Health & Fitness

The Culture of Consumption: We Just Bought Another Dog Toy Made in China

Plagiarize This! Useful Information That You Want to Know. Musings From The Editor.

In the six-plus weeks since my wife and I brought our mixed-breed puppy Cinnamon home, a whole new world has opened up.

People in general love dogs especially one like Cinnamon who has an Ewok-like mug and he's always willing to jump around and be petted. He gets a lot of attention.  We've also discovered some other new things: the pet sections at various retailers.

We've been to Petco, Petsmart, , Target, Kmart,  and TJ Maxx buying everything from puppy chow, treats, dog toys, plastic bones, elephants, kennels, leashes, dog shirts and harnesses. A Japanese retailer at Alderwood even had a Buddhist prayer mantle where you can put your dog's photo.

Find out what's happening in Shoreline-Lake Forest Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

And of course, much of it is made in China.

In the book, "How Much is Enough" written by Seattle-based Sightline Executive Director Alan Durning, while he was a researcher for the Worldwatch Institute in the 1990s is written with the Western, particularly American consumer culture in mind. For the global wealthy, (and this includes nearly all Americans except maybe those at the poverty line), much of the world produces never-ending amounts of stuff so those who live in American can consume—a lot—and that is still the case.

Find out what's happening in Shoreline-Lake Forest Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The argument of the book is that extreme poverty is bad because it results in desperate destructive choices to survive such as burning rain forests and farming on sloped land which causes erosion. But Durning, is more concerned about the drivers of consumption who are more powerful. Our empty shallow lives, are dominated by buying stuff whether at the mall, big-box retailers or on Amazon. However, we can change that by driving less, buying less, living in smaller spaces and yes, consuming less and live more sustainable, enjoyable, less rat-race lives. The rub is that much of the world has caught on to what Americans have had for the last seven decades and they want it, and we have little credibility in saying no—to anyone in the developing world, much else ourselves or our offspring. To accept less is to suffer to many people and accept failure; to demand more is enjoyment but also destructive and inevitable, but a sign of success: Patch recently reported that

In the end, where do you stand? Did the Occupiers accept less or were they just left behind? Do they want everyone to accept less? Is having more, more powerful or is having less?

Patch, which is also driven by its audience (you, the reader), depends on its traffic and advertising, which leads to buying stuff, but it depends on what. There is choice. You vote every time, for every story you click on and with every click you vote for the products and causes you want to win. The data shows you care about local crime, personalities, the schools and the environment. The data also shows that you have a wide variety of interests and there's some of you are very engaged with what goes on here. The data and anecotal evidence also shows that some of you, likely a majority, are not engaged with what's going on around you aside from when something hits close to home. That's a choice, everyone's time is precious.

Sometimes, Cinnamon likes to run in circles and chase his tail or grab one of those Chinese-made toys and drag it around the room. Is there a point to it all? Maybe, maybe not. But it's fun to watch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Shoreline-Lake Forest Park