CURB YOUR
CONSUMERISM Our culture of hyper-consumerism leads to resource depletion, waste, and socioeconomic inequities. By understanding the implications of our daily actions, we can start moving towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Little things such as sourcing local food, recycling furniture, or wearing locally made clothes can impact the world around us. This guide focuses on buying local.
THE UVM ECO-REPS
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LOCAL
SHOPPING
WHY BUY
GUIDE
LOCAL?
Spending $100 at a national chain store typically leaves $14 to circulate back to the community, where that much spent locally recirculates $45. This is called the Multiplier Effect, where local purchases increase the velocity of the community’s money, meaning revenue circulates back to local business and the community faster. This also allows us to form a stronger sense of place, and connects us to our own resources & surroundings. Plus, it often takes less energy to transport items when they don’t have to travel as far, and they might not require as much packaging.
uvm eco-reps COPYRIGHT © 2018
CLOTHES
FOOD
LIFESTYLE
MYTH: If I do not shop often, I am not
MYTH: Small, local restaurants are
MYTH: Used products are unreliable and
TRUTH: Clothes are among some of the
TRUTH: Ali Baba’s has an $8 falafel. Poutine
TRUTH: Reused items have already stood the
Clothing waste totals 11 million tons in the US every year. Secondhand shopping is a fun and cheap alternative to buying products new. These clothes are often very stylish, one-of-a-kind finds.
When going out, you can prioritize local eateries with verified local sourcing by choosing Vermont Fresh Network members: www.vermontfresh.net.
Find everything from bedside tables, desks, lamps, curtains, couches, books, art, music, kitchen utensils, pots and pans, appliances, and more at places like: • Goodwill • Habitat for Humanity ReStore • ReSource • Junktiques Collective • Barge Canal • Spring Move Out Project (SMOP) an annual “street swap”
impacting the environment.
hardest items to break down in the waste stream. Each article of clothing that enters a landfill takes at least 200 years to break down.
Cut consumerism and support the local economy by checking out some of these Burlington stores: • Downtown Threads • Battery Street Jeans • Dirt Chic • Outdoor Gear Exchange * • Shalom Shuk • Goodwill • Salvation Army • Old Gold * Outdoor enthusiasts don’t need to break the bank on new equipment! Outdoor Gear Exchange has a basement full of consignment clothing and gear for a fraction of their original price.
expensive.
is $10 at Duino! (Duende). The Ivan breakfast sandwich from Myer’s Bagels is $6. A refill Coffee at Uncommon Grounds is $1.86.
When cooking yourself, try specialty grocery stores, coops and farmers markets like: • City Market Onion River Co-op • Commodities • Healthy Living • Burlington Farmers Market • UVM Medical Center Farmers Market • Davis Center Farmers Market Or seek out the local section of conventional stores like Hannaford, Price Chopper and Shaws. To take your local buying to the next level, consider a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, where you pay the farm in advance for a season of food in weekly increments. Food in the Farmer Training Program CSA is grown at UVM by students and starts around $20/week. Burlington-based Intervale Food Hub supports multiple Vermont farms with their local food subscription, starting around $25/week. Both deliver to campus!
prone to break!
test of time. You are not likely to find a high-quality new item for less than their discounted price.
UVM has our own Bike Education Center, in the basement of Hills, where you can learn how to repair or improve your bike at no cost, or by donation. But only buy when you need to! You can borrow common household tools (like shovels and rakes) from the Fletcher Free Library, which all Burlington residents get a free membership to. When getting rid of your own clothes or household items, make sure to donate, consign or sell them instead of sending them to the landfill! You can even donate unwanted, non perishable food to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf.