Shopper infuriated after seeing local supermarket's sale the day after Christmas: 'There are a lot of good things you can do with [these]'

"Christmas has been commercialized for over a century, and at this point, it's fair to say that social media influencer marketing has significantly worsened holiday overconsumption. Constant pressure to spend money can make excessive consumption nearly invisible to even savvy shoppers over time - but a recent post on Reddit's r/Anticonsumption deftly shattered the illusion that it was worth screenshotting as a reminder for next year."

""Local Supermarket sells off Christmas trees day after Christmas, how quickly it turns to trash," the original poster's title lamented. As other commenters observed, simply offloading the unsold trees likely reduced the chance they'd be properly dealt with. "I have a hunch these trees are bound for a landfill," one predicted glumly, correctly adding that landfilled material releases planet-warming gases in a follow-up comment."

"Why is seasonal retail waste concerning? Retail waste is a problem, but seasonal waste is arguably more insidious - in part due to its predictable, recurring nature. Social media dumpster divers have become ad hoc retail waste reporters, finding bins overflowing with unexpired food after Thanksgiving and other items discarded simply to make room for more merchandise - much of which will meet the same fate."

Christmas commercialization has persisted for over a century and influencer-driven marketing has intensified holiday overconsumption. Constant pressure to spend makes excessive purchases seem normal to many shoppers. A supermarket in Lithuania marked unsold Christmas trees down to €0.01 the day after the holiday, increasing the likelihood those trees will end up in landfill rather than be repurposed. Community responses suggested donation, wildlife habitat uses, or sinking trees for fish habitat as alternatives. Seasonal retail waste recurs predictably and can be harder to address than general retail waste. Retail food and merchandise are often discarded to make room for new stock, amplifying environmental harm.

Read at The Cool Down