From the Publisher
MacKinnon has a bricklayer’s talent for achieving beauty out of stacks of facts and statistics. . . . In wrestling with the realities of incremental change, examining our collective consumption and his own, MacKinnon says a great deal about what it is to be human during this moment on Earth, and how to live a meaningful life as one consumer among many. Surely part of the trick is to dare to imagine, as MacKinnon does, a scenario in which our prognosis improves, even a little.” — Sierra Magazine
“A well-researched and provocative analysis offering hope and optimism for our future." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A journalist crafts an eloquent call to scale back shopping and consumption in wealthy countries, thereby allowing our exhausted planet a chance to heal and regenerate." — Shelf Awareness
“Witty and erudite…. Expertly showing the complex relationship between consumer culture and nature, this insightful account offers a starting point for change (and optimism).” — Library Journal
“Well-researched and stimulating. Readers will be galvanized to make changes in their own buying habits.” — Publishers Weekly
“J.B. MacKinnon’s The Day the World Stops Shopping is a welcome and rare mix: a strong environmental argument and a jaunty picaresque. For the former, MacKinnon makes a convincing case that we need to shop less now. Green consumerism, in MacKinnon’s telling, isn’t just about buying ecologically-sound stuff or recycling our rubbish. It’s about buying many fewer things, leaving us so much less to recycle in the first place. You will want to buy this book and after you read it, little else.” — Alissa Quart, author of Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America and Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers
"Dissecting the dilemma at civilization’s heart—the burden that reckless growth heaps upon the faltering Earth—J.B. MacKinnon lays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in a gripping, page-turning read. With wit, precision, and startling insights from around the world, he looks deeply into what we have done, and might do so much better. A model of clarity and grace, The Day the World Stops Shopping is one of the most important and well-written books I have read." — Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of Progress
"A provocative thought experiment that asks us to imagine what currently seems unthinkable, this is a beautifully written and rigorously researched revelation, an extraordinary creative journey to a place we urgently need to go. Full of hope and deep thought, unassuming and devoid of preaching, it is an exciting and truly inspiring read. I couldn’t put it down." — Joel Bakan, author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power and The New Corporation: How “Good” Corporations are Bad for Democracy
"In a large pool of often simplistic manuals for simple living, this book stands out for its curiosity, humanity and genuinely global appreciation of why we consume too much and what to do about it." — Frank Trentmann, author of Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First
Frank Trentmann
"In a large pool of often simplistic manuals for simple living, this book stands out for its curiosity, humanity and genuinely global appreciation of why we consume too much and what to do about it."
Sierra Magazine
MacKinnon has a bricklayer’s talent for achieving beauty out of stacks of facts and statistics. . . . In wrestling with the realities of incremental change, examining our collective consumption and his own, MacKinnon says a great deal about what it is to be human during this moment on Earth, and how to live a meaningful life as one consumer among many. Surely part of the trick is to dare to imagine, as MacKinnon does, a scenario in which our prognosis improves, even a little.
Joel Bakan
"A provocative thought experiment that asks us to imagine what currently seems unthinkable, this is a beautifully written and rigorously researched revelation, an extraordinary creative journey to a place we urgently need to go. Full of hope and deep thought, unassuming and devoid of preaching, it is an exciting and truly inspiring read. I couldn’t put it down."
Alissa Quart
J.B. MacKinnon’s The Day the World Stops Shopping is a welcome and rare mix: a strong environmental argument and a jaunty picaresque. For the former, MacKinnon makes a convincing case that we need to shop less now. Green consumerism, in MacKinnon’s telling, isn’t just about buying ecologically-sound stuff or recycling our rubbish. It’s about buying many fewer things, leaving us so much less to recycle in the first place. You will want to buy this book and after you read it, little else.”
Ronald Wright
"Dissecting the dilemma at civilization’s heart—the burden that reckless growth heaps upon the faltering Earth—J.B. MacKinnon lays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in a gripping, page-turning read. With wit, precision, and startling insights from around the world, he looks deeply into what we have done, and might do so much better. A model of clarity and grace, The Day the World Stops Shopping is one of the most important and well-written books I have read."
Shelf Awareness
"A journalist crafts an eloquent call to scale back shopping and consumption in wealthy countries, thereby allowing our exhausted planet a chance to heal and regenerate."
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2021-03-12
An examination of the effects that the end of consumerism would have on society.
Many politicians insist the economy will collapse if spending slows, while environmentalists warn we cannot sustain our current level of consumption. MacKinnon ponders what would really happen if we stopped shopping. While many of the concepts are familiar, the author digs deeper than most. Rather than allowing his conclusions to be directed by the theories of others, MacKinnon traveled the world, conducting interviews with experts and gathering information to support his findings. Among other places, the author visited Namibia, Ecuador, Finland, and Japan. The proliferation of the global pandemic, which occurred while MacKinnon was writing the book, allowed him to examine, in real time, the effects that changes in consumer spending could have. His conclusions should encourage readers to carefully consider their own habits. Throughout history, consumers have stopped shopping, albeit temporarily, for various reasons, including war and economic recession. Prior to the pandemic, MacKinnon notes, consumer consumption was often driven by impulse buying, vanity, and the desire to keep up with others. While consumerism initially increased at the beginning of the pandemic, as people began hoarding household and food items out of fear of shortages, a shift soon emerged. People continued to shop, but their purchases were more in line with intrinsic values, including spending more time with family and in nature. Rather than spending their money on luxury vacations and cars, consumers chose products such as camping gear, gardening supplies, books, and board games. They also sought out higher-quality and longer-lasting products. As MacKinnon shows, such shifts would likely continue to offer numerous benefits for all, including improved health and a cleaner environment. He cites a “humble goal: to reduce consumption by 5% across the rich world.” That shift, he writes, “might be the end of the world as we know it. It will not be the end of the world.”
A well-researched and provocative analysis offering hope and optimism for our future.