You can buy Consumed in the UK from local bookshops, Amazon, Waterstones, Bookshop.org, WH Smith.
It's also widely available elsewhere in Europe, and in India.
Consumed will be available in the US in September and in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa later this year.
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You can get the audiobook -- narrated by me -- on Spotify, Audible or Apple.​​​
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'This book will change the way you see the world and could change the world itself. It reads like a thriller, full of stories and facts that would be beyond belief if it wasn't for the exceptional and rigorous journalism throughout. This is a very rare and important book, and it's also really, really funny. You will not be able to put it down' -- Chris van Tulleken, bestselling author of Ultra-Processed People
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You can also watch Chris's subsequent Instagram review, in which he describes Consumed as "one of the best books I've read, perhaps ever," here
'As alarming as it is entertaining, this brilliant book exposes a pernicious industry that has us all in its grip. Saabira Chaudhuri does for plastics what Chris van Tulleken has done for ultra-processed foods - first make us angry, then make us want to do something' -- Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, host of War on Plastic with Anita and Hugh
‘In Consumed, Saabira Chaudhuri lifts the lid on petrochemical and consumer goods companies' plastic obsession ​​– exposing how their profits come at the planet’s expense. With sharp research and a gripping story, she lays out the real cost of our throwaway culture and challenges us to kick the plastic habit’ – Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield, Co-Founders - Ben & Jerry’s
'This eye-popping, engaging and rigorous book lifts the lid on the huge and rapidly rising cost of plastic in our lives. It exposes the pivotal role that deception has played over the decades through well-funded lobbying of government and deliberate misinforming of consumers. The human stories of people trying to do the right thing, or of convincing themselves their industry is not as bad as it seems, are as compassionate as they are critical. There are others, of course, who put short-term profit blatantly above human and planetary health - Consumed gives us the good, the bad and the ugly of our plastic history. With global plastic consumption and waste forecast to triple by 2060, this timely book calls for a much-needed reset on plastic and lays bare the myths of a recycling future. This book is for anyone who cares about the health of people or planet, and wants to know what to do' -- Mike Berners-Lee, author of A Climate of Truth and There is No Planet B
'If you're a CEO in an industrial complex like Big Plastic, you'd better hope that Saabira Chaudhuri doesn't turn her interest your way. As she does in Consumed, she'll pry loose your playbook and lay bare the strategy that's common to so many companies that sell us goods with huge hidden costs: the denial, the delay, the pretence of giving in, with some secretly funded science to confuse us all (her chapter on throw-away diapers is a gem). A must read for anyone who buys anything plastic' -- Michael Moss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Salt, Sugar, Fat
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'Consumed is an engaging book, written in an efficient style and bolstered by a wide range of interviews. Chaudhuri, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, brings a critical but never censorious light to bear on the machinations of a wide cast: businesspeople, regulators, campaigners and occasional oddballs. For, at its heart, this is a story about plastic’s pioneers and detractors, propelled to unexpected successes and stymied by unforeseen problems – and a corporate class who steeped the world in chemicals causing untold damage to us all' -- The Telegraph
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‘There’s something disarming about the way Consumed: How Big Brands Got Us Hooked on Plastic by Saabira Chaudhuri invites us in – not with alarmist rhetoric but with calm, clear-eyed storytelling… Instead of pointing fingers she gently peels back layers of history, economics and human behaviour to reveal how we arrived at a world where disposability is the default... Consumed is not just a book about plastic. It’s about the systems that shape our choices and the illusions we cling to about progress and sustainability… With quiet power Saabira Chaudhuri makes a case for urgent reckoning, not through blame but through clarity. The result is not just a compelling read–it’s a nudge towards a different way of seeing the world’ – Storizen Magazine
'Consumed examines the rise and rise of plastic consumption - our addiction to the material as users, and the role big business plays as pusher. Chaudhuri's book is convincing and expertly written, driven by impressively deep research and a sharp understanding of how plastic consumption illuminates many of the bigger issues that underpin consumer behaviour, from widespread greed to a convenience-above-all mentality that often trumps safety and environmental awareness. An important and engaging read' -- Adam Alter, bestselling author of Irresistible and Anatomy of a Breakthrough
'Consumed tells the terrifying tale of how we wrapped our world in plastic. Knowing plastic resides inside us and most other living creatures is deeply disturbing but I am grateful to learn how we got here. Consumed explains how slick advertising played a crucial role in the plastics revolution, convincing us to ditch refillable glass bottles, discard washable linen diapers and insist on food wrapped in film. We also fell for the deceitfully reassuring lie of recycling - a tale Consumed tells in dramatic detail. The only real antidote to this plastic plague is a truthful tale told well enough to supercharge our desire to do something about it. Consumed achieves this feat admirably.' -- Simon Clark, author of The Key Man
'This deeply researched, eminently readable book exposes how consumer products giants deflected one environmental challenge after another to catastrophic effect. Saabira Chaudhuri lays out the hidden history of how the Cokes and P&Gs of the world unleashed lobbyists, lawyers and spinmeisters to evade their responsibilities to the planet with some masterful greenwashing. Consumed is the drama-filled, yet highly factual, story of the road to our microplastics crisis' -- John Helyar, co-author of Barbarians at the Gate
‘Our entire lives are pressed out of plastic these days — but how did that happen? Saabira Chaudhuri's Consumed tells the astonishing, bemusing, and sometimes enraging story of how we let plastic take over the world. Her reporting transports us back to the nearly plastic-free 1950s, then shows us how we got from then to now. Consumed will change how you look at your everyday life, from your garbage bags to your kitchen utensils.’ Charles Fishman bestselling author of The Wal-Mart Effect and The Big Thirst
'Fantastic reporting! This book will entertain you even as it raises your blood pressure - and hopefully it will move you to join the movement to rein in this kind of reckless nonsense!' -- Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
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'Consumed is a fascinating and timely book that sheds light on the dirty truth about our use of plastics. Chaudhuri is a deft storyteller, a thorough researcher and a tenacious reporter. Here, she proves to be a compelling and convincing guide to a critical corner of the global environment. Her book should be read by policymakers, corporate titans and anyone with an interest in the future health of our planet' -- Duncan Mavin, author of Pyramid of Lies and Meltdown
'An honest and eye-opening account of how plastic has shaped our world, for better and worse. Essential reading for anyone who cares about sustainability and the future of our planet' -- James Piper, host of Talking Rubbish
‘This book will be essential reading for those interested in how we got into the plastic mess we are now in, as activists seek to hold firms accountable for pollution they generated for decades. From McDonald’s hamburger packages to disposable diapers to Coca-Cola bottles, shampoo containers, straws, and more, this is a comprehensive look at a profligate plastic past that is now due for a reckoning’ – Bart Elmore, author of Citizen Coke
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'Compelling... (Consumed) is a must-read for anyone looking to understand the true cost of plastic' -- The Grocer
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'Reads like a corporate thriller except that the villains are real and the consequences devastating. It is a gripping, meticulously researched expose of the insidious role played by giant multinational corporations such as McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Unilever in embedding single-use plastics into our daily lives' -- Mint
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'Ms. Chaudhuri's training as a journalist ensures that she stays cool-headed instead of peddling doomsday predictions... well-researched culturally specific insights from the author help us look at plastic not as a monster but as a material that has both pros and cons' -- Business Standard
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