Reducing carbon footprint from "stuff"

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thai_tong
Posts: 33
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:38 pm

Reducing carbon footprint from "stuff"

Post by thai_tong »

Did anyone else focus on buying less stuff to be more environmentally friendly?

Recently I found that buying stuff makes up a third of my carbon footprint. That's according to the calculator www.wren.co

Stuff includes clothes, electronics, furniture, gifts and cleaning products. Clearly not buying stuff would be the most effective means of reducing my impact. This is difficult to achieve because the problem is diffuse, a lot of aspects of my life involve buying stuff.

I tried to come up with guiding principles, but it gets confusing to try to think through these options when buying anything, and frustrating that it's not clear how environmentally damaging some things are.
  • Avoid the need for the item
  • Make it myself
  • Buy second hand
  • Buy locally made (avoid transport emissions)
  • Buy without packaging
  • Buy something with green credentials
How did you focus on reducing the impact of stuff you buy?

horsewoman
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Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:11 am

Re: Reducing carbon footprint from "stuff"

Post by horsewoman »

Like most things it's a habit you need to get into.
What helped me most is a "waiting list". So whenever I feel I need to buy something I write it on a list with the date.
If I still need the item 2 weeks later I buy it. In 99% of the cases I
- thought of some other thing to repurpose
- was able to borrow/get it from someone
- realized I already own a similar item
- realized I didn't need it after all
- found it for free / very cheap on Freecycle/Craigslist style site

Once this is a habit, acquisition of stuff drops considerably.

jacob
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Re: Reducing carbon footprint from "stuff"

Post by jacob »

For me the most effective cure for buying stuff is having gone through the hassle of selling it again. It's far easier to buy something, but it is only when the thing is sold again that the full cost of depreciation in money and time is realized. For example, it takes 2 minutes to order something online for $100. It is only when sold again, you realize that it was really worth $50 and required an hour to list, box, and ship.

Buying used eliminates factor like depreciation and packaging (you can reuse) but it won't recover your time.

The ERE book has a bunch of alternatives to buying in chapter 6.

jacob
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Re: Reducing carbon footprint from "stuff"

Post by jacob »

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the ultimate cure for buying stuff: A Buy Nothing Year.

Here's my favorite series, updating every 3 months, describing almost exactly the change of mindset that people go through if they go through with it.
https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/ ... othing-day
https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/ ... t-spending
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/ ... -months-in
https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/ ... ng-norfolk
https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/ ... hier-wiser

She also has a talk on youtube.

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Ego
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Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:42 am

Re: Reducing carbon footprint from "stuff"

Post by Ego »

People will always need stuff. In addition to learning to do without stuff one could also work to build the systems that incentivize repair and more efficiently redistribute the stuff that already exists.

ben2000s
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2021 6:13 pm

Re: Reducing carbon footprint from "stuff"

Post by ben2000s »

jacob wrote:
Mon May 16, 2022 6:36 am
For me the most effective cure for buying stuff is having gone through the hassle of selling it again. It's far easier to buy something, but it is only when the thing is sold again that the full cost of depreciation in money and time is realized. For example, it takes 2 minutes to order something online for $100. It is only when sold again, you realize that it was really worth $50 and required an hour to list, box, and ship.

Buying used eliminates factor like depreciation and packaging (you can reuse) but it won't recover your time.

The ERE book has a bunch of alternatives to buying in chapter 6.
I agree. I set a boundary with myself to sell everything I haven't used for the last 6 months. Ebay selling is annoying and time-consuming.
I refrain from buying unneeded items because I remember the pain of selling!

ben2000s
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2021 6:13 pm

Re: Reducing carbon footprint from "stuff"

Post by ben2000s »

thai_tong wrote:
Sun May 15, 2022 11:35 am
This is difficult to achieve because the problem is diffuse, a lot of aspects of my life involve buying stuff.
I don't know all your goals so I can't frame the problem for you.

For me, I'll buy a product or service if it is eco-friendly, reasonably-priced, made by an ethical corporation and if I answer yes to one of these questions:
1. Do I need it to survive e.g. food, medicine, safety?
2. Do I need it to avoid health issues e.g. toothpaste, sunscreen?
3. Do I need it to protect myself legally or reduce risk?

So you don't trick yourself, read the wants and needs article on the blog.

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