A shopper came across a shocking message appearing to encourage wasteful spending and consumption while browsing in their local dollar store.
In the r/Anticonsumption subreddit, a poster shared a photo of a brightly colored reusable, plastic shopping tote with big letters boasting the phrase, "I shop, therefore I am."
The questionable message on the bag ties into the ongoing debate about overconsumption of goods by shoppers around the world. Advertising, marketing, and social media all work in tandem to encourage shoppers to purchase more and newer products, with the fashion and beauty industries being at the forefront.
Influencers often share hauls on their pages, showcasing dozens of products to be purchased. "It became almost a human right to participate in consumer culture," Lucie Greene, the founder of the trend forecasting firm Light Years, told The New York Times in a recent interview. "We've gotten to the point where you feel left out of society if you are not part of the shopping cycle."
But all that shopping leads to wasted dollars and resources. For example, it's estimated that more than 120 billion units of packaging are produced globally every year by the cosmetics industry, contributing to the loss of 18 million acres of forest annually, per Forbes. And Vogue notes that "between 20 and 40 percent of beauty products, depending on the category, end up as waste."
People are beginning to push back on the overconsumption trend. A new report from the National Retail Federation showed an increasing number of people aged 18 to 24 are going to thrift stores to do their holiday shopping, saving money and reducing their environmental impact in the process.
Redditors in the comments weren't thrilled by the tote bag's messaging.
"I never understood the idea of shopping being a hobby. It's a chore!" one person wrote.
And while the bag appears reusable, another pointed out, "It will probably start tearing & falling apart after 3 or 4 uses."
🗣️ When you think about a product's packaging, which of these factors is more important to you?
🔘 The way it looks 😍
🔘 The information it provides 🧐
🔘 The waste it produces 🗑️
🔘 I don't think about packaging at all 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Several people mentioned that the phrase appears to be borrowed, uncredited, from artist Barbara Kruger, who created an art print in 1987 with the same text written in white on a red background held by a hand, like a business card. As Public Delivery, an art non-profit explains, Kruger implies "that the public is no longer defined by what it thinks, but rather by what they own," criticizing consumerism. The work is a play on the statement "I think therefore, I am" by philosopher René Descartes.
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