I avoided shopping on Amazon for 449 days. Having a baby brought me back to it, but I'm shopping smarter now.
A writer reflects on her attempt to boycott Amazon for over a year, noting that the convenience of the platform drew her back in after having a third child. She discusses the psychological friction of online shopping and her ongoing efforts to consume more mindfully.
Why it matters
It highlights the pervasive influence of e-commerce giants on consumer behavior and the difficulty of maintaining ethical consumption habits in a convenience-driven economy.
The author found herself shopping on Amazon again after she had her third child. Courtesy of Kate Bratskeir I challenged myself to stop shopping on Amazon a few years ago. I went without it for 449 days, and became more thoughtful about my purchases. With my third child, I started shopping on Amazon again. But I still try to avoid it when possible. I bought 72 things from Amazon in 2024. The range of items runs the gamut: A replacement basket for the air fryer, dozens of children's books, an XL cone for my dog's post-surgery care, kids' birthday presents, skincare products I gave up on, pacifiers for my newborn twins before I remembered stashing some extras in the diaper bag, and lots of forgettable items in between. I was feeling uncomfortable about my consumption, my carbon footprint, and how second-nature buying on Amazon had become for me.
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