Although it will hit some folk quite hard, a deep recession, which many are predicting, will at least have the benefit of forcing many to think carefully about how and upon what they spend their money, and reduce consumption of the exploitative in favour of the necessary.
Whilst I am happy to pay a fair price for that which I need, I dislike waste and excess.
We are entering the season of goodwill towards all. The wider environment and our pockets would benefit from the elimination from shopping and present lists all that by new year will be on its way to the recycling or landfill - plastic cr4p, excess food, cheaply made gadgets and gimmicks which fail within days etc.
Kids aside, only buy presents that are actually needed - I've told the family that bottles of single malt are fine, anything else if needed I probably already have or can go and buy anyway.
In the new year we can continue the good work - only buy that which is needed, not that which is persuasively marketed. Avoid over-priced brands unless demonstrably better (testing, quality control) - the costs of marketing and placement add nothing but cost to the product.