We only have one home, and it’s Planet Earth. So, it would make sense to structure society in such a way that you maximize environmental protection, resource efficiency, frugality, and long-term sustainability. And yet, it’s consumerism, greed, and profitability that get prioritized.
The ‘Anticonsumption’ online community criticizes consumer culture, materialism, planned obsolescence, exploitation, and all the other things that make the world a worse place. We’re featuring some of the group’s most accurate posts to inspire you to think about how your daily actions impact not just you, but society and the planet as a whole.
#1 Each Cherry Individually Packaged. No Words, Sprouts
Image source: 1L0veTurtles
#2 This Is The Tweet From A Guy Back In 2022. 3 Years Later, There Is Still Greed
Image source: [deleted]
#3 Keep The Peasant Class Distracted And Fighting Amongst Themselves So They Will Never Revolt Against Their True Enemy
Image source: [deleted]
You might think that your individual actions don’t have much of an impact, but they do. Companies and organizations react to trends and shifts in consumer behavior, like prioritizing ethical practices, sustainability, and environmental protection.
So, when you, your family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors start voting with your wallets, eventually, businesses have to take note… or they risk being left behind. And no company wants to become obsolete.
#4 Billionaires Pay So High To Make You Buy Stuff You Don’t Need, Like X Blue Tick
Image source: [deleted]
#5 “I’m So Exhausted With Wanting Things”
Image source: MoonmoonMamman
#6 Let’s Start Calling Ecological Disasters This Way
Image source: BaseballSeveral1107
Of course, many companies won’t change their business strategies merely from the goodness of their hearts.
They adjust their strategies because the shifts in consumer demand make it profitable for them to do so.
And the more vocal and visible these consumers are, the quicker those changes occur to align with these new values in society.
#7 Landlords Love To Blame Everything Except Rent-Seeking
Image source: @HousingCrisisW
#8 Student Move In
Outside just a single dorm, and this is just the first day of a multiple day move in.
Image source: croissantcat79
#9 Labubu Consumption Leads Us To Ask Question Of Human Fulfillment
Image source: HunchoToes
Profitability aside, companies that listen to their eco-conscious consumer base can strengthen their customer loyalty, improve the reputation of their brands, and stand out from their competitors.
What’s more, they can improve the resilience of their businesses by future-proofing themselves against resource scarcity or regulatory shifts.
On top of that, sustainability can lead to innovation, lower costs, and new revenue streams.
#10 This Is What Happens When Every Aspect Of Our Lives Is Commercialized For Profit
Image source: @KTVU
#11 I Thought You All Might Like This Tweet
Image source: Interaction-Main
#12 Fame Funded By The Public
Image source: @jzux, @MorePerfectUS
During a previous interview, Bored Panda spoke with u/NihiloZerowe, one of the moderators running the ‘Anticonsumption’ community. They were kind enough to tell us all about the group.
“There is a broad range of subject matter that gets discussed in the subreddit. You often see posts from people who are sick of litter, who are discontent with the dominant economic order, and who dislike excess packaging. There are a fair number of vegans in the sub and many subscribers are concerned about global warming and ecological degradation,” they said.
“Occasionally, someone will promote some sort of boycott or protest. I’d say the sub definitely leans left, but I don’t ban people who want to argue about some sort of idealistic capitalist ecotopia. One thing that makes the sub stand out from other similar subs is that we don’t have much tolerance for green consumerism,” they added that this community is not a place to market your “eco-groovy” products.
#13 Fashion Becomes Waste, Overconsumption Left Ghana Drowning In Secondhand Clothes
Image source: luvlanguage
#14 Your Intent Is Worth $120 – And Bigtech Sells It Instantly
Image source: kaushal96
#15 They Would (Satire)
Image source: SOYBOYPILLED
The moderator previously explained to us that they encourage people to post the type of content that they would prefer to see discussed.
In u/NihiloZero’s personal opinion, society might start consuming less in the near future. The caveat is that this likely won’t be caused by positive cultural shifts. Rather, it will be led by necessity.
“I believe that resource scarcity, environmental degradation, and political instability around the world will break down the modern system of consumerism as we know it,” they said. They added that the supply chain issues we’ve been seeing in recent years might be nothing compared to what’s to come.
#16 Rent A “Tablet Strollers” So You Can Let Your iPad Kid Watch Even More While You Shop!
Image source: Best_Gynecologist
#17 That Time Of Year Again
Image source: deffonotmypassword
#18 The Onion, Spot On As Always
Image source: Awesomeautism
“It would be nice if we could make a smooth transition to smaller self-sufficient and sustainable communities, and I won’t try to stop you if that’s what you’re trying for, but I really don’t expect such a transition to be smooth, if it ever happens at all,” u/NihiloZero told Bored Panda.
The mod admitted that the community can be a bit holier-than-thou at times. “You see a fair bit of gatekeeping and fingers pointed at those who are deemed to be conspicuous consumers. The anti-capitalists don’t like the capitalists. The vegans don’t like animal eaters. The pedestrians don’t like the filthy motorists. We probably get a relatively high number of luddites commenting in the sub.”
What unites most people who post, however, is that they are “sick of the violence, destruction, and waste in the modern world. Sometimes we can laugh about it, sometimes we can’t. Sometimes we’re serious, and sometimes we’re not.”
#19 And Here, We Are Buying Stuff We Don’t Need Thanks To Big Corp
Image source: [deleted]
#20 Oh Boy…at Least We Have Plastic Eating Fungi Now?
Image source: @LightningSlim1, @mykola
#21 I Think About This Comic A Lot
Image source: One_Association7588
The long-running ‘Anticonsumption’ online community is utterly massive. It was created in late September of 2009 and continues to be incredibly active to this very day.
Case in point, at the time of writing, the community boasts a jaw-dropping 750k weekly visitors who share 8k contributions in the group every single week. This is proof of just how many people around the world are environmentally and socially conscious. And this is just one online group!
#22 Human Greed, Apathy Need To Be Addressed To Deal With Climate Change, Says Gus Speth. Agree?
Image source: thirty-something-456
#23 Unchecked Capitalism And Consumption Leads To Whatever This Is
Image source: oceanmor
#24 Pay Your Employees
Image source: MtNowhere
The community itself is primarily a place to criticize and discuss consumer culture. This includes things like the environment, material consumption, media consumption, corporate influence, etc.
According to the moderators of the subreddit, everyone is encouraged to have polite discussions. That being said, you shouldn’t criticize any other internet users’ lifestyles, unless they specifically ask you to.
#25 Price Inflation Is A Tax On The 99%
Image source: Burlingtonfilms
#26 An Extra $20 To Remove Ads From A Kindle You’d Own To Read Books You Pay For
Image source: MrPointy1630
#27 Pound Sand United- You Pay To Fight Climate Change
Image source: QanAhole
What’s more, the mods ask internet users not to make fun of the habits of regular people. However, you are allowed to post photos from the news, like stories about shopping trends or celebrities’ consumer habits.
Furthermore, there’s no room for anyone recommending any brands, products, apps, subscriptions, or software. And you shouldn’t be relying on generative AI to write your posts. (This makes sense considering how environmentally unfriendly the technology is, among other things.)
#28 Still So True
Image source: Forsaken-Cap-6481
#29 We Aren’t Asking For Anything Difficult 😞
Image source: Upstairs-War4144
#30 Some Drugstores In The Czech Republic Introduced Shampoo And Shower Gel Filling Machines
Image source: suitonaman
Which of these posts resonated with you the most, dear Pandas? What are some small ways that you help protect the environment? What environmentally-conscious habits do you hope to pick up this year? Are you trying to curb shopping and food waste?
Share your thoughts and insights in the comments at the bottom of this post.
#31 Chin Up
Image source: Infinite-Storage-638
#32 What’s Yours?
Image source: 5hundred2
#33 Offended Gymbros Around?
Image source: ALQU1MISTA
#34 Anyone Else Love Jomoing?
Image source: Chris-the-Big-Bug
#35 Corporations Have No Business Buying Residential Property
Image source: Responsible_Year_934
#36 The Sheer Amount Of Fake Plastic Credit Cards I Get In The Mail
My mom has been in the hospital for a few weeks and we have no insurance so my family has been trying to figure out how to pay for the care she needs in and after she gets out ,and it seems every possible bank and credit card company smells blood in the water and is trying to get us to sign up with them. This pile is only part of it. I have thrown out probably a dozen more.
Image source: Throwaway17699396
#37 I Taught Myself To Sew With A Handcrank Machine To Make This Quilt. 90% Thrifted Fabric
Image source: whatisthisohno111
#38 Ffs Why?
Image source: ZanzerFineSuits
#39 Cnbc Wants You To Think Keeping Your Smartphone Longer Than A 2-Year Contract Is “Device Hoarding”
Image source: pat_laFleur
#40 What Looking At A Recipe In 2025 Looks Like
Image source: mossyzombie2021
#41 5,000 Sq Ft Mansion Versus A 50,000 Sq Ft Mansion
I’d personally be ashamed of living something like that, knowing others are unhoused.
Image source: TheCABK
#42 Just Sayin
Image source: Delicious-Salad6443
#43 The Consumerist System Isn’t Working For The Majority Of People
Image source: Comfortablejack
#44 Need A Reusable Mug? Try The Thrift Store
Image source: didyoubutterthepan
#45 Monopoly
Image source: Practical_Chef_7897
#46 Make The Valentine’s Day Junk Go Away! We Are Tired
Image source: StrawberryLocal3881
#47 My Work Got New Chairs…
Image source: Jazzlike-Lunch5390
#48 The Current Housing Crisis Summed Up In One Image
Image source: dum214
#49 No Offense, It Just A Meme
Image source: dude43ds
#50 Boycott Manipulation
Image source: ModernLifelsRubbish
#51 First There Are Bridesmaid Proposal Boxes, Then There Are Bachorlette Gift Bags
Image source: Nearby_You6924
#52 #1 Enemy For This Sub
Image source: cyarm025
#53 We Need To Normalize Bringing Reusable Cups To Coffee/Boba Shops
Image source: trap_queen_aya13
#54 In 2024 The U.S. Spent $43,000 Per Working-Age Person ($9 Trillion) On Cars
Image source: SugaryBits
#55 Washing Broke, I Took It Apart And Fixed It Yesterday
Image source: TrippinSwitches
#56 Consumption Will Not Make You Happy
Image source: redwilldraw
#57 My Coffee Maker Broke Over A Year Ago And This Is How I’ve Been Making My Morning Coffee Since
Image source: Johnzor8
#58 Subscription Socks And Bedsheets That You’re Supposed To Throw Away After Use?! 🤮
Image source: Lvl100Magikarp
#59 Landfillcore
Image source: Spirit-Spout
#60 Inspiring Words From Someone Who “Gathered” $16b Dollars Before She [passed]
Image source: stewajt
#61 Another One Down
Image source: Educational_Bag_6406
#62 Stop Buying Phones
Image source: Sine_Fine_Belli
#63 Single Use Hell
I like to reuse travel sized bottles and am usually careful not to dispose of them. I lost/threw away my makeup remover travel sized bottle on accident so had to buy another because I travel a lot for work.
Color me surprised when I went to refill it and this new bottle you can’t!! Garnier designed the cap to be broken if opened. My old bottle was also from Garnier , same exact bottle and I could take the cap off, had it for years.
Y’all I’m tired. I’m tired of every company being evil and greedy. I get the last laugh though because I have syringes to refill ink pens so I’m going to use a clean one to refill this bottle.
Image source: tieplomet
#64 What Other Ways Have You Found To Benefit The Community But Not The Corporations?
Image source: Chemical-Dream6390
#65 Funny How Often This Happens…
Image source: Uncreative_Name987
#66 Pro-Billionaire Propaganda? What Next, Pro-Consumption Propaganda?
Image source: [deleted]
#67 Merry Trashmus
Image source: MemoryTM
#68 Oh No… My Bad 🙄😒
Image source: [deleted]
#69 Standing Against Workers? Socialist!
Image source: [deleted]
#70 The World Would Be A Better Place If We Adopt This Mindset – Let’s Care For All Of Our Things!!!!
Image source: mysummerstorm
#71 The Grinch Setting Good Examples
Image source: COBESH1
#72 This Is Funny, But Too Many People Genuinely Have This Attitude
Image source: haloarh
#73 Spoon Broke After Just 28 Years Of Service. Clearly Planned Obsolescence
Image source: Defiant-Stomach-4605
#74 Remember When You Could Get Good Quality Second Hand Clothes…yeah
Image source: organicliwy
#75 They Found A Way To Monetize The 2 Minutes We Spend Pumping Fuel In The Netherlands
Image source: gaius_julius_caegull
#76 Majority Of The Comments Don’t Find This Messed Up
Image source: PreviousDingo1778
#77 Influencer Stays With Family While Husband Is Deployed, Comes Home To Eight Months Of Pr Packages
Image source: rubywizard24
#78 Just Some Motivation I Saw On Instagram
Image source: AutomaticMistake8229
#79 This Image Says A Lot. “Free Play” By R. Kikuo Johnson For The New Yorker Magazine Cover
Image source: sprinkledonuts8220
#80 The Mass Is Wisening!
Image source: mysummerstorm
#81 Sexual Assault Bad. Consumerism To The Rescue!
Image source: Bituulzman
#82 I Covered All The Branding On My Makeup
Image source: Proprioception27
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