Think before you buy: Prime Day edition

Sales are enticing. As sticker shock continues to preside over most shopping trips, it can be easy to feel like you need to take every opportunity to get a good deal. Amazon markets Prime Day as a door-buster sale full of can’t-miss deals. But we know that buying things we don’t need or things that break quickly isn’t really a deal, it’s a waste of money and resources. In 2022 alone, Prime Day was responsible for more than 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s the same amount of emissions 68,000 Americans would produce in a year. Not only that, but we know many products aren’t designed to last or are difficult to repair, squandering the resources needed to create these products and generating disproportionate waste. In 2022 alone, nearly 9.5 billion pounds of returns were sent to landfills.

Like many people, I try to be a mindful shopper and conscious consumer. Before I buy something new, I ask myself a couple of questions:

1. Do I need this?

Yes, this is a super basic question. But it is a good first thought! It’s easy to feel like you should buy something because it’s on sale, but if you don’t need it, it’s still probably not the best bang for your buck. Of course, we often buy things we want but don’t need. A “no” answer to this question doesn’t mean you can’t buy it. It just means you should consider the trade-offs, and if there are more sustainable sources you may be able to buy it from. Which brings me to my second question.

2. Do I already own something similar I can fix?

Operating in a time when more and more companies have made their items “built-to-break,” throw-away culture has regrettably become the norm. It can be embarrassingly easy to give up on our items and buy something new when a breakdown happens, even if the snag is small and fixable. But we should fight against this norm and expect companies to do better. Before buying that new portable speaker to replace the one in your closet that mysteriously stopped turning on, try visiting your local repair shop to see if they can offer you a solution. You can also use iFixit’s online repair guides to try and fix the issue yourself! Fixing what we already own will help us reduce our personal consumption and reduce our waste footprint. Finally, I move on to my third question.

3. Can I buy this second-hand?

If I do need an item and don’t have something similar at home I can fix, I try to buy it second-hand. It’s not a perfect method of consumption, but it’s a step in the right direction towards a less wasteful economic system. If something is still good after one owner doesn’t need or want it anymore, continuing its useful life with a new owner eliminates the need to use resources and energy to create another product, making it the more sustainable choice. Before buying something new, on Amazon or elsewhere, consider whether you can buy it from a second-hand source, like a thrift shop, a local “buy-nothing” group, or an online resale platform like Marketplace.

Though it can be difficult to prioritize sustainability in all of our shopping decisions, it’s a worthwhile endeavor whenever we can manage it. Ultimately, we need companies and the policies governing them to prioritize it to. Aligning your spending habits with your values is one way to apply this pressure. This Prime Day, we encourage everyone to curb their consumption and pressure companies like Amazon to stop their wasteful overproduction.