The Day The World Stops Shopping by J.B. Mackinnon
Did I really start a reading and cocktail blog with a book about ending worldwide consumption? You bet.
It turns out irony pairs well with bourbon.
Thyme Will Tell is an ominous, albeit punny, name for a drink. It’s well balanced much like J.B. Mackinnon’s take on consumer culture. The lemon is tart, the thyme adds a savory element, the syrup adds sweetness, and it all burns just a little going down. But this cocktail is often easier to swallow than coming face-to-face with how our consumer habits are impacting our planet, which is what J.B. Mackinnon forces us to do in The Day the World Stops Shopping.
So let's start with the sweet syrup of it all:
I’ll be honest, I picked up this book expecting I’d know what Mackinnon would say; that shopping at big box supermarkets is bad and I just need to cancel my Amazon account now to save the world. But I was delightfully surprised to find the journey that Mackinnon takes readers on is full of thoughtful acknowledgement that our world, and how we shop in it, is complex.
He acknowledges that the key to stop shopping isn’t always to empty the shopping cart altogether but to slow down and evaluate what it is that we really need; to put in the research and identify how our purchases impact our environment.
To exemplify this, he taps into stories from a surprisingly fun and eclectic cast of characters that kept me turning pages well past my bedtime. From a clothing retail behemoth that subtly encourages buying less of their clothes to a sake maker in Japan that refuses to bend to modern industrialized practices and an everyday family in Ecuador that proves we can live fuller lives with less in our carts. From this we learn how looking through the lives of strangers can change the way we think and shop.
While this is all well and sweet, there can be some sour notes in this read.
Mackinnon pinpoints an anxiety I have long felt of every purchase being inundated with moral weight or judgment. Like many others, I feel the call to save our environment but also feel that this is often at odds with functioning in modern day-to-day life. I need groceries each week but worry that my produce isn’t ethically sourced. I drive to work some days feeling like I’m contributing to carbon emmissions but can’t see myself successfully biking down the highway and making it to my 9 AM meeting on time. But Mackinnon acknowledges this and lays out surprising pathways on how to rethink consumption altogether.
By far my favorite part about Mackinnon’s writing is that it was engaging and not patronizing. Climate change is a hot topic that can often be fraught with finger pointing but Mackinnon has a way of showing he understands our predicaments with consumerism in daily life while leading us to an oasis of solutions in the desert. Whether or not you change your shopping habits after reading it, The Day the World Stops Shopping will change how you see the things you buy and that might be the most powerful place to start.
