This is Not an Ad for Target

A few things have come to my attention via the readers of this blog, and I would like the chance to address them, not just for them but for myself as well.


You're not buying anything for a year??
Clarification: I'm not buying new "things"--like clothes, cars, and computers. I will make exceptions for the following:

• undies (although I think I'm pretty set there)
• socks (set there, too)
• consumables (like food, organic makeup, and green cleaning products)

How did I determine such arbitrary lines? I could lie and say my sister and I came up with those on our own, but truthfully we inadvertently co-opted the manifesto of The Compact. Read more about these green pioneers here and here.

Their mission goes like so:

1) TO GO BEYOND RECYCLING IN TRYING TO COUNTERACT THE NEGATIVE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF U.S. CONSUMER CULTURE, TO RESIST GLOBAL CORPORATISM, AND TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES, FARMS, ETC. -- A STEP, WE HOPE, INHERITS THE REVOLUTIONARY IMPULSE OF THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT

2) TO REDUCE CLUTTER AND WASTE IN OUR HOMES (AS IN TRASH COMPACT-ER)

3) TO SIMPLIFY OUR LIVES (AS IN CALM-PACT)

SO, HERE GOES FOR THE RULES:

·  FIRST PRINCIPLE - DON'T BUY NEW PRODUCTS OF ANY KIND (FROM STORES, WEB SITES, ETC.)

·  SECOND PRINCIPLE - BORROW OR BUY USED

Long-time thrifter that I am, I loved the idea. Plus, I needed a/another challenge in the new year. Which answers the second most asked question...

Why are you doing this??

I don't think that buying things, a.k.a. contributing to an unsustainable market economy, makes you a good American. I don't need more things. And I wanted to do it!

Are you aware of Target's anti-gay political contributions??

Yup. I remember that from last year. It's sad, but not surprising. Remember when the founder of Whole Foods who argued against universal health care? This gets to the problem at its core. Big business doesn't care about us. They care about their bottom lines. Simply because Wal-Mart is now carrying organic produce does not mean I will begin buying their cheap Chinese imports. 

By my own admission, I have a bit of an infatuation with Target which is why I am not going in there, less I be tempted (damn, their advertising works!). We've been brainwashed to believe that unless we're buying something, we're nothing. I want to remove accumulation from the happiness equation in my own life.