Tonya Kay is a professional dancer, television personality, film actress and danger artist living in Los Angeles. A vegetarian of 25 years, vegan for 15 of those and raw vegan for the last 7, Tonya Kay pioneers the green health movement with appearances, publications and green media (available at 
| The Greenest Consumer Is the Non-Consumer |
| Wednesday, 01 July 2009 | Tonya Kay | Blog Entry |
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The economic collapse has devastated my household, my community and my industry. Perhaps, however, this is just what we need. As I send ‘hang in there’ balloons and sympathy cards like everyone else, wishing the economy a speedy recovery, somewhere deep—in a secret, sadistic place—I hope it's not over yet. Your neighbors have replaced their light bulbs, but have they shut off their lights? Your family’s traded in its SUV for a hybrid, but has it busted out the bicycles? The most economical choice is almost always the most environmental choice to make as well. Is our obsession with even well-intentioned consumption keeping us poor and environmentally destructive? If we stopped all manufacturing right now and liberated what we've buried in landfills, what's in each other's closets and what is currently lining store shelves, there would be enough for everybody for a good long time—without another sweatshop hiring or smokestack puff. While there is a lot of thought about what happens to our possessions after consumption (those not reused or recycled end up in landfills), if we want to make real change, we need to consider everything that happens before we consume as well. The manufacture and transport of new items, even 100% recycled items, is a far greater environmental threat than the items we don’t reuse or recycle. We don't just need better products, we need less of them. "Reduce" is first in the maxim “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” for a reason. Why do we immediately skip to the second or third item in the list? If we don't purchase it, we won't have to consider what to do with it after we are done. There is only one thing better than being a green consumer and that is being a non-consumer. As a non-consumer, I can still purchase things, barter for things and gift things. I just take myself out of the manufacture/consumption cycle by purchasing exclusively reused and making sure my unwanteds get remade, gifted or resold. No new item will have to be manufactured or transported to replace my purchases. No reusable or recycled item will wind up in a landfill. And, as a bonus, I escape paying sales tax, which saves me 10.25% here in California. What's more economical than that? I’m all for a better economy, but let this economic crash not mend until we learn how to value what we have now. [See a complete list of writing by Tonya Kay on EcoHearth.com or visit her Clean and Green Everyday blog. - Ed.] Further recommended reading: Comments
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Written by Blacklight , July 02, 2009
I love reusing things. In high school, I would use the cereal box sides for binder dividers to keep myself organized and not have to buy dividers, (because seriously..why? they're just dividers) and it's always funny when I got a reaction from someone, "is that..Cheerios/lucky charms?"
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Btw Mel, that's super cool your furniture is all second hand. When I find my own place I intend to take my family's old silverware so they will just have the shiny new ones to use, (because for some reason we have two sets of silverware: shiny new ones, and old ones from a hospital.)
Written by kristaf , July 03, 2009
I love buying pre-owned! I've furnished my office from moving sales and the like. It makes me feel good that I can have items that look new (were well taken care of), and spend less to get them while saving them from the landfill and putting some cash into the hands of someone who's starting a new life. When I move, I will sell them to someone else coming into the neighborhood probably for close to what I bought them for, and the cycle will go on.
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Written by Green , August 08, 2009
since the economy has taken a turn for the worst i started to watch my spending and i realized that i was buying things that i really didn't need. I hope the economy gets better but i too hope that we all remember to be frugal and help the planet
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Written by K-Waz , August 18, 2009
I like the comment about "making sure my unwanteds get remade, gifted or resold." This highlights other side of of reuse: taking ownership in giving it up. How many people do you know have a basement full of quality unused items? I agree with you, kristaf, If we put it back out there, we contribute to the reuse cycle.
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Bless the well-intentioned consumer. The biodegradable soap, the hemp backpack, the energy-efficient light bulbs—the end products of conscientious consumption—are becoming far more popular and make us feel better about ourselves. But how much better are these purchases for the Earth? 
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I enjoy finding new uses for things, instead of tossing them. I don't have much money so I'd rather buy consumables... like food.