bonfire of the brands

i just checked out 'http://www.bonfireofthebrands.blogspot.com/'... (if i was more clever then i'd put a link here) ... it's a site set up by a journalist who's detailing his countdown to burning all the branded items he's collected in his 30 years on this earth. as a style journalist he's probably accumulated a lot more than your regular joe, but hey, that's not the point.

the point, as i understand it, is that this guy has got so sick of the consumerist society we live in that he has decided to opt out of shopping and opt in to exploring exactly why he's been gathering all this branded stuff over the years.

in one of his blogs, he takes a route through a part of london that i know well. instead of the familiar landmarks, he picks out the billboards, the flyposters and the neon signs all urging us to spend spend spend. and it's more than our money that's at stake, more crucially it's our attention. because once the idea of something has grabbed our attention, we're likely to pay out in the hope of securing it. because "hey, no-one can tell us what to spend our money on " ... right ?

very wrong.

just a quick skim of this guy's site makes you realise how stupid we are to spend so much on brands. so i've decided to be more brand aware from now on - and pay more attention to where my money's going and look at what exactly i'm buying or buying into. so no more waitrose, starbucks or waterstones and that's just the start. i'll let you know how i get on.