Have You Watched “Buy Now! The Shopping Experience?”
by Katy on January 4, 2025 · 47 comments
I finally watched Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy on Netflix, which was riveting as I’ve been preaching about overmanufacture of consumer goods on this blog since 2008. This surprisingly entertaining documentary focuses on how companies such as Amazon, Apple and fast fashion corporations manipulate consumers into overbuying to the detriment to our planet, finances and homes.
The documentary was a perfect reminder to the why behind why I choose to only buy used and have done so since 2007. Statistics such as how “13 million phones are thrown out every single day” reinforced my resolve to keep my second hand iPhone 8 going as long as possible, which I only even upgraded to after frying my iPhone6 by dropping it into the toilet.
Needless consumerism is an environmental catastrophe that’s often invisible to the western world, as we have the luxury of having our discarded, recycled and donated items items sent “away.” Of course there is no “away,” only “out of sight.” The film’s footage of massive piles of soggy forgotten clothing and mountains of toxic electronic waste hammer in this point quite succinctly. Of course this is happening on foreign lands, as we wouldn’t want to harm our own western vistas!
Everything you’ve ever owned still exists. Somewhere.
The main takeaway is that Amazon is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad manipulative company and that most large corporations are mirroring their business practices.
Very few of us need more stuff and if we do, we can find what we want and need without resorting to buying new. Thrift stores, Buy Nothing groups, eBay and other online used marketplaces can scratch that itch.
Buy less, buy used, maybe just don’t buy at all. Good film.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 47 comments… read them below or add one }
I once heard the story of a pastor from Africa who came to the U.S. to speak. He saw a garbage pile or landfill or something and had tears in his eyes. He told his host that all those items we Americans are throwing out could be recycled/reused/composted by his people to improve their lives. I’m sure he didn’t mean one of those mountains of contaminated electronic waste that I’ve seen on other documentaries, but still we are the most wasteful people on the planet and probably the most wasteful in history.
Meanwhile, I need to start cell phone service and would like a good reconditioned secondhand one. I don’t know anyone who would give me a “hand-me-down,” so I will have to find one on my own. I have no idea where to start my search. Any suggestions?
We are not retired but we do have our cell phone service through consumer cellular because of their outstanding customer service and very reasonable prices. Even our 25 year old daughter uses consumer cellular. They sell refurbished phones at outstanding prices and provide -for free- all of the technical support we, and my parents, have ever needed.
@fru-gal Lisa we buy used/refurbished iPhones from Back Market
We have used Gizmo Trader for years for our devices, and have recruited most of our family to do the same. We typically pick devices with an A rating, and have never had an issue. We haven’t had *New devices since a iPhone 3 (a with the phone company deal that we soon realized is not a deal at all) and are usually several generations behind what is current.
Kara, Lindsey G. and Alicia,
Thanks for the info! I will look in to all of this.
We have purchased refurbished phones from a place called microcenter and been pleased. We also use a prepaid cell plan through at and t gophone. There might be better options out there, but this has worked for us.
I got the “call” on this subject way back in 2002, when I read an article by George Packer in the NYT Magazine titled “How Susie Bayer’s T-Shirt Ended Up on Yusuf Mama’s Back.” It was a step-by-step look at how American secondhand clothing got shipped to and sold in Third World countries.
I understand that some African nations have since passed regulations to restrict this practice and promote local clothing manufacture, but the article was certainly an eye-opener for me at the time. And, of course, our (often toxic) discards that end up in other nations’ landfills are even worse.
So, Katy and all the rest of us, let’s keep on keeping on with what we’re doing. It may be a drop in the bucket, but that’s still better than doing nothing.
Oooh, thank you for mentioning this article. I JUST got a NYT subscription, and I pulled it up to read it!
When I first read the Tightwad Gazette, Amy wrote something about American percentage of the population vs. the waste we produce. It made me ill to think about it. I will keep doing what I’m doing, but it’s overwhelming and I feel like so many people just don’t care.
I agree A. Marie. Anything is better than nothing, especially if a lot of us are doing something together. Although disheartening to see and hear about the waste, it spurs me on to keep doing what I’m doing, always with the love I feel for our beautiful planet in the forefront.
Great documentary. The line that really stuck with me was the former employee from Apple talking about how never, not ever, in Apple meetings, did anyone talk about what to do with used, broken, obsolete electronic waste.
We’ve always purchased our phones outright. And all but one are still in our possession. Lack of storage space (even after dumping all unused apps, off loading pictures to another storage media – no documents on our phones) to install updates, specifically security updates have driven the purchase of the new phone. The latest phones we purchased have ample storage – short of catastrophic damage or inability to update (which could be driven by the phone’s hardware), will likely be a while before we replace.
Plenty of phones became obsolete when 3G, 4G, 5G came along. I suspect some person (young or old) will figure out how to repurpose/recycle them. I have space to store (they don’t take up hardly any space) until that day comes.
The cable providers are just as bad.
They charge exorbitant fees if you don’t return their equipment and was told by 2 different techs,they have a roomful of returned, obsolete equipment and when they have enough someone is called to haul it to a landfill.
EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER OWNED STILL EXISTS. SOMEWHERE.
sometimes it is the obvious fact that blows your mind apart…
I will not go as far as saying everything – a large percentage perhaps but no everything. Cotton doesn’t take that long to decompose, any dye used is could end up in the water supply. Technically speaking, an aluminum can/glass bottle I recycled might be out there as another can/bottle or other tangible item. Books/newspapers may decompose or be recycled. Does the toothbrush I had 60 years ago still exist – I highly doubt it. Did components of it end up in the water supply – more than likely. Is it still in the water supply – odds are no.
Do we need to buy is the question. Yes is the answer for some things, let’s say shoes. Perhaps we can find shoes make out of material than can be recycled (guaranteed to cost more than the average consumer can afford) OR made out of recycled materials (so what happens at to it at end of life). There are no easy answers to complex problems.
BUT as to the first word of my mantra for at least the next two years, resist, we can resist buying. Be it online, brick and mortar. eBay, Etsy, et al charge fees. FB Market Place/Buy Nothing truly aren’t free either – ads and other propaganda abound. Never mind a corporate friendly algorithm to drive revenue that is hard to game (except for not using the “service”).
The food we consume ends up “somewhere” – waste management if in the city, septic which at some point is pumped and “dispersed” (or ends up backing up in your house, mega yuck, and *still* ends up somewhere).
Being martyrs is not the goal. Being smarter is the goal. A second hand item that cannot be at least somewhat recycled at end of life is not a victory.
I’m curious, do they go into the psychology of buying other than advertising’s influence? Retail therapy. Is everyone just trying to fill a void or get a cuddle from a new phone? A lot of therapy is needed before people can let go of new and already acquired stuff. And I’ve recently seen articles about how thrift stores don’t want more stuff, they are full. I think it said they can no longer atone for our sins. One article even encouraged people to throw stuff in the trash and don’t donate.
Plus buying used or getting free takes more effort than walking through stores that are designed to be inviting and attractive places to spend your time as well as dollars.
The thrift stores near me (two different Goodwills) are definitely NOT full. I don’t know if people are choosing not to donate to GW specifically, if it’s the effects of people selling more things on Marketplace and Ebay, the creation of two different Buy Nothing groups in my area, or a combination of all of these factors (and maybe others I havent considered). I realize what’s going on in my little town msy be different than what’s going on in other parts of the US and other countries.
@Liz B. I think a bit is due to the cat being let out of the bag that Goodwill is *not* a not-for-profit organization. I saw first hand how Salvation Army in my area ended up being the beneficiary of an estate while those (relation) who cared for the deceased over a number of years ended up with nothing.
Thanks. I know what I’m doing tonight.
Question: is it better to buy ebooks or used books that have to be shipped to me?
eBooks cannot be shared by you – yes by the library or other hosting source. Books, new or used, can be shared by one or many. eBooks require obtaining the required technology.
I don’t consider this a donkey, equally attractive haystack, which does said donkey choose in a quiz/test question from my econ professor. The correct answer is the donkey dies as said donkey dies as the donkey cannot make a choice.
If you’re asking from a frugality perspective, then the best thing (in my opinion) is to check out either ebooks or hard copy books from the library. If you want to own the books, and–again–you’re looking at it from the most cost-effective POV, then it would be whichever is least expensive. But if you’re wondering, based on what’s better for the planet, I’d say ebooks, assuming you already own a device on which to read books (phone, computer, tablet, e-reader). If you already own a device, then ebooks aren’t going to use any new resources to manufacture. The other option would be used books obtained locally (or while on a trip to some other locale) because that wouldn’t involve shipping, either the cost in dollars or in carbon footprint miles.
Yeah, my reading is often beyond eclectic. I have access to a public library and also to an academic library. But when a book relates to a writing project and I’m going to be using it for a long time I need to own it. Mark it up, mess it up, you know.
Note: you can lend kindle books to another kindle user. Isn’t there a cost of resources to store that data? I’m not clear on that.
ebooks require constant resources – they exist on a physical hard drive somewhere powered by electricity (read Hidden Systems by Dan Nott), kept in a climate controlled environment, and you have to use electricity to access them on your device. Physical books take more resources up front to produce, but don’t require that constant electricity and hopefully they get at least partially recycled at the end of their life.
Katy, when I watched this i couldn’t help but think of you!! Thank you for planting these seeds so many years ago.
I am struggling with a new product I saw advertised. A family member has Sketchers Step-In Shoes, and really likes them, to not have to bend down, tie, adjust, untie, etc.
But building on the brand name, now you can buy “Sketchers Step-In Pants.”
Aren’t those just “Pants”?
I found my pair of Sketchers at a thrift store in a college town, for $9. I love them!
@Heidi Louise,
Ummm….yes? What an odd extension of the Skechers “step in” brand!
They’re actually “Slip In” pants and they look like regular trackie bottoms.
Firing up Netflix right now! Sent the hubs out to buy a bottle of wine; figured we’ll need it!
I watched the movie and was horrified and very overwhelmed. Such waste. And we do it with food as well. The tons of perfectly good food that gets thrown out by companies is also horrifying. No one should go hungry or unclothed in the US. It feels insurmountable much like our current political climate. What keeps me sane is to not focus on the big picture, the macro, which I cannot change but to almost force myself to have tunnel vision and just do the small bits that I can in the here and now to not add to the problem. I doubt we will ever get the big corporations, which are by far the biggest contributors to waste and negative environmental impact of our world, to change. They will never do it willingly and I don’t see our incoming administration caring at all about it. So back to just focusing on my small part and my community.
People don’t go hungry in the US (or anywhere else) because there’s not enough food. They go hungry because they’re poor.
So true @Rose. Plenty of worry about a fetus, almost no worry once a live born child. Just bitching thereafter.
Does anyone use powdered laundry detergent and wash in cold water?
I do. It’s way less expensive — takes only 2 tablespoons of Arm & Hammer detergent per load and we recycle the cardboard carton as well as the plastic scoop.
Thanks Ruby. Do you have any trouble with it dissolving?
Or I guess I should say not dissolving and clumping on your clothing?
I have a front load washer and just push the clothes back a bit to pour the detergent onto the steel drum right in front. The water comes out in that area and dissolves it. My son had some problems, but he was throwing the detergent on top of the clothes.
The washer has a detergent dispensing drawer, but I don’t use it. We keep a 2 Tb. coffee scoop in the detergent for ease of measuring.
Thanks. That’s so helpful. I also have a front loader.
I don’t. Without getting too gross, I have colitis and cold water doesn’t kill E. coli or many other bacteria. If you don’t kill bacteria, there is the risk of corss contamination in clothing. Also, two years ago, I spent a week in the hospital with bacterial poisoning. I wash in the hottest water I can get.
I’m with you. I had a horrible bout with c.diff and the doc told us to wash our clothes in the hottest water because of cross contamination.
My front load has a sanitize cycle – takes close to 2 hours for a load. I’ve no need to use it (and had a relative with c. diff). But it is there if needed.
This was the first thing I watched on Netflix after a 2 year hiatus. It’s simply shocking how much we turn a blind eye to.
I heard a podcast about the circular economy and how trash companies convince cities to just bundle their charges into “city tax” rather than see what we really pay to throw things out and how much recycling would cost much, much less.
Studies, apparently, show that if you have to pay to dispose of trash, or recycle (for less), well, you can guess….
I watched it twice, second time with our young millennial son while he was home for Christmas. We try hard to do our part, but we certainly cannot make up for the shocking practices of huge corporations. Companies that destroy old inventory, food service that makes left over (but still consumable) products inedible, making things intentionally irreparable and Amazon which seems to care less. We both came away saying we don’t want to buy anything, but of course we will. But it will not be new and not from Amazon.
I went to visit a relative today. As I drove to the house, I see six chairs at the end of a driveway (there is no curb). First thing that pops into my mind is Katy. Frame looked sturdy, cushions appeared to need cleaning (I did not stop for a “smell” test).
I loathe Amazon ever since Nomadland. Amazon really took advantage of older workers during the Great Recession and make billions off of their backs. I refuse to order anything from Amazon.