Book Recommendation: Consumed

Wow, it’s 2022 and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling equal parts powerless over pandemics (except following those CDC guidelines, of course) and motivated to act on what I CAN do to make a positive impact in my community. I have to thank Aja Barber for that motivated part of me going into this new year. If you need a dose of motivation, allow me to recommend one of the best books I read in 2021, Consumed: The Need For Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change and Consumerism. 

Aja Barber is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the intersection of fashion, climate change and social justice. In the first half of Consumed, she pulls back the curtain on fast fashion and how our quest for it is creating an environmental crisis. Aja exposes endemic injustices in consumer industries and more specifically, the textile industry, and how that aided in brokering slavery, racism and wealth inequality. She details how oppressive systems have bled into the fashion industry and names the pockets of whom our money lines and whose pockets it doesn't (hint: the factory workers who are actually making the clothing). 

In the second half of the book, Aja helps the reader understand why we consume the way we do. Why do we feel a sense of lack? Why do we fill the void with consumption the way we do?

She asks the reader to offer themselves compassion, challenge the power disparity because the more power we have, the less we are inclined to buy into consumer culture. 

I promise you will finish this book motivated to take action as well, like buying less clothing, mending or altering what you have, or picking up a pattern and some fabric from ACR and making yourself something when you feel the need for a wardrobe refresh. There are times when we have to buy new clothing, and Aja continues to model ways to research brands through her Instagram and Patreon, so you can feel good about what you do buy.

It’s easy to fall into feelings of helplessness, but Consumed left me feeling like there are practical ways I can help my community and the planet. Another of those ways is to support small businesses, so if you do buy a hardcopy of this book, please consider shopping at some of Austin’s local bookstores, like Black Pearl Books, BookWoman or BookPeople. 

Thank you for helping Austin Creative Reuse continue to do its part in making a positive impact on the community and the planet, too!