Midnight Madness: Shopping Edition

Last week I had a moment of weakness. It was late at night, I was alone, and I was bored. So, I did what any normal person would do—I went on Amazon. I was procrastinating on writing a paper when I remembered that I needed a water bottle. It’s impossible to buy only one item from Amazon, so I just had to pick up an eyeliner, red lipstick, and a facial mist. I kind of needed a new eyeliner, and I was feeling the fall mood so in went the red lipstick. The lipstick was an add-on, which is Amazon’s way of making you purchase more things, so I had a what-the-hell moment and threw in the facial mist as well.

Contrary to what it may seem, I am good at not making unnecessary purchases. I can turn off that urge to fling my money at Postmates, close my online shopping tabs, and walk the other way when I want to buy something at Norris. So how come Amazon is the one that gets me in the end? I make it a point to avoid Amazon if I don’t need anything, because I know that I’ll spend at least an hour browsing the makeup and skincare section, or end up with some unreasonable need for those Gudetama notebooks. When I finally receive whatever I bought, I realize that it was not necessary in the first place. It’s the five-star reviews that make me feel like, “I really need this right now,” but if I just close the tab and do something else, I’ll forget that I ever wanted it.

So why does all of this matter? Two words, with alliteration: conscious consumerism. Conscious consumerism revolves around making sustainable purchases, such as avoiding fast fashion retailers that churn out clothing at the cost of its employees, or purchasing fish from sustainable farms. Our current society is one that encourages us to buy, buy, and buy. We see advertisements wherever we go and are encouraged to spend whenever possible. You add an item to your cart and immediately, a list of “suggested items” pops up. Yes, this has everything to do with a company making money, but how does it have anything to do with conscious consumerism?

Before I knew what conscious consumerism was, I thought it meant being a skeptical purchaser. Do I like this or is it just trendy? How often will I use this? Does it fit in with everything else I need, or do I need to purchase more things to go along with it? Essentially, I took the “conscious” in conscious consumerism to mean being aware of what each purchase actually means in a personal way rather than an environmental one. Capsule and minimalist collections are strains of this conscious consumerism; essentially, knowing exactly what you have and how you will use each item, with no extra waste. When I make impulse purchases, I’m not practicing both personal and environmental conscious consumerism. I don’t really need these items in everyday life, and I’m creating unnecessary waste through my lack of use.

There are some people who believe that conscious consumerism, in the actual definition, is a myth. No matter where you purchase from, you’re still supporting or affecting the overall structure that oppresses some people and rewards others. While I personally don’t agree with that, conscious consumerism can be a problematic practice. People who care about conscious consumerism do so because they are able to, because they have the means to buy from more sustainable retailers or products that cost more. As a college student, I probably won’t buy from Everlane or Nisolo often, if at all. Maybe I can go thrift shopping, but that raises issues in that there are people who rely on thrifting for their clothes while I thrift as an alternative to buying from retailers. What I can practice is personal conscious consumerism. Instead of buying something impulsively just because I’m stressed or distracted, I can rediscover things I haven’t been using or wearing. There’s a makeup tag on YouTube that does precisely that: you “shop your stash” as if you were shopping in real life and discover products you forgot about or want to use more. At the end of the day, I spend enough money on food and, sadly, textbooks. Next time I’m up late and I feel that temptation to go on Amazon, I’ll just eat some food and take a look at the things I already have. Do I really need more? Probably not.