I do not have a question, but I am just thrilled to see this type of discussion. Have you noticed how most people do not even park in their garages anymore? They are all packed full of "stuff". I can't wait to buy this book. Keep getting your message out there!

What happened to the Star Market that used to sit atop the Mass Pike on one's way into Boston? In West Newton, I think.

And taking W. Newton as an upscale example, does the instinct to grab for cheap products follow us as we move up the socioeconomic scale or do we get smarter when we get "richer?"

For Paul Solman: You can't do enough of these segments for the News Hour.

Good words to Ellen and Paul for this feature.

Thanks much. HLB Engineering, Mt. Lebanon PA

Have you applied your logic to the consumer food business (both chain restaurants and packaged food)? I'm convinced a 'how to' guide for joe-consumer on this area would be quite beneficial.

I had a recent experience where I started to work again after a 9 month lay-off. With my first paycheck, I bought my cat new cat toys and other objects including a new scratching post, a new round cat scratcher with a ball that lights up as the cat is supposed to bat at it, and a cat water dish that filters water like a sort of cat water fountain. I must have stared at the latter two items which were the most expensive for at least a half an hour before deciding, "what the heck, the cat review on the comment over the sale price is good enough".
I got the loot home, and the cat could care less about anything in particular and in fact was and still is scared of the fountain.
Even though I knew that it was frivolous to buy this stuff, and that I should be saving my money, I also know it was "emotional buying, which is something I think we also do as humans: its a sort of horde mentality, in times of stress or when there is a reprieve from stress. I wouldve felt better if the cat loved the stuff. I was dissappointed in the outcome, which is a good lesson.

Ellen you would enjoy reading The Midas Plague by Frederik Pohl. Your main premise was novelized 20 years ago: this novel speculates on a future America where consumption is king, and the 'rich' are defined as those who consume less.

Thanks so much for your deeply thoughtful insight on the "so human" need to acquire and recommending the removal of the rose colored glasses that have mentally limited our vision.
Seems to be no end on how to expense time and resource$ with the goal to win; (i.e. "exploit").
In hind site and viewing the larger pic... just think how useless (some 85%) of those great concrete dams have proven to be and how in the future the administration plans to expen$e yet more infrastructure projects. Thanks again for your thoughtful goals.

Hi Ellen:

I greatly enjoyed Paul Solman's segment on you and your book. Not only did you provide much overdue commentary on the societal cost of our throw-away consumerist culture, but (I hope) you made people think about the individual costs to their lives.

While never having been a true impulse shopper, I had a palpable realization of what you speak a few years ago when my brother and I cleaned out my mother's house (so that she could enter assisted living). My mother was an inveterate Christmas Tree Shop, et. al., shopper.

I could not believe how much junk she'd accumulated over the years, and it made me think of the amount of impulse purchasing I did and how I needed to live more conscious of its true impact.

Ever since, my focus has been on consistently removing clutter from my life, not adding to it.

I applaud your book and can't wait to read it. Keep up the good work!

You talked about shrimp being cheap, but what about salmon? Grocery stores constantly run specials on wild caught salmon from China. Salmon is one of the health foods we are encouraged to eat. I've been told not to eat farm raised salmon because of pollutants, but instead to buy wild caught salmon.

Paul - you mentioned something to the effect, "evolution ending millenia ago...." Huh? Evolution has not ended. We are still evolving. Just because we don't see it in the minute time scale available to us doesn't mean it isn't happening. Please, please, please do not give the evolution nay sayers ANY reason to "prove" it's over. Better bargains are awaiting us, for sure........

Dave

I feel like every time I make a purchase, I'm supporting a particular kind of production of goods. How do I find out about the real costs of my purchases?

Where can consumers learn which companies abuse the environment and exploit human labor? How can consumers know if a company behaving ethically?

Speaking of the shrimp, please ask Ms. Shell: do you buy bananas?

Wonderful program, and Ms. Shell's advice is excellent. I'd get her book for my Kindle, but it's a little beyond the $9.99 I'd normally like to pay. And splurging is a little counter to the message.

What the heck are Window gel clings? Is there more useless junk that I've miss out on? Seriously, I have made a concerted effort to buy everything I can locally... Frankly, it's not easy, but worth the effort.

I was so excited to hear you interview on the newshour as you put into words complex issues that I deal with every time I enter a store. The hardest part has been making other people realize why it is important to think globally about their cheap purchase at walmart, so I have multiple questions for you:
1. Where can I find hard clear data to support conscientious consumerism in discussions with others?
2. How do I field questions such as "Well, if the whole world was like you, the economy would fall apart." or "What you are doing really doesn't make a big difference."
3. How do I combat what I see as the biggest problem: self-centered apathy. People care so much more about what they want and their convenience than about other people and the environment.
I really look forward to you reply!
Many Thanks!

Because our incomes are declining how can we not buy from WalMart to keep up, even if it is less well made or not as tasty or a mango grove disappears. What other reasonable choice do we tired people have to stretch our money?

What can be done to know where products are produced and what environmental impact of the raw material to make the goods such as in stores like IKEA?

Most people confuse capitalism with free enterprise. How would you describe the distinction between them?

Should Thomas Jefferson's advocacy of tariffs to promote domestic development have a place in our time?

What roles do the WTO, the GATT, and the flight of capital play in the global downward sprial?

The lead in was "Bargain, bread and ???." Does this suggest that there is an hormone or brain chemical released when a 'bargain' is found? I think I have read current research concerning carbohydrates and seratonin release in the brain. Very interesting. I will get the book at the library and read all about it.

I have not read your book yet, but I have always had my own theory about the cost of our bargin hunting culture. Did you look at the true cost of low wages? I have always believed that the benifits that low paid employees get from our government is really a hidden subsidy for their employers. We are paying higher taxes so we can buy cheap junk at walmart. Not very smart, is it? I have always been a minimalist. My entire wardrobe would fit in a large suitcase. If I don,t wear it it is donated to goodwill. I live by the philosophy that I buy the one I really want the first time. Not because it is on sale or because it is a bargain. I don't want to sit there looking it for a year, then throw it away because I don't like it. I work in retail so I know how they try to manipulate us. How do we protect ourselves? Do you tahink education would help? Are more educated people better shoppers?

I am convinced that that the production of cheap goods (and our demand for them) threatens as many eco-systems as global warming. Why are we encouraged to calculate our 'carbon footprint' (an abstract concept) versus our 'garbage footprint' (easily visualized by our garbage volume)? Why are you the only one talking about this???

I heard your interview on the PBS News Hour. It's wonder that more people are becoming aware of the harm we are doing our planet. My question is if we recycle old materials will it help the environmental issues we face, or will it worsen the ecomomy? I spent 10 hours a week volunteering at a community art studio where we try to make beautuful things out of trash.

my problem is to buy funiture made in usa.i canot find computer furniture made in this country no matter of cost

Hi Ruppel,

My girlfriend is a huge Ikea fan but I hate it so when you mentioned that Ikea purchases "poached wood" from Eastern countries I wanted to learn more. Could you please elaborate on this topic?

Thanks

P.S. Newshour rocks!

Ellen,

Has anyone analyzed the point of diminishing returns on products to find the optimum length of use? Is it cheaper to reuse something and for how long before it becomes more expensive to maintain it than replace it?

Can globalization and mass production be reversed? If so, what would your ideal manufacturing world look like?

You can start by absorbing the simple advice provided in this story and avoid buying "Cheap", a prime example of the many one note books flooding the market, which would do better as short news advice columns than becoming the waste of the trees used to make them that they are.

Can there really be no comments yet? I haven't read her book yet, but it has occurred to me that shopping is analogous to hunting and gathering, which is how humans and our ancestors partly or mainly subsisted.

Congratulations! That was outstanding. You echoed my sentiments and spoke frankly about a subject which, in this consumer nation, cannot be very popular.
Their are people in our country not to mention the world who would love to have one of our storage units to live in. That says it all. Thank you so very much. Barbara

I've noticed there is a

Why can't you buy fair trade footwear at retail stores or shoe stores? They don't appear to be significantly more expensive than other shoes. I once went to a sneaker/shoe mart, where not a single shoe had a fair trade sticker on it. That puzzles me.

Will fast food chains and restaurants always have a built in incentive to overfeed people?

This was an interesting piece - but I usually like Paul Solman's reports. It put me in mind of Wendell Berry - writer/farmer/conservationist. The preface in one of his books has the title, "The Joy of Sales Resistance." I would love to see Paul Solman interview Wendell Berry on the NewsHour. Thank you.

I found your segment very interesting. I've often wondered about Dollar Stores and what the story is on them. When things are sold so cheaply there must be lots of exploitation involved, which is why I don't shop much at them. Please share what you know. Also, do you know of any good investigative journalism that has been done about these stores?

I always think that people wanting or needing discounts should go to thrift shops, which are often linked to charities, or consignment shops. Reusing stuff is also good for the environment.

Thanks.

Please visit the website of Mangrove Action Project to read more about the problem of mangrove loss resulting from shrimp aquaculture throughout Asia, Latin America and now Africa.

Also, check out MAP's Shrimp Less, Think More blog at www.shrimpless.wordpress.com for more information about our campaign.

We at MAP have been working since 1992 to halt further expansion of the shrimp farm industry precisely because of the mentioned connection between shrimp farming and mangrove forest loss. It is the consumer demand for cheap shrimp from the global South that is causing the rapid and largely uncontrolled expansion of the industry itself.

That is why when knowing the facts of shrimp farm expansion and continued mangrove forest loss, we ask those supporting "all you can eat shrimp" establishments, knowing the facts, 'how much can you stomach?" It is vital for us to get the facts to the consumer. Thanks to Ms. Shell for her insightful article.

When Jackie Kennedy passed away, I was impressed to read that the rug she had must have bought many years earlier still served her purppose and she never thought to replace it. I may be remembering the details incorrectly, but I imagine she bought something extremely well made and meant to last. I have since thought that was the height of wealth and smart spending: being able to afford the best the first time and not to have to bother again. Most of us think old is bad and new is good and I think we are now being forced to - err - adjust.

Today the Financial Times reported that due to the high cost of transport, local supply chain are coming back into fashion. Europe is the main example. The companies are choosing to produce in Eastern Europe in lieu of China to save fuel costs.

What advice would you give to a craftsman interested in producing high quality goods.

I couldn't agree more with you. I work at one of those featured discount stores you mention in this presentation. I see people buy the most inconsequential things -- for whatever reason(s) they tell themselves.

I am particularly disturbed by our society's reliance on plastic -- plastic anything -- whether it is a toy or a bottle that holds shampoo? Do we have any idea of what this holds for our future in this over-loaded world of discards? I see people buy cheap toys for their kids -- that the kids have already thrown back into the carts before they even hit the door. I know most of these plastic toys are going to end up in landfills -- where they will leach their poisons for many years.

People need to take a serious look at their buying habits. A substantial portion of their incomes is being wasted on just plain junk! And "window gels?" We sell hundreds of them daily!

People like disposables because they don't want to take care of anything. I can still wash & iron a blouse my Mom had 30 years ago with good results, but I can't get a new blouse to last more than a year or two at best. Creating waste to make jobs has been a terrible idea for our planet!

Thank you for covering an issue I've become more and more concerned about recently. I live in a small town in eastern Washington (way on the other side of the state from Seattle), and about all we have for consumer goods is Wal-Mart. What to do? Fortunately, we have some food markets and supermarkets that are local businesses. Many people I know would rather drive the extra half-mile to Wal-Mart to fulfill their "responsibility" of saving money. How do I respond to people who view saving money as a duty?

Also, is there a way to find out where my food comes from? My side of the state grows many staple crops (wheat, corn, lentils), but I have no idea whether the food I find in stores was farmed here or elsewhere.