It had to go.
Amazon Prime had worked its magic on me and I was hooked.
The convenience. The next day delivery. The endless options. The one-click purchasing. The simple user-experience.
But all of this great stuff comes with some things that I just didn't like. The often ridiculous amounts of packaging, was one thing, but more than that it was the ability to buy things i didn't need at the drop of a hat with so little consideration of whether I really needed it or not.
Despite great moves from Amazon to go carbon neutral, and with fully recyclable packaging, and some eco-credentials being listed with sellers who meet some (fairly minimal) criteria, the key issue for me was that it was my go-to retail channel. And actually, when i really need something, and have to be considerate about it - thinking through the environmental impacts or seeking out an innovate alternative with a smaller footprint - then Amazon just is NOT the place to go.
So yesterday (yes, after Christmas so I'll may not really feel the impact of that decision until next December!) I cancelled my Amazon Prime membership rather than just let it renew. I did it with the confidence that (a) I'd already been on lots of other brand and retailing sites - and even in some actual shops when it was allowed - in the last few months finding better products and alternatives, with more information and context for me to make informed choices, and (b) finding innovation and eco-friendly options doesn't happen on Amazon. Or not in the way that I want it to happen, anyway.
What I've started to realise over the past few months is that I'm not the brand-agnostic consumption-eschewing person I thought I was, I just hadn't found brands that I wanted to relate to. And now I seem to have - some at least - and they don't exist (yet) on Amazon. Don't worry, I'm very much still up for unbranded, DIY and make at home, but it's refreshing to have found that there are some brands out there that I can relate to and that align more with my values.
So, sayonara shopping on Prime. Au revoir Amazon. Well, you have your place at least. No more late night "emergency" Amazon convenience. I need some thinking time between selection and purchase.
Sometimes frictionless isn't what we need.
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