October is the month where people can experience not to buy anything new. The Buy Nothing New Month is „the global movement for collective, conscientious consumption“. This idea started in Melbourne and spreaded to the Netherlands and the USA.

The challenge consists in not buying anything new – with exception for essentials like food, hygiene and medicines. It’s not about never buying anything new. People is invited to think about their consumption in an alternative way. We should ask ourselves „Do I really need it?“ and if we do, „can I get it second-hand, borrow it or rent it?“. Let’s think about the alternatives and about where all our stuff comes from, where it goes when we’re done and what the alternatives could be. Let’s discover how we can extend the life of our stuff by transforming, readapting, reusing it in another way.

So, if you want to get rid of your affluenza (see here  or here) try one month of not buying anything new, get some tips here and enjoy the difference.

It’s easy, it’s fun and it moves from „consumption-driven to community-driven“. – And don’t forget to let your kids participate.

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