Consumerism isn't evil

This is how JJ announces he’s starting a merch line.

Man sitting in front of hundreds of random objects thinks consumerism is pretty nice actually

Sounds like something a consumerism would say….

Perhaps an approach such as "thoughtful consumerism" as opposed to "mindless consumerism" would help with fostering more gratitude.

I wouldn't dismiss greenwashing as it definitely does happen. The worst cases are the waste disposal companies

Seeing JJ draw wojaks is like seeing Eve eat the forbidden fruit. Such knowledge casted JJ from some metaphorical paradise.

Mindless consumerism is when someone else has a different hobby than me.

I’m going to play a bit of devils advocate on the plastic thing. Just because something is “recyclable” doesn’t mean that it’s actually “recycled” and you made a video yourself explaining this very point a couple years ago that most plastic isn’t recycled for various reasons. Now that’s not to say that thing can’t or haven’t changed, but this is largely one of the reasons why people are skeptical of corporate “commitments to sustainability”

I would consider myself moderate when it comes to consumerism. Don't never buy anything, just be mindful about things as you're buying. And there's paths to happiness beyond just buying things.

When I think of consumerism, I don't think of buying a top-of-the-line flask to keep your drink warm, I think of people buying a Stanley cup because it's a trend to be seen with one, and I think of those videos of people owning 100 Staley cups in different colours. There's just something about spending money like that that seems so shallow and materialistic. I consider consumerism to be more about the "getting" than the "having", and by extension, never being satisfied. It's fair to judge people by where they spend their money, because it shows what's important to them. Consumerism also comes with this selfish undertone - where it's about spending your money to benefit yourself, which is why I think some religions tend to be against it. I love your videos, including this one, even though it didn't convince me . I'm still eager to hear more of your thoughts on this topic. I'm impressed that you form your arguments regardless of the current popular opinions. You have taught me a lot.

I remember when a company (Home Hardware) built a playground for a school as a donation. There was a small uproar from people who were so cynical that said this is how they brainwash our children, and some refused to let their kids play on it. Well, Home Hardware was getting advertising out of it, but... so what? I shop at Home Hardware. They're a useful company for me. And they did something nice.

This made me realize there's something strange about the phrase "guilty pleasure". It's like we have to preface consuming something lowbrow, mainstream, or unhealthy by pointing out that we aren't one of those "mindless consumers"

This reminds me of that comic panel from Calvin where his mom gives the typical “It could be a lot worse.” And he rebuttals with “It could be a lot better too!”

It’s funny for JJ to deliver this message while sitting against a background of trinkets

while i disagree with some of what you said, i do agree with another good portion of the points you’ve made. as an animist and also someone who’s some flavor of anti-consumerist, it has always saddened me when popular anti-consumerists talk about how the items produced through consumerism are worthless. this is simply untrue. all items can have meaning and value to someone and gratitude (like you mentioned) should be shown into the time effort and materials used to make it. of course we like things, as humans we make things. it’s more about the way they are made and disposed of that i find can be concerning, depending on how it’s done, rather than the fact that these things exist and that we like them.

"Making anything except babies" is quite the sentence I never thought I'd hear lmao

I love how JJ is never afraid to take a controversial take, but it’s always clear that he’s doing it in a fascinating way and not just trying to be provocative or something. Really appreciate these videos JJ

One issue with consumerism that was not really addressed in this video is that the reason we can have so many consumer goods that are at a price point that we can purchase things without a second thought is the exploration not just of the planet but also of people. The production of so many products takes place in so many locations which means the working conditions can be horrendous and the workers can be very underpaid and the consumer would have no way of knowing unless they do extensive research and even then it may be unclear. I would be more positive about consumerism if the production wasn't exploiting the people and the planet. Only people being hard on consumerism and it's impacts will push for change. If we are in the dark about the impacts then we can't push them to make positive impacts that will effect their bottom line.

I liked listening to this video as someone who is markedly anti consumerist. It’s always good to hear a good-faith contrasting perspective. I disagree somewhat that corporations have become particularly environmentally responsible. There are some improving trends, some positive initiatives, but I think there is a ton of corporate greenwashing too, high-profile publicized environmental initiatives that don’t do much to put a substantial dent in the actual underlying problems. For example look at all these ‘carbon neutral’ corporations which work under carbon credits, which when you look into it more, are really quite meaningless and deceptive. I don’t think they’re lying, but I do think they’re playing up their improvements while being just as bad on most other fronts. At the end of the day the single objective of a corporation is to make profit, and they will only reduce their environmental impact to the extent that it doesn’t reduce their profits. Recycling is also often not a great solution. Not all plastic can be recycled, even if facilities are available; and it can often only be recycled a couple of times before the quality degrades more and more. There are many types of plastics, with different situations, but recycling rates are never going to be approaching a mostly-cyclical economy. According to the ecological footprint calculator, if everybody in the world had my lifestyle, all 8 billion with my quality of life, we’d need 2.8 Earths to sustain it forever. For my parents, it would be 3.7 Earths. This is what I worry about. I enjoy stuff as much as the next person, stuff is fun. Don’t get me wrong. I have a bookshelf full of books, some of which I haven’t read. I have a fair amount of hobby and craft supplies I don’t use as often as I’d like, and I get green eyes when I see some new crafting tool on my Instagram ads. But I know our great-great-grandkids are not going to be able to live the same way that we’re living now. We can’t keep living like we’re the only people who matter, to hell with people in poorer countries and our own future descendants. I don’t think ‘stuff makes me happy’ is a good reason to not think about how this is going to affect people seven generations forward. It’s true, environmental and ethical regulations will make my coffee and books and candles and beads and cider-brewing supplies cost more. So they should, honestly. There is no way that a milk frother can be made ethically in China with fairly paid labour and responsible environmental practices, and shipped to me front door by Temu for $3.50 Canadian. There’s no way. It would not be possible to offer these prices if it was being made in a way that was ethical and cared whatsoever about environmental concerns. But people buy it, so they will keep making it, until regulation forces them to care. Then my hobbies will get a bit more expensive, and I’ll buy stuff for them a bit less often, but they’ll reflect the actual value that went into making them. Just ‘choosing to buy from other companies’ is never going to be a solution to that, my individual choices have little effect unless large scale group action or regulation takes place. I’m not suggesting we all stop owning stuff. But some of the gratuitous, thoughtless consuming I see in peers and online, hopping on Temu buying hundreds of dollars of random plastic crap that never gets used, or clothing that only gets worn a couple of times, and straight to a landfill, this hurts me. What’s the point. It benefits nobody. It’s sweatshop labour and environmental destruction just to be shipped to your door and right to the landfill.

Consoom JJ video. Get excited for next JJ video.