stuff That Could Be Recycled Or Donated At The End Of The Semester That’s Just Tossed Out

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#52 This Makes Me Feel Ill

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#53 "Wind Farms Are Ugly" Corporate Media

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#54 Ok But At Least He’s Reusing Lol

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#55 A Cardboard Six Pack Holder From A Major Beverage Manufacturer

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#56 One Family Decided To Count How Many Yeti Products They Bought Over The Years. Top Comment Was Yeti Offering Even More Products To Their Collection

Image credits: Reddit-username-

#57 I Never Really Thought About It

Image credits: Next_Gen_investing

#58 A Shopping Mall, Where The Lights Are Always On, The Music Always Playing (Even In The Parking Garage!), Even If The Shops Are Closed

Image credits: MinekPo1

#59 This Might Belong Here

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#60 But Why Cover It In Plastic!?

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#61 Oh, No! Less Conspicuous Consumption!

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#62 I Hacked My Car Radio To Support Aux. Now I Don't Have To Listen To Annoying Commercials On The Radio. Also I Dont Have To Buy A New One That Support Aux. Win-Win Situation!

Image credits: StreetSquare6462

#63 Do Not Provide Your Children The Choice Of Paid-For Higher Education

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#64 I Hate This Type Of Useless Stuff

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#65 What In The Sh-T

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#66 I Just Cannot Believe This Is Real

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#67 Starbucks Mobile App Claims A 30 Min Wait. Employees Claim A 2+ Hour Wait. Manager Says Corporate Wont Shut Down Mobile Orders

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#68 This Line, Nearly 3 Hours Before The Taylor Swift "Merch" Shop Opens In Philly

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#69 Doing The Work For Us

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#70 Excessive Packaging Is So F**king Wasteful

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#71 A Store To Purchase Amazon Return Items

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#72 Who Buys This Crap?

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#73 This Is Why I Despise “Collectibles”

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#74 Of Course The CEO Of Kellogg Is Going To Say That Constant Consumption Is What's Going To "Save Us From A Recession" These People Are Unreal

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#75 Alright Everyone, What Are Your Limits?

Image credits: ahabthecrusader