Have you ever been called materialistic?
Being a materialist is actually a big responsibility that your everyday impulse buyer isn't really up to. The only way to consciously fight materialism is to refuse to participate in exchanging goods.
Why not rise to the occasion? Literal "materialism" could represent a deeper interest in the materials that compose the objects we invest our money, time and loyalty in.
I've heard it said that the First World, however consumption-crazed, isn't a truly "materialistic" culture. Because if people were actual materialists, they wouldn't simply preoccupy themselves with buying stuff -- they would feel genuinely compelled to research where that stuff came from, how it was made and who made it.
Developing that kind of knowledge would change the way we make purchasing decisions and dispose of items we no longer want.
We can learn more about the life cycle of the stuff we buy -- stuff that we've selected to represent ourselves in the world -- by taking 20 minutes to watch entertaining (and free!) films like The Story of Stuff.
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