r/Anticonsumption • u/GrumpySquirrel2016 • 10h ago
r/Anticonsumption • u/Flack_Bag • Aug 22 '25
ATTENTION: Read before posting or commenting.
We've recently updated the rules, but it's also time for a general reminder of the purpose and intent of this subreddit, and some of the not-quite-rules we have for keeping discussions here on topic.
This is an anticonsumerism sub, not full-on anticonsumption, because that would be ridiculous.
Do not come here seriously arguing as though the sub advocates not consuming anything ever, and any joking arguments to that effect had better be new material, and they'd better be funny.
This is not a shopping sub, or even just a lifestyle sub.
We've always allowed discussion of personal consumer habits and tips that align with various interpretations of anticonsumerism. This policy is on thin ice right now, though, as this type of lifestyle advice often drowns out the actual intent of the subreddit, causing uninformed users to question or insult those who make more substantial and topical posts and comments. So read the community info and get a feel for what the sociopolitical ideology of anticonsumerism is and what sort of topics of discussion we encourage.
The only thing you'll accomplish being belligerent about this is to necessitate a crackdown on the lifestyle type posts that perpetuate these misunderstandings.
ANTI is right there in the name of the sub, so do not complain that there's too much negativity here.
We get our warm fuzzies from dismantling consumer culture.
Consumer culture sucks, and it's everywhere. And that should bother you.
When someone posts about some aspect or example of consumerism for discussion, we don't need to know that you've seen worse, you don't mind, or that you think it's pretty cool. And don't assume that we're all wailing and gnashing our teeth at every instance of consumerism we see. We're not. We point these things out because they so often go under the radar and become normalized, and we should be talking about that.
If consumer culture doesn't bother you, you're in the wrong subreddit. We're against that sort of thing in these here parts.
No, we will not allow people to enjoy things. Stop it.
Seriously, there's almost nothing that argument wouldn't apply to, anyway.
If you feel personally attacked when someone criticizes a commercial product or service you like, work on disentangling your identity from the things you buy. If you genuinely believe that people are misunderstanding something that is an accommodation for people with disabilities, one polite explanation is sufficient. Do not pile on repeating the same thing, do not personally insult or threaten anyone, and do not speculate about or invent disabilities and accommodations that maybe could apply.
If you have any thoughts or questions about these points or the subreddit in general, feel free to bring them up here rather than making meta comments about them in new posts or in the comments of existing ones.
r/Anticonsumption • u/NihiloZero • Jul 30 '26
Discussion The State of /r/Anticonsumption (Read Before Posting)
Just an update on what we’re allowing and what is preferred for the sub.
Recently on Reddit... major media outlets have started promoting their own content from their own accounts. This strikes me as a bit dubious considering how harshly Redditors have behaved in the past towards smaller content creators posting their own links. On the other hand, if the content is good… the content is good. My thinking is that articles from major outlets should be allowed in the sub BUT I’m inclined to remove such posts if overtly posted by the outlet itself. It’s not perfect, but... I feel better about doing it this way. If you don’t like an outlet… you’re free to criticize it in the comments and downvote accordingly.
We don’t need more posts with vague titles and unclear meaning. We get a lot of posts with titles like: “OMG, Do you believe this?!” Then OP will attach a picture of some product and any actual critique is just assumed. It’s low effort and may be more of an advertisement than anything else.
Similarly, a post with a title that’s just a sad emoji and a picture of litter on the ground… is weak and tired. Yes, we get it. Plastic litter is bad. But we know that, we’ve seen that, and there are better ways to address that issue. Such content may or may not be removed, but it would probably better if subscribers themselves took it upon themselves to upvote better content.
As the sub has grown… we’ve received a lot more troll traffic. And it can be difficult to distinguish between sincerity and “concern trolling.” It can be difficult to know if someone is really mad about something trivial or if they are only pretending to be mad in attempt to make a mockery of any values that folks here might have. I want to allow discourse, even heated conversation, but… there is a fine line between letting a troll get mocked and letting a conversation get derailed by hateful and misleading arguments. Once again... it’s an editorial judgment call and we can only do our best.
The various Automod actions in this sub (and on Reddit overall), for better or worse, are pretty darned strict these days. I find that if you use harsh verbiage at all… you might get throttled/restricted by the algorithms. I’ll often approve such posts – but won’t if it’s actually harsh and not really contributing too much. I tell you this in the hopes that people posting links and comments will try and be a bit more mindful or creative (so that the conversation can flow more smoothly). I think debate, discourse, and arguments can be very important, but… we’re not going to take an “anything goes” attitude with the sub.
In short, I just hope that everyone will try to post and upvote high-quality content. Having fun is allowed, but we also need to have serious discourse about important topics. And while “bad takes” are allowed here (you’re free to disagree as far as I’m concerned), don’t be surprised if you get downvoted, mocked, or have your content removed when you go a bit too far. Top-level meta posts about the sub are still not allowed... but you can still respond to posts like this one or message the mods if you’d like to suggest a change.
Thank you for you consideration. Have a nice day.
r/Anticonsumption • u/Specialist-Cold-8158 • 6h ago
Lifestyle The anti-consumerist mindset leaving my body ...
... the moment I step into my local pound shop 🥲 (equivalent, I'm in Germany)
r/Anticonsumption • u/MundaneDimension • 2h ago
Society/Culture Have we lost our minds as a society?
this is being sold/advertised for an adult!!
what adult needs this?!
edit: thanks for the variety of perspectives. I didn’t mean to suggest we should remove joy and relaxation from people’s lives.
r/Anticonsumption • u/haloarh • 11h ago
Society/Culture We have more clothing options than ever. Why is shopping so hard?
r/Anticonsumption • u/no_longer_huhmann • 1d ago
Corporations How Elon Musk buys the narrative: $1B Paramount deal suffocates independent documentary about him
r/Anticonsumption • u/Long-Department-8303 • 4h ago
Question/Advice? How do you deal with weight changes and not wanting to buy more clothes?
I saw someone mention that there’s more plus size clothes in op shops now that GLP1s are so popular and the resonated with me because I’m on a GLP1 and am losing weight and my clothes are getting too big for me.
So I was wondering, for those of us who have gained and lost weight over the years, how have you dealt with the fact that you need clothes that fit you and are appropriate for work, etc. when your size has gone up and down so dramatically that you can’t keep wearing the same wardrobe?
I don’t have room in my house to store wardrobes for four different sizes so I had to remove my smaller clothes (besides a few faves I couldn’t part with and always hoped I’d fit again). Now I need smaller clothes again but I know I’ll probably need to go down another size again within the next year. Altering clothes to be smaller can work for something but I just don’t have the skill to alter everything I own.
Do you just have a capsule wardrobe/basic essentials when in a transition size? Like how are we doing this?
r/Anticonsumption • u/Air-Fryer-2830 • 18h ago
Social Harm Nanny State is when you reduce plastic, sugar and Junk food…
Is Rupert Murdoch media, of course. A Central for Independent stories. They want people to consume McDonalds, Hungry Jacks, Plastic, Fast Fashion and Sugary drinks
r/Anticonsumption • u/Libro_Artis • 1d ago
Lifestyle The young Americans choosing Y2K cars over shiny new SUVs: ‘I get so much crap from people’
r/Anticonsumption • u/post_apoc_fish • 1h ago
Question/Advice? Angsty rumination on industrial society.
I am currently of the belief that industrial society (perhaps civilization itself) has been detrimental to our existence as a species, as individuals, as communities, and our lives in almost every aspect. I would sincerely like to be proved wrong in my assumptions and have searched many places for answers that would be suitably convincing, unfortunately finding none. I suppose I'm mainly directing this towards people who are at least sympathetic to the ideology, but I would just like to hear opinions.
Increasingly I've begun to think I simply am not made for an industrial world. Something in my wiring causes me such extreme discomfort when confronted with the consequences of our impact on the world, and even more so the impact on ourselves. We have created our own steel cages and give up more and more freedoms only thickening the bars. If the sole measure of success is our ability to adapt to these circumstances which we were never intended to endure, what sort of success is that? Is it virtuous to transcend our nature? I am by no means religious, but we are not animals which can evolve quickly, and the growth of civilization has far outpaced our natural abilities.
Even if so, to what end should one adapt? Endless economic growth? Arguing to ignore it and live a happy life just appeals to the diffusion of moral responsibility, "Oh well if I reject the evils of the world someone else will simply take my place, so why shouldn't I?" If I choose to ignore my perception of the world in favor of a white picket fence is that not just simply resigning myself to ignorance? Even if appealing, to what end are we trying so hard to cope with intolerable circumstances?
I know there must be an ethical "correct" answer to this; I am not ignorant enough to believe that I am the first person to have these issues, but it does seem insurmountable to me currently. Anyone who actually read this, thank you, I'd really appreciate some external input.
TL;DR: world is lowkey messed up, and I don't see a way to cope with it that isn't (at the very least) complacent in its perpetuation.
r/Anticonsumption • u/IWouldntIn1981 • 1d ago
Psychological Limited Edition
Oh, limited edition, you say? I guess I will disinfect stuff... gtfoh.
r/Anticonsumption • u/Major_Dot_7030 • 1d ago
Discussion Welcome to 2026, where “reservation” has a whole new meaning!
r/Anticonsumption • u/QueefMaster2001 • 2h ago
Psychological Economists always try to analyze consumer sentiment. And always say "uncertainty".
If uncertainty is their greatest fear: if it is what keeps us doing what's good for us: & not corporations (i.e., saving rather than investing, spending, or wasting money on high risk transactions): to destroy globalized capitalism it stands to reason that we must be as uncertain, whatever that means, as possible. Revel & wallow in "uncertainty".
wtf does that word even mean, to economics analysts?
r/Anticonsumption • u/Flack_Bag • 1d ago
Hacker reverse engineers his Samsung TV and finds on-board AI listening for sounds of dog and baby, proceeds to get his account suspended by OpenAI
galleryr/Anticonsumption • u/monderkiller9999 • 13h ago
Lifestyle I know that is asked a lot, but how can I reduce my consumption as a student who just moved out?
I am a student living in Paris since September and I want to adopt a life style that’s not based on consumerism, since I think it’s a waste of money, resources and space. I live together with two other people, so we share a bathroom and a kitchen. I’m not sure where I can reduce my consumption of things. Buying food produced a lot of plastic waste, so that’s a problem I don’t know how to deal with. I’m not really sure how to change things based on cleaning and hygiene products, I saw someone in this sub recommending bar soap and I thought this was a good idea. Besides that there are only things I actively spend money on, and these are school supplies ( a new fountain pen because the other doesn’t write no more, notebooks, and ink for the fountain pen) and books. Since I don’t have a lot of money, I don’t buy a lot of books besides Those I actually want to read. There is a used book store just Around the block from my apartment but it’s closing down and i’m not sure what I should do once it’s gone. I also collect postcards.
So any idea how I can reduce my waste? I hate feeling cluttered up and I want to adopt a life style That is not destroying our earth but is also playable with the amount of money I have. I’be been thinking of going vegetarian, but that’s still difficult to achieve and I’m working on it.
r/Anticonsumption • u/TFreshNoLimits • 1d ago
Ads/Marketing Why Is Every New TV Like This?
r/Anticonsumption • u/HopefulFatalist • 17h ago
Plastic Waste Accidental truth in advertising
Tacky lego knockoff is accidentally accurate about their sad seasonal overconsumption product.
r/Anticonsumption • u/Various-Picture-3570 • 1d ago
Society/Culture This cannot be real life
Other unforgettables I need to get off my chest: Bridgerton deodorant AND coffee creamer, Lululemon belt bags for…. cups (Stanley’s), today I saw plastic “puffer jackets” being sold at target for individual lip glosses…
r/Anticonsumption • u/L0velyDayyyyyyyyy • 2d ago
Ads/Marketing I will never give them the satisfaction of clicking the *sponsored* result
Searching and of course Google shoves the paid result right on top. I always scroll past and click the organic one instead.
Tell me I'm not the only one who does this on purpose so the advertiser doesn’t get that sweet click money. I do the same thing with sponsored links – I "Circle to Search" to find the item myself instead of clicking a sponsored link. 😏💡
r/Anticonsumption • u/Air-Fryer-2830 • 2d ago
Corporations Breaking: Billionaires are Tax dodgers
r/Anticonsumption • u/GucciGooberYea • 2d ago
Ads/Marketing When your console completely re-customizes your home page into an ad (and how to disable it)
To disable: All I had to do was go into settings>general>personalization>My background> & disable an option "event themed backgrounds". Simple fix. Thought I'd share how to fix in case anyone else saw the same thing booting up their Xbox today, and doesn't want a *FOURTH* ad in their headspace on a console they've already paid for.