Postconsumers: Everything About Us That’s Fit to Print

We believe that publishing visionary emails we have received from the American public, along with our revealing responses, can be the best way to tell you about us. Here is a recent creative and popular collection.

Dear Postconsumers,

You irritate me. I really enjoy shopping and I especially like luxury furniture if I have the money. You guys are supposed to frown on people having lots of stuff and consuming more. You’re supposed to compost human waste in the woods and quietly judge people. You’re supposed to tell me I have enough (according to you) so I can reject it, but instead you say “find your idea of enough for this moment.” Very annoying.

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

We are sorry to annoy you but are trying hard not to get frown lines. Likewise, we haven’t figured out how to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do because we’d like to avoid heart surgery. We just want to help turn the word ‘enough’ from a negative to a positive for U.S. mainstream consumers, and that means totally loving upscale desire as much as downscale desire.

Postconsumers

Hi Postconsumers,

I worry about everything in the world today, and every day it seems like there is more to worry about. How can I get some stress relief? Everywhere I look there are ads for cars, ads for computers, ads for clothes, ads for phones. Everyone is making shopping lists and wishlists and bucket lists. I worry about many other topics too but figure you can’t help me with world peace.

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

We sure know what you mean, and we’re all trying to practice mindfulness. There’s nothing quite like finding your idea of enough for this moment to create peace of mind. Everyone is different and everyone defines it differently, but the sense of satisfaction applies to all. There are plenty of things to be worried about in the world today but we hope that America’s addiction to consumerism won’t be one of them.

Postconsumers

Dear Postconsumers,

I adore you! For many years I couldn’t help building up debt. There were very good reasons for the things I needed to buy, but credit card companies have a way of digging holes that seem impossible to dig out from under. Don’t get me wrong, I’m smart and know all about budgets and finances. I managed my online shopping, avoided the malls, and watched the sales. But it wasn’t until I saw some of your cartoons that I really internalized the cycle I was in and got help with my debt.

Anonymous

Hello Anonymous,

Thank you for your email! We’re so glad that someone adores us!

Postconsumers

Hi Postconsumers,

In one of your posts (“How Can I Never Not Have Enough Stuff?”) a guy named Matt interviews a guy named Alan who says, “Everybody likes stuff. I love stuff. That’s what I work for is stuff.” Why would you publish something like this?

Anonymous

Hi Anonymous,

We published it because everybody likes stuff, he loves stuff, and what he works for is stuff. We also think that he uses double negatives in a creative way.

Postconsumers

Hola Postconsumers,

Your Facebook page says that you are working to playfully reach the mainstream about the most overlooked driver of the climate crisis. I understand that lots of other groups are working to replace fossil fuels with clean energy and that you know this is crucial. But why do you think consumerism is the most overlooked driver of global warming when there are so many green consumer products to be purchased?

Anonymous

Hola Anonymous,

There are many people who agree with you, but unfortunately green stuff is still stuff. And so many products are still so many products. And addiction is still addiction. No doubt products made with the environment in mind are safer than those that aren’t. Plus there are certainly other important climate solutions in areas such as soil carbon and agriculture. But the bottom line is that we believe a sustainable human future also depends on moving beyond our craving for consumerism.

Postconsumers

Hello Postconsumers,

Why don’t you bring up the elephant in the room very much? I’m talking about the economy, the stock market, and the fact that the whole U.S. financial system depends on ever-increasing consumption.

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for your email and that’s a huge elephant for sure. Say, have you heard the one about the kid who asked why elephants charge? Because they have credit cards, ha ha. In case you’re still reading, we’ll just say that people much smarter than us are working on how to answer this vital subject. It seems like well-being would be a better measurement for humanity than GDP and economic growth.

Postconsumers

Postconsumers welcomes further communications at any time. You can contact us at getsatisfied@postconsumers.com.