anti-consumerism
Opposition to materialism
Anti-consumerism is opposition to the culture of buying and accumulating goods, particularly when driven by advertising, status-seeking, or corporate influence rather than genuine need.
Those who embrace anti-consumerism argue that excessive consumption harms the environment, exploits workers, and fails to deliver the happiness it promises.
The movement ranges from mild skepticism about advertising to radical rejection of capitalism itself.
Her anti-consumerism led her to buy only secondhand clothing.
Intentional economic contraction movement
- frugalityEconomical resource management
- downshiftingLowering gear or pace
- simple livingIntentional reduction of consumption
- non-attachmentFreedom from possessive clinging
sufficiency · anti-materialism · intentional living · self-reliance · gift economy · needs vs wants · intrinsic value
No garbage produced
- upcyclingImproving discarded materials' value
- recyclingReprocessing used materials
- compostingDecomposing organic matter deliberately
- repair cultureValuing restoration over replacement
secondhand · thrifting · mending · buy local · slow fashion · durable goods · reusable · refurbishing
Deliberately shortened product lifespan
- affluenzaMaterialism's emotional cost
- hyperconsumerismExcessive acquisition of goods
- commodity fetishismObjects veil production relations
- keeping up with the JonesesStriving to match neighbors' lifestyle
retail therapy · fast fashion · status symbols · greenwashing · shopping addiction · brand worship · lifestyle inflation · materialism
One eating discarded food
- dumpster divingSalvaging from discarded refuse
- off-gridWithout utility connections
- communeShared-living community
- hippieSixties counterculture member
punk · DIY · squatting · alternative lifestyle · dropout · subculture · nonconformity · back-to-the-land
Remove unnecessary items
- essentialismDoctrine of fixed natures
- spartanRigorously simple, unadorned
- streamlinedMade smooth and efficient
- functionalAble to operate correctly
unadorned · capsule wardrobe · tiny house · quality over quantity · paring down · single-tasking · digital minimalism
Organized economic protest
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
- advocacyPleading for a cause
- grassrootsCommon people as political base
demonstration · resistance · petition · direct action · civil disobedience · picketing · community organizing · social movement
degrowth
Intentional economic contraction movement
- frugalityEconomical resource management
- downshiftingLowering gear or pace
- simple livingIntentional reduction of consumption
non-attachment · sufficiency · anti-materialism · intentional living · self-reliance · gift economy · needs vs wants · intrinsic value
zero-waste
No garbage produced
- upcyclingImproving discarded materials' value
- recyclingReprocessing used materials
- compostingDecomposing organic matter deliberately
repair culture · secondhand · thrifting · mending · buy local · slow fashion · durable goods · reusable · refurbishing · freecycling
planned obsolescence
Deliberately shortened product lifespan
- affluenzaMaterialism's emotional cost
- hyperconsumerismExcessive acquisition of goods
- commodity fetishismObjects veil production relations
keeping up with the Joneses · retail therapy · fast fashion · status symbols · greenwashing · shopping addiction · brand worship · lifestyle inflation · materialism
freegan
One eating discarded food
- dumpster divingSalvaging from discarded refuse
- off-gridWithout utility connections
- communeShared-living community
hippie · punk · DIY · squatting · alternative lifestyle · dropout · subculture · nonconformity · back-to-the-land · homesteading
declutter
Remove unnecessary items
- essentialismDoctrine of fixed natures
- spartanRigorously simple, unadorned
- streamlinedMade smooth and efficient
functional · unadorned · capsule wardrobe · tiny house · quality over quantity · paring down · single-tasking · digital minimalism
boycott
Organized economic protest
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- campaignOrganized effort toward goal
- advocacyPleading for a cause
grassroots · demonstration · resistance · petition · direct action · civil disobedience · picketing · community organizing · social movement · awareness
- lifestylessimple living, city life, family life, minimalism, rural life
- minimalismminimalism, declutter, decluttering, simplicity, less is more
- simple livingsimple living, frugality, minimalism, decluttering, back-to-the-land
- social trendsincome inequality, feminism, social mobility, environmentalism, wealth gap
- post-materialismself-expression, self-actualization, quality of life, downshifting, slow living
- frugalityfrugality, thrift, frugal, penny-pinching, economize
anti-consumerismconsumerism
Preoccupation with acquiring goods
materialism · hyperconsumerism · consumer culture · commercialism · acquisitiveness
anti-consumerismmaterialism
Prioritizing goods over spirit
acquisitiveness · conspicuous consumption · status-seeking · affluenza · luxury lifestyle
consume, consumer, consuming, consumption, consumers, consumable, consumables, consumerism, consumptive