My No Buy Year

Many of us live in a world where more often than not, we can live by the Ariana Grande quote, "I see it, I want it, I got it". Some would argue that this isn't necessarily a bad thing—after all, what's wrong with seeing a baby elephant desktop computer topper, wanting it, and spending your well earned pay check on it? It's a conversation starter, it's for mental health, it's just so you.

So why stop? Why shouldn't we follow that little endorphin rush? Well for one, it can be such a terrible waste of money—it's a baby elephant here, a cat shaped mug there, and suddenly you're out a hundred dollars. I often hear that Millennials and younger generations don't care to save because they will never be able to save for the big purchases, like a house. So why bother trying, why not live in the moment? I don't have a great answer to this, but I do believe if we want to treat ourselves in the moment, we should treat ourselves with higher quality things. Instead of 10 $5 baby elephants, why not save $50 to sponsor an elephant at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for a year? You'll get monthly updates and an adorable painting of your elephant every month, not to mention sponsoring one of the most unique sanctuaries in the world.

The second is that it's terrible for the environment and human rights. Your little plastic baby elephant comes wrapped in plastic, shipped from some country in the Global South where workers are probably exploited, all so you can fulfil the endorphin rush. Yes, I know we aren't all rich enough to shop at high quality, eco-friendly shops, but we don't need another baby elephant, eco-friendly or not. But to paraphrase Aja Barber, if you aren't able to shop better, you're not part of the problem. And even if you can, we can't consume our way out of overconsumption.

So to help curb my consumerism, I decided to embark on a no-buy year. Some people buy absolutely nothing, some buy nothing new, but I set the following rules for myself.

1. Anything that I need to exist, I can buy. For example, food, toiletries, etc. I should prioritise plastic-free and seasonal produce but it's not a hard rule.

2. As a student, I can buy necessary things to study. For example, textbooks, notebooks, etc. HOWEVER, I should prioritise second-hand or reusing existing items whenever possible. In return, I should also pass on my own textbooks to extend their lives.

3. If there is something I want but don't necessarily need, such as waterproof shoes, I must get it secondhand.

I thought it would be a soul-destroying year, where I would have to agonise over presents and clothes and little endorphin rushes. Truthfully, there were times I wanted to quit. But it surprised me what were the triggers that made me want to quit—I thought it would be a cute pair of earrings, but they were frequently less obvious things, like a plushie or a new phone case. Yet the more time went on, the easier it became. It was almost like clicking reset on my brain, training it to value different endorphin rushes.

Would I do a No-Buy year again? Probably. To be in a No-Buy year, there's a certain amount of privilege you need, where you have all your necessities. As a student, I had everything I needed at that point and the time it took to get things second hand. As I enter into the job market, it might take some time to get back to get back to that space, but the lessons I've taken from my No-Buy year will help me mindfully buy items.

Regardless, I firmly believe that the biggest benefit of a No-Buy year isn't the environmental footprint saved. Rather, it's the mindset shift, that maybe more isn't more. It's an extreme version of telling people to conscientiously buy things and as the saying goes, it's better for many people to do zero-waste imperfectly than a single person to do zero-waste perfectly. In the same vein, we all should imperfectly buy conscientiously rather than a handful refusing to ever buy anything.

2020 saw people impulse buying online more than ever, in a wider variety of products as people sought to make their living space more friendly. As the pandemic continues to rage on a year ago, I hope that this encourages people to attempt a no-buy week, month, or year as a mid-year resolution!