With today’s economic realities, a "shift to thrift" is vital to help cash-strapped, debt-laden citizens save more and spend less, while conserving precious resources. Reuse is easier than ever, thanks to a growing universe of websites that help people re-purpose unwanted items and find what they need secondhand.
Swapping and buying used locally is the best way to reuse, because you foster connections and economic development in your community. But when you can’t find what you need in your area, innovative websites can help you buy, sell, swap, give away and loan or borrow secondhand items.
Tried-and-True Websites
eBay is the queen of reuse. Although sellers hail from every corner of the US and even a few foreign locales, eBay provides sellers’ zipcodes and an in-person pick up option, so users can choose to buy local or close-to-local.
Like eBay, Good Will allows users to buy and sell an array of secondhand items through online auctions. Purchases benefit Good Will’s job training and employment programs for disadvantaged and disabled people.
On Craigslist and Half.com, users can buy and sell just about anything through direct sales, not auctions. While Half.com is a national network, Craigslist is divided into locally based mini-websites, so all transactions are based in your area. You can also post volunteer opportunities, garage sale notices, rideshare requests and more.
Get What You Need for Free
Several sites allow you to get a wide variety of used items free of charge – and give away things you can no longer use. The Green Umbrella provides a comprehensive list of independent "free sharing" sites across the US.
Freecycle.org, one of the most popular of free-sharing sites, is broken down by city – you can join the listserv for your community at the main site, keeping all exchanges locally based. Members post unwanted items to the listserv, and responses go directly to the email box of the person making the offer, so pick-up arrangements can be kept private. Members can also request specific items they need.
FreeSharing and ReUseItNetwork operate similarly to Freecycle, and Craigslist has a "free" section for giveaways.
ThrowPlace allows individuals and businesses to list goods they want to donate to US and international non-profits, which pick them up or pay for shipping. Any 501(c)3 organization can register with ThrowPlace for free. The site also includes an "Up for Grabs" section, which functions much like Freecycle – individuals and businesses can get and give away items for free, and a "Business" section where individuals and companies can get higher quality items for a small fee. Items that aren’t taken after a month from other sections of the site end up in "Up for Grabs."
In California, IReuse connects nonprofits with free and low-cost furniture, office supplies, computers and many other items that have been donated by for-profits. Individuals can donate or recycle large unwanted items by requesting a quote to have them removed from their home through iReuse Hauling.
Swapping & Borrowing
Got something you’d like to trade instead of sell? Craigslist has a bartering section through which community members can contact each other directly about trading items, from household goods to cleaning products to car parts. DignSwap allows members to post pictures of used clothing and accessories they no longer want and then "dig" through photos of items posted and make even trades with other members. You only pay for shipping.
NeighBorrow functions as an online lending library enabling members in the same community to borrow items such as household tools, electronic appliances, or DVDs. Members can also swap items they don’t need or give away something in exchange for "neighborrow bucks," which can later be used to purchase an item that someone else has posted.
Buy or Swap Used Media
You can trade entertainment media such as books, music, movies and video games with users around the country at SwapTree. Members create a "have" list of things they have to trade and a "want" list of things they want. Swaptree searches through member lists and matches you with willing swappers. Say you have a Gaiam exercise DVD and you want a copy of a Toni Morrison book. Swaptree connects you with a person who wants your DVD and has the Toni Morrison book and you make an even exchange. It can also help you trade with people that live in your neighborhood.
SwapaDVD is a great way to share DVDs. To join, you sign up by offering 10 DVDs – earning you one gift credit that you can exchange for one DVD offered by someone else. After that, you get an additional credit every time you mail out a DVD to others. Its sister site, SwapaCD allows you to do the same with CDs.
You Name It – It’s on the Web
From cardboard boxes to building materials to text books, you can find or sell specialized items on the Web.
The days of having to visit every grocery store in town hoping they’ll part with extra cardboard boxes are gone. UsedCardboardBoxes salvages large quantities or reusable boxes from companies that would otherwise dispose of or recycle them. It takes the boxes to regional distribution centers to ensure quality and to sort by size, then resells them online across the US. Shipping is free for residential orders.
Do-It-Yourself enthusiasts can buy reused or reclaimed building materials online through PlanetReuse, an eBay-style auction marketplace for floors, doors, fixtures and more.
Green Your Shipping
If you can’t find used items locally, you may not need to feel too guilty about ordering them online. A February 2009 study concluded that when the average person shops by car and buys less than 19 items in a trip, shopping on the Internet and using ground delivery actually emits less CO2 (Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University). Using ground delivery lessens the environmental impacts of shipping compared to air delivery. The US Postal Service is coming to your home anyway to deliver the mail, making it a most efficient choice.
The USPS uses water-based inks for stamps and its Priority and Express envelopes and boxes have been Cradle-to-Cradle certified for meeting high environmental standards from manufacture to disposal. A third of all postal deliveries are made by foot, and its delivery fleet includes electric, hybrid and biodiesel vehicles. It’s also been working to reduce energy use, incorporating green design elements in its buildings and is a major paper recycler. UPS is a distant second-best choice.
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Reprinted from Real Money, Spring 2009 issue, a publication by Green America, and a SustainableBusiness.com Content Partner.
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