Consuming less (From Hereford Times)

Consuming less

10:22am Monday 29th January 2007

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Following on with the 'consuming less' idea, I learned that a group of friends in San Francisco decided to give up shopping for a year - apart from essentials such as food, soap, medicine etc. No gadgets, mobile phones or even books. Everything would be borrowed, traded or bought second-hand... A year later over 4000 people are involved in an on-line discussion about it -(sfcompact.blogspot.com). People are concerned about over-consumption, but there are those in the States who have called the group 'un-American' and 'Economic Terrorists'. So perhaps 'reduce'is the forgotten of the three 'r's.

Phrases like 'retail therapy'imply that we buy things to make us feel better rather than because we need them and are very revealing. Consuming is a way of life.

In Hereford we have a 'Freecycle' web site - which is part of a national network of groups. People advertise their unwanted goods, saving them from going to landfill, and others collect something they need for free, I've seen sofas, chickens and even cars given away and succesfully re-used. (freecyclehereford@yahoogroups.com)
But just be careful if you use it, you may be labelled an economic terrorist.