"For more than a month now, people across social media have been bragging about the scuffed, worn-out shoes..."

"... they’ve been wearing since middle school and how they use their makeup all the way till the very last drop. They’re proud that they’re using decades’ old pans, inherited from their parents. Or how they don’t buy food storage containers; they just use old mason jars. This all sounds like Depression-era behavior, but it’s not. It’s a trend that has been exploding throughout the summer, under the hashtag 'underconsumption core.'.... As I’ve written in the past, companies tend to be very sensitive to changes in consumer behavior because their financial success depends on responding to trends. The 'underconsumption core' trend has had a relatively long life, for an internet trend. It’s continued to bubble up for months now. Brands, take note...."

From "Why TikTok’s ‘Underconsumption Core’ trend won’t die/Brands, are you listening? Millennials and Gen Z are sick of poorly made products designed to fall apart. It’s time to change your business model" (Fast Company).

I noticed the "underconsumption" hashtag on TikTok today and saw it as a rejection of following trends, but, to Fast Company, it is itself a trend. Theoretically, "brands" can cater to it, with better quality items that won't be replaced and can be more expensive. That seems out of line with the heart of the "core," which is to love/accept second-hand, second-rate stuff that you already have.

I liked this TikTok from a young woman who bought a house and everything in it. The previous resident had died, and it was up to her to discover what was there that she could use and what to throw out or re-home. Her response to the scuffed up wood floors is quite charming.

Some of the videos show young people discovering things I figured out for myself long ago, on my own and inspired by various things, notably hippiedom and "The Tightwad Gazette."