Consumed

The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change, and Consumerism

By: Aja Barber

Narrated by: Aja Barber

A call to action for consumers everywhere, Consumed asks us to look at how and why we buy what we buy, how it's created, who it benefits, and how we can solve the problems created by a wasteful system.

We live in a world of stuff. We dispose of most of it in as little as six months after we receive it. The byproducts of our quest to consume are creating an environmental crisis. Aja Barber wants to change this--and you can, too.

In Consumed, Barber calls for change within an industry that regularly overreaches with abandon, creating real imbalances in the environment and the lives of those who do the work—often in unsafe conditions for very low pay—and the billionaires who receive the most profit. A story told in two parts, Barber exposes the endemic injustices in our consumer industries and the uncomfortable history of the textile industry, one which brokered slavery, racism, and today’s wealth inequality. Once the layers are peeled back, Barber invites you to participate in unlearning, to understand the truth behind why we consume in the way that we do, to confront the uncomfortable feeling that we are never quite enough and why we fill that void with consumption rather than compassion. Barber challenges us to challenge the system and our role in it. The less you buy into the consumer culture, the more power you have. Consumed will teach you how to be a citizen and not a consumer.

Critic reviews

“A rallying cry for collective responsibility. A call-to-action to bring about systemic change to textile industries, which has reaped the benefits of unfair labor practices, consumer exploitation, and caused environmental harm for far too long.”—Christine Platt, The Afrominimalist

"Consumed takes us through the hideously complex topic of fashion and sustainability, from its knotty colonial roots to what everyday people can do to uproot those systems, today."—Yassmin Abdel-Magied

"SUCH integrity. Aja is no bullsh*t."—Florence Given

It does what it says on the tin!

this book is great.

honestly, this book is really good. It's a fantastic overview that goes into a fair amount of depth of the full reach of how we as a society deal with clothes, by extension consumption, by extension colonialism.

truly it's a great book and Aja does a wonderful job narrating the book! Their voice is (in both their tone and the words they choose to write) filled with empathy.

Must read for anyone who plans to buy or donate clothing in the foreseeable future.

Fast Fashion is a problem. The history of that problem is briefly laid out. Then tangible and practical steps to stop it are offered.

Great content

Excellent content and perspectives on sustainability with regard to the garments we wear. This book and the ideas within reconnected me with some of my long held but forgotten and overlooked values. The connections Aja makes between sustainability and capitalism, colonization and colonialism were enlightening and on point. Makes me want to read more about sustainability.

An educational journey

A great journey through Fashion and it’s amazing exploitations, endeavors and discoveries. An eye-opening magnificent book. Well done!

Buy it now

A must read for everyone. Insightful work about fashion and our overconsumption. Aja Barber is a force in the movement to change the exploitation of people and the treatment of the planet. She outlines a compelling argument with realistic and achievable tasks.