No, you shouldn't buy it. Why some people are giving up shopping for a year
Journalist Stacey Vanek Smith reports on the rising popularity of the "no‑buy challenge," a self-imposed campaign to stop purchasing nonessential items for a set period to save money, reduce waste and rethink consumption. The piece follows participants like Elysia Berman, who documented her yearlong experiment on [[TikTok]] after an expensive impulse purchase, and experts such as Aja Barber and Dilys Williams who connect the practice to critiques of the [[fashion industry]] and fast‑fashion brands like [[Shein]]. The article explains practical steps — lists of "yes" and "no" items, timelines, blocking shopping sites and unfollowing accounts — and highlights benefits including lower debt, improved mental health and reduced environmental harm exemplified by dumping of clothes in places like [[Chile's Atacama Desert]] and on the shores of [[Ghana]].