‘I’m not buying new stuff any more’: the young people getting into ‘degrowth’
‘I’m not buying new stuff any more’: the young people getting into ‘degrowth’
Amid the cost of living crisis and threats to the climate, many are pledging to consume less and spend sustainablyJem Bartholomew (The Guardian)
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Jordans_Vision
in reply to MrMakabar • • •like this
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disguy_ovahea
in reply to Jordans_Vision • • •Well made second-hand > disposable Walmart/Amazon plastic
Reduce spending. Reuse second-hand wares. Recycle what no one wants.
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MadMadBunny
in reply to Jordans_Vision • • •BlanketsWithSmallpox
in reply to Jordans_Vision • • •lookorex
Unknown parent • • •Catoblepas
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Cruxifux
Unknown parent • • •stembolts
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520
in reply to MrMakabar • • •Sizzler
in reply to 520 • • •like this
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JacobCoffinWrites
in reply to Sizzler • • •Blog • Buy Nothing and Everything is Free Groups
movim.slrpnk.netSizzler
in reply to JacobCoffinWrites • • •Also freegle and as you say, results may vary.
My hack is sign up for affluent areas near you and be prepared to travel a lil more.
Don't throw it away, give it away!
134980666550322Talaraine
in reply to MrMakabar • • •grrgyle
in reply to Cruxifux • • •Hegar
in reply to MrMakabar • • •What's are some of yall's less obvious "always buy second hand" items?
Crockery, cutlery, pressure cookers and computer peripherals are some things I think it makes no sense to buy new. 2nd hand they're usually under a tenth the price and often better quality.
I've heard some arguments that buying 2nd hand cars is usually better for the climate owing to how much of a car's lifetime carbon generation is the manufacturing.
nikita
in reply to Hegar • • •Clothes, furniture, equipment related to hobbies… Most things
Honestly a better question might be what do people prefer buying new?
CosmicTurtle0
in reply to Hegar • • •The better quality is the key here. The shit made today are intentionally made to be replaced.
Pyrex is the best example. The old-school Pyrex logo means it's made from really tough glass whereas the newer logo means it's shit and will shatter when going from hot to cold (oven to countertop).
9point6
in reply to CosmicTurtle0 • • •I wondered about this and apparently it's a bit more complicated, funnily enough since 2007 European Pyrex is the older style borosilicate glass again
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrex#Co…
trademark originally used for borosilicate glass
Contributors to Wikimedia projects (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.)papelitofeliz
in reply to 9point6 • • •Yep, there's an excellent video by Ann Reardon talking about this.
Why is Pyrex exploding? | How To Cook That Ann Reardon
YouTubeJacobCoffinWrites
in reply to Hegar • • •Tools! With the exception of a few big power tools like a table saw or miter saw, where the new safety features make it worthwhile, I get everything I can used. I prefer stuff passed down from family with sentimental value, but I get a lot of my tools from Everything is Free, junk stores, yard sales, estate clean outs, swap shops etc.
Older tools tend to be simpler, easier to fix, and remarkably sturdy. I've read that the metallurgy wasn't as good sixty+ years ago so they overbuilt them a bit to compensate, and then decades of use weaned out the weaker ones, so anything left still working is basically survivorship-bias guaranteed. I've got a drill press that's been in the family for four generations and will probably outlast my grandkids.
They're cheaper, sturdier, easier to fix, generally well-documented online (sometimes better than the new stuff), and they don't come with sheaves of unnecessary styrofoam and plastic packaging. And they have history and stories in them, even if I don't always know what those stories are.
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Tikiporch
in reply to JacobCoffinWrites • • •lemmyng
in reply to Hegar • • •KillingTimeItself
in reply to lemmyng • • •Measuring the amount of lead (Pb) consumed when drinking from lead crystal glassware. Is it safe?
YouTubeFordBeeblebrox
in reply to Hegar • • •dirtySourdough
in reply to Hegar • • •Definitely most furniture (i.e., without cushions so you avoid bed bugs). New furniture is incredibly expensive and (seems to be) lower quality. Second hand furniture can still be expensive but it's usually heavily discounted, especially if someone is trying to get rid of it quickly.
Local thrift shops are a good option of course, but also try garage/yard sales, Craigslist, OfferUp, etc. If your area has estate sales you can find some pretty killer deals on good furniture there too.
dankm
in reply to Hegar • • •Agrivar
in reply to dankm • • •rishado
in reply to Hegar • • •TubularTittyFrog
in reply to Hegar • • •getting a fuel efficent compact car, new or used, is what is best.
way way too many have huge gas guzzlers, used or old. your 1990 4Runner that gets 10mpg and has horrible emissions isn't saving the environment.
quaddo
in reply to grrgyle • • •It’s not deleted from where I am.
Regurgitating for your enjoyment:
Zorque
in reply to MrMakabar • • •"the young people"
So they've stopped calling everyone under the age of 45 millennials?
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Agrivar
in reply to Zorque • • •Cruxifux
in reply to grrgyle • • •umbrella
in reply to MrMakabar • • •AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet
in reply to umbrella • • •Son_of_dad
in reply to MrMakabar • • •Doxatek
in reply to Son_of_dad • • •Son_of_dad
in reply to Doxatek • • •Notyou
in reply to Son_of_dad • • •volvoxvsmarla
in reply to Son_of_dad • • •Oh that's so true. I have looked through all the thrift stores in my surrounding and they all had really bad clothes for bad prices. When you can get a new top in a size that fits for 5€ at H&M it makes no sense to pay 12€ for an H&M shirt that has holes in it and doesn't fit right just because it is from a thrift store.
I don't buy clothes often, I have much more than enough from when I was a teen. But I think that when I do, in the future, I'll just go straight to a normal store. I don't see the sense in spending the time and energy if it isn't worth it at all.
Son_of_dad
in reply to volvoxvsmarla • • •Leviathan
in reply to volvoxvsmarla • • •Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod
in reply to Son_of_dad • • •TubularTittyFrog
in reply to Son_of_dad • • •they are going back down now that supply chain is stabilized.
my car has dropped $5000 in value between this year and last year.
Son_of_dad
in reply to TubularTittyFrog • • •BigTrout75
in reply to MrMakabar • • •MutilationWave
in reply to BigTrout75 • • •KevonLooney
in reply to stembolts • • •Completely agree that making things yourself is a good idea. Food is probably the easiest, as almost all places to live have an entire room with equipment for making and storing food.
Disagree about going to any "prepper" meetups, unless you want to listen to angry people rant about "the government" when they're really just upset at their ex-wives. Very few preppers learn how to do anything themselves. Buying a pallet of bottled water and a generator is not helping the world.
fubarx
in reply to MrMakabar • • •TubularTittyFrog
in reply to fubarx • • •it comes at a social cost though.
i have lost a lot of friends because I live below my 'means'. whereas most folks I meet are 'struggling' because they are living beyond theirs.
Especially travel and restaurants. consumption is now re-branded as 'experience'.
Leviathan
in reply to TubularTittyFrog • • •JamesStallion
in reply to TubularTittyFrog • • •TubularTittyFrog
in reply to JamesStallion • • •they are consumer goods like any other.
you can cook a meal at home and travel locally. but few are interested in this because it is not a 'display of wealth', the way your week in Bali is or your tiktok dining blog.
LaLuzDelSol
in reply to TubularTittyFrog • • •Going to Bali- absolutely an experience
Going to Bali so you can show off your luxurious lifestyle to your online following - display of wealth.
I'd say it all comes down to your motivations. I think travel can be very rewarding and a chance for growth. I also don't have any social media and I don't really care what people think of me outside of my family and a few close friends.
JamesStallion
in reply to TubularTittyFrog • • •grrgyle
in reply to quaddo • • •grrgyle
in reply to Cruxifux • • •Then I misunderstood. I thought you meant it as a put down.
Yes, not many of us are intellectuals, it's true. I still prefer to assume goodwill or a bad day from posters that otherwise seem pretty cool. Treat it as a learning opportunity kind of thing.
beSyl
in reply to MrMakabar • • •MrMakabar
in reply to beSyl • • •Mycatiskai
in reply to MrMakabar • • •libgen.is/search.php?req=less+…
Library Genesis
libgen.ismojo_raisin
in reply to Mycatiskai • • •KillingTimeItself
in reply to beSyl • • •first of all, the irony in this comment is incredible. Second of all, literally just start buying used shit first and foremost (it's already out there, using it is better for the environment) and if you do buy something new, try and buy something that you know you can get a good lifetime out of.
have a proper sit down, and think about what you really need to keep going in life. Focus on that. I'm not saying you should drop every hobby you've ever had, but if you collect newly released shit, maybe pivot into finding older stuff that's interesting to collect. If one of your hobbies has a consumable material/s maybe think about how you can better fill that gap. Perhaps try a different hobby every once in a while.
I've always enjoyed computer hardware, i recently got my hands on a few older thinkpad models. x20 series and an x50 series. Both used, both seen some shit in their day and age. Gave me a handful of usable laptops, most of the parts i bought for them were used. All of them are fantastic machines though.
spicystraw
in reply to KillingTimeItself • • •KillingTimeItself
in reply to spicystraw • • •idk, i was just pointing out that it was somewhat ironic, that we're on lemmy, a result of modern internet consumption (which is yet another problem) talking about the concept of degrowth, and this person was asking about a book about it.
That's pretty ironic. There's nothing wrong in something being ironic, irony is literally just when two counterintuitive things are in the same place (for lack of me googling the definition to properly explain it lol, look more irony)
Regardless, i still provided my thoughts on how it could be done, i feel like i provided something of substance.
JackbyDev
in reply to KillingTimeItself • • •KillingTimeItself
in reply to JackbyDev • • •that's true, i forget about them pretty frequently on account of the whole modern society thing. I have no idea if they would even have more recent releases tbh lol.
Though i guess you could probably go through your library to acquire it anyway?
MrMakabar
in reply to KillingTimeItself • • •E-Books are a thing, as are libraries, which allow you to borrow a book and return it. You also have the option of buying books second hand and then sell it again or give it away. That is really one of the key parts of degrowth. As soon as you share things, you need less things as a group. Hence the impact is much lower.
Besides a paperback book has a climate impact of 1kg of CO2. The average US American emits 4.6t per year just by driving their car. The impact of reading books is a complete joke against that and again no libraries, no second hand or anything else to reduce the impact.
Also books are really incredibly usefull resources. They are much better at actually explaining more complex ideas, then shorter articles.
So please do not just presume, somebody is going out to buy something. For the most part the big choices an individual can make on personal consumption are housing, transport and diet.
PresidentCamacho
in reply to MrMakabar • • •[https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Foriginal%2F001%2F330%2F819%2Fe47.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=d26aebcce073f0b313d50592b3f5fcb5853853e5d5f97e46cfb2f882f68d7d31&ipo=images](Maybe we should Improve Society)
PresidentCamacho
in reply to MrMakabar • • •MrMakabar
in reply to PresidentCamacho • • •If you tried to post a picture. You do so by putting a ! in front of the link like:
![](i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/or…)
Then you get:
Hope that helps, if not ignore it.
PresidentCamacho
in reply to MrMakabar • • •KillingTimeItself
in reply to MrMakabar • • •i know i just thought it was funny, let me have my 7 words or however many they are, of amusement smh.
I mentioned second hand stuff, as well as other non physical methods of cosumption in my comment, so some of this is quite redundant. The tidbit on carbon emissions is interesting though.
i mean yeah, i just don't know how much one would need to explain the concept of "hey just don't buy things, or if you do minimize the impact of it." But that's just me i suppose.
i guess so, but owning things is an inevitability in a materialist society. Even if you're homeless, you're still going to own something, even if it's just the clothes on your back. Seems like the most obvious first step to the concept of "degrowth" to me. I suppose continual consumption could be a bigger deal, but most of that is unavoidable (eating food for example) though you can still optimize it, i feel like that should be much more obvious frankly, considering how much we do it every day at the very least.
MrMakabar
in reply to KillingTimeItself • • •Thats because degrowth is not just anti consumerism although it is part of it, but to limit economic growth to stay within planetary boundaries. This means that degrowth also wants to built up systems to stop over consumption for everybody, while providing everybody with a good quality of life. This is far from simple, since we currently overuse earths resources, while billions are starving, despite us having enough food to feed everybody with ease. So you end up with stuff like universal basic income, forced recycling systems, commons, global justice, measuring well being and a lot more. There is easily enough to write a book about.
KillingTimeItself
in reply to MrMakabar • • •TubularTittyFrog
in reply to beSyl • • •No.
It's as simple as stop buying shit you don't need, and rather than buy new stuff, replace/fix/renew old stuff.
Like... stop buying a new car on lease every 2/3 years. buy a car and keep it for 10+ years.
Stop vacationing to foreign countries, go on a road trip. etc
PresidentCamacho
in reply to TubularTittyFrog • • •Wow thanks I'm cured... lol
TubularTittyFrog
in reply to PresidentCamacho • • •how to you get fit? how do you lose weight? how do you make friends? how to treat my mental illness? how do i get a better job?
you achieve shit by doing it. sitting around looking for a magical 'cheat code' to live isn't how you do it.
but on the internet and irl, people would rather whine and moan and blame someone else rather than do the hard work.
nobody is going to help you other than yourself.
PresidentCamacho
in reply to TubularTittyFrog • • •Captain Aggravated
in reply to MrMakabar • • •hubobes
in reply to MrMakabar • • •moonburster
in reply to MrMakabar • • •Carlos Solís
in reply to MrMakabar • •Degrowth - Economics as if People mattered reshared this.