Friday, June 26, 2009

What motivates me to ‘buy no new clothes’ in 2009? Part 2

I was asked recently if The Compact motivated me to buy no new clothes.

My first response:

“I don’t know about The Compact, so I’ll check it out.”

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecompact/

At the same time I also linked to a blog site called The Compact, featuring multiple authors, and read ‘Notes on skipping’ by Rachel Kesel, who appears to be onto something that I could write about in my weekly column. After all, a grocery store is literally around the corner and I could easily do a Q and A about their weekly (or is it daily?) waste. I bet they send more trash out the back door than any other business in this part of town (The Village) and I also bet some of it is very useful still.

As Rachel wrote:

“Our culture of perfection has created a shitload of waste (and weird genetic modifications of food).”

http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/

My second response:

“Will I become a skipper, diver or bin hop? Not if my wife has anything to say about it.”

(So, shhhh, let’s keep this to ourselves for the time being).

My third response:

“I’m motivated by some of the same ideas and ideals as those attempting to live by The Compact. I.e., live simply, reduce consumption, think of future generations.”

And to the person who raised the question re my motivation I wrote the following:

“My weekly column takes a 'green angle' for the most part and I feel inclined to try reducing consumption in a variety of ways. Retirement has given me time to carefully assess habitual behaviours that aren't too helpful - as far as future generations and Mother Earth are concerned. Buying less is becoming a new habit. Can I do without? is becoming a more frequently asked question. See, old dogs can learn new tricks.”

So, now you know just a bit more of the answer.

***

This old dog is motivated by other reasons too, and perhaps a weekly column is in order.

What motivates you to reduce consumption?

PS blogger.com is not functioning correctly and I am not able to provide links, photographs or comments at this time.

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