• Home Home

Mom blogger sparks outrage after sharing 4th of July beach preparations: 'I'm speechless'

"Painful to watch."

"Painful to watch."

Photo Credit: Instagram

Summer vacations are a staple for many families, especially those with school-aged children. They are not only opportunities to get away and relax, but also to form lifelong memories.

Unfortunately, sometimes they also become exercises in excess, as Reddit critics of a popular influencer are pointing out.

In a thread from the r/Anticonsumption subreddit, Redditors were quick to decry a viral video from Instagrammer Dougherty Dozen (@doughertydozen), a mother of 11 children. 

In that video, the mom goes shopping for her family's Fourth of July vacation, buying specialty clothes, towels, shoes, sandals, toys, snacks, and other beach accessories — and spending thousands of dollars.

"I get that she has a lot of kids but this mom influencer on Instagram bought what seems like a metric ton of stuff thats just going to get thrown out for her family's 4th of july vacation," the original poster wrote. "I'm speechless."

Obviously, how a family chooses to spend its money is its decision and no one else's. But when anyone buys items that will likely end up in a landfill sooner rather than later, it becomes everyone's problem. And seasonal goods, just like Fourth of July-specific shirts, are always candidates for that.

Watch now: Giant snails invading New York City?

Giant snails invading New York City?
0 seconds of 41 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:41
00:41
 

Partially because of seasonal wear, partially because of fast fashion, and partially because of consumerism, up to 100 billion new clothing items are created each year, according to TheRoundup.org. And that process has a major environmental impact.

Nearly 90% of the materials used to make clothing end up in landfills or incinerators. Globally, more than 90 million tons of textile waste is created each year, accounting for at least 7% of all waste in landfills.

Fortunately, some solutions do exist. People can sell their used clothing to companies like ThredUp, which then sells it at deep discounts, giving shoppers good deals while also promoting the circular economy. And thrift stores are full of amazing deals on secondhand goods. In fact, pre-worn clothes are expected to make up 10% of global fashion sales, perhaps as early as this year.

In this instance, however, Redditors couldn't help but think of the environmental impact this pre-vacation shopping spree would have.

Should the government ban gas stoves?

Yes 💯

Only in new buildings 🏗️

Only in restaurants 🥘

No way 🙅

Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"Painful to watch someone waste so much value on literal single use trash," one wrote.

Others could barely make it to the end of the video.

"All I can think is what a miserable life they must lead," one commenter wrote. "This is so sad to watch."

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.

Cool Divider