Hi, Hilary here, I'm still attempting to buy as little new stuff as possible, and to look for ethical or environmentally friendly options for the things I do have to buy. One thing I found I couldn't do without was Sellotape, so I was pleased to discover recently that there are lots more green options for office supplies - for example, Neco has things like biodegradable cornstarch pens and sticky tape.
Last week Bruce found me a second-hand (but unread) copy of Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine. The year in question was 2004, and the author and her partner decided to buy nothing but necessities for the entire year. This meant no paid entertainment (eg no movies, theatre visits, DVD rentals), no visits to restaurants or cafes, and no buying of new gifts for family or friends.
The book is an interesting read, I sympathised with many of their dilemmas - I was particularly taken with their efforts to find a suitable graduation gift for a much loved niece, they eventually gave her a piece of Judy's jewellery, after deciding that a box of homemade origami flowers and animals just wouldn't cut it. I also learnt a few things; for example, that there's a term (spaving) for the act of spending to save (eg buying a $20 DVD player even though you already have one, because it's so ludicrously cheap). Also, that there is something called the 'steady-state economy', which refers to a slow flow of well-made, energy efficient goods that are built to last, rather than the growth economy that we actually have, which relies on exactly the opposite.
In the true spirit of compacting, I'll pass this book, together with many others that I've decided I don't need to own, on to a library set up by a group of volunteers in South Canberra after the closure of their local library.
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