One of the pillars of sustainable living is minimising your consumption. But sometimes you actually need new stuff. I was very recently in that situation, as my much-loved boots were finally so worn out that I had been living in fear that they might fall apart on me, when I was wearing them, right when I reached the farthest point from home. New stuff clearly necessary... check. Next, how to get it with minimum environmental impact.
One option is to buy the most ethical, environmentally friendly new stuff you can find. Websites like Greenlist can point you in the right direction.
Another is to buy, beg or trade second hand items. I decided to give this option a go. I have been cultivating an obsession with TradeMe lately anyway, for its amazing selection of bargain-priced pre-read books: the perfect solution when you don't want to buy new, but can't get hold of that novel you're dying to read at the local public library. I was blown away by the selection of fashionable boots in "as new" condition. Apparently there are a lot of women out there who just can't master buying boots that actually fit them, so they have to flog their new foot candy off on TradeMe at a considerable discount from what they paid for them. Okay, okay, this isn't all that far removed from me going to the store and buying new boots myself, but I can see a clear environmental benefit. If I buy someone's boots that don't fit them, a pair of boots that might otherwise have mouldered away at the back of that person's wardrobe until they were eventually thrown out get a new lease of life. If I had gone out and bought a brand new pair, that would have been a whole new set of resources expended. Meanwhile, a perfectly good pair of boots were already waiting for a well-matched pair of feet to fill them. Of course, there are plenty of genuinely used boots and other goodies available on TradeMe and other auction sites too if you want to reduce the impact of your purchasing even more.
One option is to buy the most ethical, environmentally friendly new stuff you can find. Websites like Greenlist can point you in the right direction.
Another is to buy, beg or trade second hand items. I decided to give this option a go. I have been cultivating an obsession with TradeMe lately anyway, for its amazing selection of bargain-priced pre-read books: the perfect solution when you don't want to buy new, but can't get hold of that novel you're dying to read at the local public library. I was blown away by the selection of fashionable boots in "as new" condition. Apparently there are a lot of women out there who just can't master buying boots that actually fit them, so they have to flog their new foot candy off on TradeMe at a considerable discount from what they paid for them. Okay, okay, this isn't all that far removed from me going to the store and buying new boots myself, but I can see a clear environmental benefit. If I buy someone's boots that don't fit them, a pair of boots that might otherwise have mouldered away at the back of that person's wardrobe until they were eventually thrown out get a new lease of life. If I had gone out and bought a brand new pair, that would have been a whole new set of resources expended. Meanwhile, a perfectly good pair of boots were already waiting for a well-matched pair of feet to fill them. Of course, there are plenty of genuinely used boots and other goodies available on TradeMe and other auction sites too if you want to reduce the impact of your purchasing even more.
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