It’s a little weird to read about shopping (or rather, shopping less) right after a book about economics, but Prosperity Without Growth and A Life Less Throwaway actually work together pretty well. Prosperity Without Growth makes an argument about growth and the economy, and A Life Less Throwaway narrows things down to the individual, as it urges us to buy less (and hence contribute less to a forever-growing economy).

A Life Less Throwaway can be divided into two main sections. Part 1 looks at the way we’ve been persuaded that things (especially white consumer goods) are not supposed to last very long and how advertising gets us to continually buy and upgrade. In Part 2, Button talks about how we can live a life that trades quality for quantity and reduces the impact of advertisements on us.

I agree with the core message of this book that we should be more conscious about our buying patterns and buy stuff if it genuinely enriches our lives, not because others are getting it. Button expands the benefits of mindful consumption beyond cost savings by talking about how, by relooking our relationship with things, we can redefine our idea of success (assuming that success = conspicuous consumption to you) and hence live a healthier and happier life.

The only thing that I didn’t quite like about the book was the number of times the author’s business, BuyMeOnce appeared. I understand why she would want to mention it, but it did make the book feel like it was a promotional vehicle for BuyMeOnce. Still, I don’t think this detracts from the overall message: we have to learn how to rethink our buying patterns to reduce our environment on the world (and maybe improve our mental health at the same time).

You May Also Be Interested In…

Prosperity Without Growth by Tim Jackson: An interesting book that seeks to redefine the idea of “prosperity” and detach it from economic growth

Reading about sustainable, ethical fashion: A list of books with my three top recommendations

Buy Me Once: I can’t buy from them because I’m not in the UK or US but I checked out their site and I like that they also vet their suppliers for ethical practices.