Dejection

What is dejection?

It is driving behind big SUVs
trailing after their poisonous fumes

It is a new sign by the road
telling lies with happy faces

It is more stores coming near me
to give more shopping pleasure

It is a forest chopped down to make way
branches, leaves and roots in a heap

It is other drivers slowing down to look
but no way to know what they think

It is I can't blame it on anyone
I can only blame it on everyone

It is what denial failed to suppress
an awful guilt trip, a terrible fear


Jackie

The world of shopping

[Fort Worth, November 27. Image via Getty]

When I was a teenager and I didn't have much money, and things were generally more expensive, I remember the excitement I get when I purchase something new. Despite the fact that we had a lot less than we do today, I feel we had way more style back then.  Today, shopping is such a sick hobby, I see fancy things for cheaps everywhere.  The news programs here are blasting scenes of shopping mania from the Thanksgiving weekend and calling it the greatest news of the year or such nonsense and I wonder, how did we get here?

After becoming a vegan, of which I am very proud, the next big step for me is to drastically reduce my consumption.  It makes sense right?  First no violence, then love life, preserve all life....preserve the environment....see things for what they are....see people for what they are....question everything....no more denial....fear a whole lot less....lead by example....act on principle...live with a purpose and so on it goes.  

See this is what I love about veganism, once having reached it, all those other good stuff follows and aligns....naturally.

I have recently seen this excellent video called The Story of Stuff, it perfectly describes our obsession with material goods and the damage it has cost us.  Please please please watch it.  This video brought me to my next goal:  To reduce consumption to a point I find acceptable.  So far, I have mixed success since I have yet defined where to draw the line, unlike veganism, I will have to make compromises with this one.  

It is impossible to completely stop all purchases, but at least I can shop responsibly.  As a family we have already made quite a few changes to become more eco-friendly, I have cut back a great deal on shopping, and we try to buy only when absolutely necessary. But I have made exceptions.  Recently, I allowed myself to justify some purchases to replace my old clothes which are made with animal products such as:  leather, sheepskin, fur, silk, wool, cashmere, angora, and down.  

You may think this is extreme, but the idea of killing the innocent for looks is simply unacceptable to me these days.  I have continued to use some items, but I have replaced most of my leather shoes and my sheepskin coat.  I know it isn't perfect, those animals are already killed on my account, but there are certain things I just cannot bring myself to wear anymore, so I donated them and purchased cruelty-free stuff.  

Strangely, I find shopping meaningful under my current circumstances.  It is fun to look for cruelty-free things because they are rare (isn't it sad?), it is like a treasure hunt.  I have found some beautiful pieces out there by laudable vendors and when I wear them, I feel very unique.  That's the point of fashion ain't it?  To make people notice me, the woman, and not just my clothes.        

Here are some of the things I bought:

      

Audrey coat from Vaute Couture

Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart

Vaute Couture is a small design house in New York City.  They make the most beautiful coats from recycled materials.  I have met the founder Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, she is one amazing young lady.

I found some awesome boots too, I intend to wear them for life.  Vegan shoes and handbags are actually quite easy to find, for example, check out this Site.  I am totally done in the shoes department.

But of course, the best part about buying tall boots is that extra long shoe box.  In the end, I think we should learn from kitty cats, it takes so little to make them happy.

Well, there you have it.  A work in progress.

Jackie

No thanks, I don't need a bag with that

Today my husband wanted to buy something at a clothing store, and it was an item already packaged in a plastic wrapping. As usual when he went to pay, he said, "No thanks, I don't need a bag with that." It was a small gesture in minimizing the enormous amount of waste we generate, a practice we have very recently adopted based on the totally defendable common sense of why waste another plastic bag to wrap something already packaged? or so we thought. But to his surprise, the sales lady replied with a snide remark, "Good for you, you've just saved a plastic tree."

Now, what kind of response is that? My husband drove home thinking he should NOT have purchased the item in the end, he kicked himself for being too polite that instant. We discussed it at length afterwards, it was a very strange response after all. How did that offend her enough to say something like that to a customer in a bad economy? But then I have seen it before, or at least something very similar. I am not sure about this particular sales lady, but I have heard from others who thought it unAmerican to recycle or conserve. People got offended.

My former cube mate Scott for example, he drank water only from plastic bottles, and although my company had a decent recycling program, he insisted on throwing his bottles into the trash even when the blue bin was immediately next to the garbage can. He told me that was the American thing to do. I suppose he meant that it is the right/duty of Americans to consume. Now, Scott is born American, but the strange thing is, many immigrants I know are anti-recycling as well, and for similar reasons. I have many friends who came from India and China where conserving resources was part of life, but many told me that it was no longer necessary because they are now in America. I may be able to understand this if we are talking about a bunch of uneducated folks, but these are all highly educated professionals I am mentioning.

I suppose what I am saying is entirely anecdotal, and perhaps my perception is skewed, unfair, and inaccurate. But when I travel, I have noticed the difference in attitude a great deal. I lived in Germany for a year and I have seen the efforts people made to conserve energy and recycle, and for the most part, they don't have to. Over there, you get mildly uncomfortable when you throw out trash before first separating the bottles, cans, and papers in front of the neighbors. So is it the system and the government? or is it the individual? In the end, I suppose there are very few people in the world who are actually doing enough, and I think most people, including myself, throw things out when we shouldn't. But still, I think something is seriously wrong when deeds as simple and good as reducing consumption and recycling is under attack anywhere. Just a thought.

Jackie