Big news for Starbucks lovers like me (sorry, not sorry). Starbucks has finally resumed its personal cup program! Bring your own cup for ¢10 off your beverage, but more importantly to save a plastic cup and lid (FYI, hot beverage cups are not recyclable). And I can almost guarantee that your cup is better insulated than theirs.
I’m all about buying pre-owned, but what’s better than free? My local Buy Nothing group has been an amazing resource for giving and receiving items no longer needed by others!
Buy Nothing is a concept popularized by the Buy Nothing Project, a social experiment started in 2013 (though people have been practicing similar philosophies for years). The Buy Nothing Project is comprised of a global network of community groups that encourage forsaking conventional commerce in favor of giving or recycling consumer goods and services. The Buy Nothing Project’s mission is “set[ting] the scarcity model of our cash economy aside in favor of creatively and collaboratively sharing the abundance around us.”
Freecycling is a similar concept. On freecycle.org, registered users (membership is free) can post items they are giving away or are in search of (ISO) on a Craigstlist-like platform. Trash Nothing is another freecycling platform offered in Chicago. However, I have found less transparency on Freecycle – users are not as responsive and it’s more difficult to determine whether an item has been taken.
I am often hesitant to donate many items because I don’t trust that they will just be pitched. With these groups, I’ve been able to find new homes for niche items – particularly craft and personal care items – knowing that they are actually wanted. Plus, it’s fun to see what other people are offering up – you never know what might strike your fancy! But act fast – popular items get claimed quickly.
Also, don’t worry — you don’t actually have to [gasp] interact with people. Most pick-ups and drop-offs are contactless porch pickups.
Here is a list of neighborhood Buy Nothing Facebook groups (please let me know if I’m missing any):
Shopping and stuff is easier to come by, and cheaper, than ever. But this comes at significant environmental and human cost. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, clothing production roughly doubled in between 2000 and 2015 and the number of times a garment is worn was reduced by approximately 36%. According to the World Economic Forum, 60% more garments were purchased but were only kept by consumers for half as long. This correlates with the meteoric rise of fast fashion retailers such as H&M and Forever 21, which churn out massive amounts of cheap clothing that quickly deteriorates or is thrown out (though, to their credit, they are trying to combat this). My own purchasing habits seem to track this trend – with affordable clothing readily available, for a long time I didn’t see any issue with buying more of it. However, the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in a landfill every second. One film I cannot recommend enough is The True Cost (you can, and I acknowledge the hypocrisy in saying this, stream it on Amazon). This exposé explores the dark side of fast fashion and the human rights violations and environmental destruction that sustain it.
You have likely noticed that sustainability has become trendy, for lack of a better term, in the fashion world. But beware – this is often a marketing tactic backed with only token measures, if any. Vague claims of being eco-friendly or sustainable make a company more attractive to more customers, leading them to buy more products. Let’s be real – a company adopting an eco-friendly image does not mean it practices what it preaches or has a legitimate interest in the environment. It’s marketing. This “corporate greenwashing” can actually have harmful effects if a company highlights its sustainability to distract from other unsustainable practices.
If you are going to buy new, choosing natural fibers reduces greenhouse gas emissions – synthetic fibers are made from fossil fuels, with an energy-intensive production process that emits toxic gases like N20, which is 300 times more damaging than CO2. Even natural fibers, however, both use and pollute enormous amounts of water. Cotton, for instance, requires immense amounts of water but is typically grown in hot and dry climates – where water is a precious resource. One cotton shirt requires approximately 2,700 liters of water. Microplastics are also shed when washing and even merely wearing synthetic clothing, sending these tiny particles of plastic to our natural waterways – polluting and harming animals and humans alike.
Unfortunately, however, if you are buying anything new there is an environmental cost. I have been complicit to our culture of consumerism, but am striving to buy secondhand – I have a goal for myself to buy only (okay, mostly) secondhand. Purchasing secondhand can reduce an item’s climate footprint by 73%!
I primarily use Poshmark to buy, but more-so to sell, clothes (check out my closet). If you’re interested in trying it, you can use my referral code for a $10 credit! However, nothing beats the joy of the hunt in thrifting and here are some of my favorite thrift stores in Chicago (mostly North side):
Responsible Disposal
I am always trying to get rid of crap. It’s a constant battle that actually requires considerable strategy. I have been off-loading my used clothing through online selling, consigning, and thoughtful donations.
When donating, I have to ask whether something I’m giving away is something someone might actually want. If not, it could very well end up in the trash or shipped overseas, which doesn’t exactly help the planet. And if it’s crap to me, it’s likely crap to someone else too. My husband’s old undershirts and other used tees, for instance, instead go to Marine Layer for their Respun program. Otherwise, I generally donated to St. Vincent de Paul, the Brown Elephant (especially furniture), and the Salvation Army.
I also recently donated several nicer dresses to a Zengeler Cleaners location, which partners with the Glass Slipper Project and Mothers Trust Foundation to give prom dresses to prom-goers in need. Full disclosure – I have no idea what constitutes a prom dress nowadays, so I used my best judgment and gave contemporary dresses that I felt are appropriate for prom. Accessories, small purses, dress shoes, and makeup can also be donated.
I sell as much as I can online (mostly Poshmark, but also eBay) or via consignment (I consign with Elliott Consignment & McShane’s Exchange). I’ve sold hundreds of items this way, though unfortunately by looking at my closet you would never know. I don’t think of this as making money, but more like un-spending. It helps to offset my shopping budget. Selling my clothes ensures that, at least for the time being, these pieces will go to someone who wants them. Whether they end up in a landfill is out of my control, but their lifespans are being extended and someone is opting to buy used rather than new. I can also re-use shipping and gift materials I have laying around rather than throwing them away! Again, even if these end up in the trash at least they are being used once more before then.
Our consumerist culture has indoctrinated us with the idea that clothes (among other goods) can be disposable. Unless it is soiled beyond saving, clothing does not belong in the trash – you can sell it, donate it, or upcycle it. As inconvenient as it may be, we must be responsible consumers and take ownership and responsibility for our stuff and the consequences it has on our planet and fellow humans. Reduce and reuse, then recycle.
I love books. I love looking at them, smelling them, feeling them, and of course, reading them. I also love buying them, and take pride in what I consider to be a beautiful and impressive library.
But then I ran out of room. And then we had to move all of those books. And then, to my horror, our basement flooded shortly after we moved in and a number of those books were damaged or ruined (most tragically, my early editions of The Chronicles of Nania). And then, many of those I thought had been salvaged grew moldy. What a mess.
So, away went many of these books. I composted what I could and threw the rest out. But honestly, I shouldn’t have been holding onto many of these books anyway and took a hard look at those that remained. I started leaving books out front to be picked up by passer-bys and gave a bunch away to friends and charity.
Long story short, going forward I have essentially resolved to buy no more new books. There are some exceptions – namely, those I may buy at speaker events (when those are a thing again) and/or have autographed. But otherwise I am resigning myself to my old Amazon Fire and secondhand books as well as working through those books I already have. Here are two fun and easy ways you can free up space in your home, wallet, and ultimately the landfill when it comes to reading:
If you need to buy a new book, that’s fine (as my dad aptly pointed out, writers need our support). But don’t throw it away…because that is literally sacrilege.
I thought blogging ended in 2013, but here we are. This is a little passion project of mine starting to come to life.
There is a lot of ignorance about environmentalism and sustainability, and while this ignorance is often innocent, unfortunately it is also often willful. This site will work to confront this ignorance and hopefully provide information that everyone can use.
I am also painfully aware that much of environmentalism and crafting a sustainable lifestyle comes from a place of privilege. Along with greenwashing (which I will address at some point), I have noticed a great deal of whitewashing. And I’m no exception to that. However, I wish to make sustainability as accessible to everyone — after all, the goal is to create a better Earth for everyone and it is lower income communities which suffer disproportionately from pollution and the effects of climate change.
Perhaps most importantly, I try not to judge – even in the face of willful ignorance. We all have to start somewhere, and making sustainability and environmentalism as open and accepting as possible will make others feel welcome and embrace change that betters ourselves and our planet. I stopped eating meat over 10 years ago, and every year has been an education and improvement in how I can reduce my own environmental impact. I’m far from zero waste, or even plastic-free, but I’m trying. One person isn’t going to make much of a difference, but collectively we can do some real good. Let’s learn and grow together!
Sustain(able) Chicago 