Photo: Sigmund | Unsplash
Buy Nothing is a virtual flea market that operates on the gift economy and builds community at the same time. Founded by Freecycle renegades, Rebecca Rockefeller and Liesl Clark, the group now has about 5 million members. worldwide It's living proof that one person's trash is another person's treasure. What distinguishes Buy Nothing FROM other `groups` is that the emphasis is less on stuff and more on community. In what Buy Nothing describes as hyperlocal gift economies, users are encouraged to let items simmer rather than giving them away to the first person who asks, perhaps suggesting they share a joke or providing a story explaining why they would like the item. In addition to gifts or asks, users are encouraged to post gratitude, with a message or a picture showing what the gifted item has meant to them. If you come at it from an angle of joy and human connection, you're more likely to inspire lasting change than when you come at it from telling people: 'You have to do without this,' said Clark.
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