I've got a problem with something I read in Seyfang's book 'The New Economics of Sustainable Consumption - Seeds of Change' (2009) on page 44. It's a quote from Steffan (2007) and says that 'the most sustainable product is the one you never bought in the first place'.
I understand his/her point but I just don't see how it can be the only starting point for the argument being made. Let me explain my thoughts. Say I have a car (which I do) and I use it to commute to university but I decide (having been to these lectures) that I'm going to reduce my ecological impact and commute by bike (even if it's only on two or three days a week) but I don't have a bike and therefore need to buy one. Well if I were to follow Steffan's argument I should not buy the bike because it's more sustainable not to!!
Surely some consumption is inevitable in order to live more sustainably?
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ReplyDeleteI would add another alternative to the ones you suggested: buy a used bike. Some people might argue that you are still consuming but I think the main issue with consumerism is really that we keep consuming brand new products because we find our old ones obsolete when in fact they are stilll working perfectly well or just need a little fixing. I bought my own from a very nice old lady who had no use of the bike any longer and it was aither someone bought it or she would have thrown it away.
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ReplyDeleteI'm using my mum's old('retro?!?') bike to cycle to and from campus this year!
ReplyDeletecheck freecycle!
hope you find a bike soon!
Katie