How to Buy less stuff (6+1 ways!)

Earlier this year, Onkardeep Singh MBE , Chris Muktar and I got together to write a few things. This was one of them. Here's hoping in the mad pre-xmas capitalist rush we buy less, even if its just one less thing, maybe you'll find some options below:

Does you (or the people you are buying for) need more stuff?

Read our top tips to help YOU buy less stuff, and if you are going to buy it, help you buy better.

For the stuff we really need, it often feels like a supply chain problem - a problem of the right stuff in the wrong place.

Second to this, it seems like we are uncomfortable sharing things, perhaps a throwback to sharing toys in childhood!

Are we good at sharing? Nope….

Hopefully this guide on how to buy less stuff will challenge you a bit and give you some new ideas when we get that feeling we need something….

7 Questions to ask before buying more Stuff

1. Do I have it already? …are you sure?
2. Can I make it from stuff I already have?
3. Can I borrow it from someone local to me?
4. Can I buy it second hand?
5. If it needs to feel new, how about remanufactured or upcycled by the professionals?
6. If I have to buy new, can I share it with someone local who also needs it?
7. If I have to buy new, can I buy it better?

1 - Do I have it already?

The average American own thousands of items. Exactly how many is a topic for debate; but it’s undeniable the number is huge.

If you want some headspace in life, doing a spring clean, perhaps Marie Kondo style might help!

With cleaning - sorting - decluttering - you will always find things you had forgotten you had!

2 - Can I make it from the stuff I already have?

howtoreuse.org is full of ideas for upcycling and reusing, but there are so many places you can go to help you make the thing you want, here are some ideas:

• https://obby.co.uk/learn/upcycling
• https://www.craftcourses.com/

• and lots more courses https://www.domestika.org/en

There are more and more local community spaces teaching people about upcycling and fixing, here are some ideas:

• https://therestartproject.org/
• https://fixitworkshop.co.uk/
• https://www.repaircafe.org/en/about/

3 - Can I borrow it from someone local to me?

The only difficult think here is getting over he awkwardness of asking.

How can you work through these feelings?

The first few times I did, I felt like I needed to offer something in return, at the same time - and often took some freshly made bread, or Sloe Gin as a thank you, but over time, you build up trust and social capital and this begins to feel less transitional.

• Hi neighbour, do you have a spare of this I can have/buy from you?
• Hi friend, do you have a spare of this I can have/buy from you?
• Hi family, do you have a spare of this I can have/buy from you?

If your confidence isn’t quite there yet, these apps are also a great place to look:

https://www.libraryofthings.co.uk/

https://www.shareshed.org.uk/

https://fatllama.com/ - great for tech!

https://www.rentmy.com/ - from camera lenses to macaroon trays!

https://www.canarts.org.uk/ - Circular Arts Network (CAN) is a circular economy tool created to support the arts.

These places form part of the ‘sharing economy’, sometimes known as ‘collaborative consumption‘.

With all ‘sharing’, my tip is ‘treat it like its a preciously thing leant to you by your favourite grandmother’!

4 - Can I buy it second hand?

This route is pretty well developed, here are some of the places you can look:

• A local charity shop

• A flee market, car boot sale or garage sale
• From an online platform like:https://www.ebay.co.uk/https://www.shpock.com/en-gbhttps://www.preloved.co.uk/https://www.gumtree.com/for-sale/https://www.secondhand.org.uk/https://www.vinted.co.uk/https://www.depop.com/https://www.freecycle.org/https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/Am I just interested in browsing in my local area? https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/local-ebay-deals/And if what you want is food, best try: https://toogoodtogo.co.uk/

and if you’re looking for something free, try these:

• https://www.gumtree.com/freebies/
• https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/category/free
• https://trashnothing.com/
• https://www.freecycle.org/
• https://www.ilovefreegle.org/
• https://www.preloved.co.uk/freeloved

5 - If it needs to be new, how about remanufactured or upcycled?

I recently bought a refurbished phone and laptop - there are some great places to look! And beautiful items are being upcycled by professionals all the time, and here are some examples for furniture:

https://www.vinterior.co/furniture/style/upcycled?

https://www.etsy.com/uk/market/upcycled_furniture

https://www.theupcyclecompany.co.uk/

https://www.scaramangashop.co.uk/upcycled-furniture

https://emilyrosevintage.co.uk/

https://restoredfurniture.co.uk/

For clothing and footwear, I love:

https://wornwear.patagonia.com/

https://www.revivo.com/

https://www.rei.com/used

https://us.rokit.co.uk/

6 - If I have to buy new, can I share it??

If its a big purchase, https://www.sharedassets.org.uk/ might have some ideas, it’s worth stopping to think, this could save you money, but also forge closer community ties.

7 - If I have to buy new, can I buy it better?

So if you’ve got all the way down here, you must really need something that isn’t widely available. You still have loads of options that don’t see you rushing to Amazon. Here are some options:

• Buy from a social enterprise, there are 100,000+ in the UK alone, likely 1m+ globally!!! Here are some great examples from around the world - these are the leaders - socially, environmentally, and functionally: https://www.goodmarket.global/

• Buy something good quality new from an independent retailer. I love this collection on the Facebook Group ‘Not on Amazon’.
• If you are buying something, make sure its really good quality. Typically the price is higher, or these items are bought from smaller craftspeople - examples might be a chair or a cast iron skillet/frying pan. These are typically small items that are used day-to-day. Here are some retailers you might want to take a look at:https://uk.buymeonce.com/https://www.wolfandbadger.com/uk/

For clothing there are so many great brands now, forging a new path, and the landscape is changing so fast its hard for us to keep up - and supply chains are so complex, anyone that is talking about circularity and local supply chains is likely ahead of the pack, here are some examples:

• https://rapanuiclothing.com/
• https://www.icicle.com.cn/en/
• https://www.raeburndesign.co.uk/
• https://marineserre.com/
• https://www.nudiejeans.com/

and anyone working with https://fibershed.org may also be ahead of the game, but watch this space!

In Conclusion

And why have I written this? Because there is no such place as away! These facts might help clarify:

• Every year we dump a massive 2.12 billion tons of waste.
• If all this waste was put on trucks they would go around the world 24 times.
• This stunning amount of waste is partly because 99 percent of the stuff we buy is trashed within 6 months.

read more here: https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/state-of-the-planet/world-waste-facts

… good luck out there!