Slow Down – Why My Favourite Brand Is No Brand

This might not be the answer that people are looking for, but here it is. I am not really keen on any particular brand. There are brands that are doing less harm than others, and brands that are actually doing their utmost to help the environment and help support human rights, but they are few and far apart. The truth is that most brands and companies that make such claims are simply greenwashing their practises. If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.

I am not self-sufficient, I am well aware of that. But I also know that while I can’t do everything, there’s still a lot that I can do. I am able to cover many of my needs, from food to clothing to hygiene products. There are still a few packaged foods that I sometimes use, and I am finding ways to make those products myself.

We must do what we can to be mindful

When I do need something that I cannot make myself, such as a piece of technology for my work, there are a few things that I do. If I can, I buy second hand. If I can’t, I go for a brand with a good second hand value so that I can sell it if my needs change at some point. Or if I need the money and want to go for a simpler alternative.

I did that with my iPhone last year. The one thing that I now miss is the camera. The rest I can live without. And at the time, the money that I received from selling it were of more value to me than hanging onto the phone itself. I later purchased a simpler phone and a pair of no brand headphones using gift certificates that I’d received from my survey side hustle.

Walking advertisement

I know that many like when their clothes are branded and you can clearly see the brands, and I used to be that way too. But I am not anymore. Now I feel uncomfortable wearing something with large logos. It feels like I am walking unpaid advertisement, and that doesn’t sit right with me. Especially if the brand isn’t one I feel close to.

Mindless followers

I dislike the growing social media trend of simply getting rid of things and “throwing them out”. There is so much social media content that starts with versions of “I threw out everything I own,” and a lot of the time, those people are so entitled. They get rid of everything they have for their five minutes of social media fame. They just pack it up and some just place it in containers without sorting anything, without donating anything and without any care of what will happen next. They act as though they are teaching people something truly profound, and boost their own ego by bragging about how few items they can get away with owning.

I have seen countless influencers who recommend that people stop cooking, stop having food at home, get rid of appliances, pots and pans and just start eating out 7 days a week. That is neither healthy, affordable nor sustainable. The goal of the “advise” was to make their homes appear bare, as though no one is living there. One person even bragged about how her apartment looked exactly the same as when she moved in. That there were no signs that anyone lived there.

If we want to leave no mark, no evidence that we’ve ever been anywhere, why don’t we feel that way about nature and public places? I mean, why don’t we? Let’s be proud of how well we clean up after ourselves in nature. How we leave no evidence that we’ve been there. That would be a far better legacy than urging people to toss out everything they own, buy everything again, repeat the process, consume more and eat out 7 days a week.

Being a true minimalist is not about ego. However, many people who refer to themselves as minimalists are simply very ableist, entitled people who owns few but expensive possessions and are clueless about their own privileges in life. Don’t be like them.

Entitlement isn’t cute

An entitled fake minimalist is someone who gets rid of everything they own, without taking care of it or caring about where it will end up after they toss it out. They don’t want to have anyone in their lives who might make their space appear lived in. Who might get in the way of their desire to own nothing to prove just how wealthy and intelligent they are.

There are people who throw their clothes out in the trash instead of doing laundry. People who eat on paper plates and drink out of plastic cups so that they never have to do the dishes. Who buy everything pre-made or eat out all the time so that they never have to learn how to cook. Often because they think these normal daily activities are beneath them.

As mentioned, there are people who get rid of all of their possessions on a regular basis only to be “minimalist” for a brief period of time before they buy everything new. Then x months later, they do the same thing again. People who are so into the social media illusion that they throw out everything they own and buy matching sets of useless plastic products on trend from Amazon. Then those products break and they start over.

To summerise, this is the person who is wealthy, very entitled and get rid of everything because they like how minimalism makes them look. They would rather buy new, expensive products and get rid of them regularly than look after anything they own. It is all about keeping up appearances and believing that no matter what, they’ll always be able to buy more, consume more and get anything they want at any time and have it delivered the same day. They do not struggle financially, they have every advantage in society and they’ve never had a disability or serious illness.

People who advise people to not keep food at home, to buy food items one meal at a time, have clearly never wanted for anything or ever managed money. If you are on a budget, or now during the inflation, if you are alive, then you benefit from buying certain staples in bulk, planning ahead and keeping a pantry. That’s common sense.

Don’t fake your way through life

Life is not picture perfect. I repeat, life is not picture perfect. We should not prioritise appearances, and fake our way through life. People are so into being like everyone else. So much so that they put themselves in dept over purchases they only made to feel better about themselves and appear to have more money than they did at the time. Those people adore the illusions on social media. They believe in them. But not even the people who sell the illusions fit the illusions. Because they are ILLUSIONS. They are not real.

Being authentic will always be far better than pretending. Every item you purchase and every item you use is a vote for the brand or creator of that item. Be mindful of what you support.

My favourite brand is no brand.

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