News Reporter: Climate Coach: I tried to buy everything used for a month

Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Climate Coach: I tried to buy everything used for a month

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Down-to-earth advice for life on our changing planet.

(Janice Chang for The Washington Post)

By Michael J. Coren

What if you bought everything in your life used? Sandra Goldmark, a circular economy expert at Columbia University's Climate School, has done it for years and loves it.

She persuaded me to give it a shot, to see if I could stem the tide of new stuff. Here's what I learned.

For one month, I set out to buy everything I needed used and online. A wooden train set for my son? EBay. Salad tongs? Mercari. Fishing rod? Goodwill. Running shoes? Amazon Warehouse. Replacing a torn wet-suit glove? I'm still looking for that one.

Across the internet, I discovered a bustling secondary market ready to fulfill nearly all my shopping needs with something someone else had once owned. A complex supply chain called reverse logistics powered by computer vision and artificial intelligence has emerged to handle the tsunami of used goods.

These were not tattered castoffs or bargain-bin specials. The online "recommerce" ecosystem was full of premium, quality goods at a price and, at times, with convenience rivaling Amazon's shopping cart.

We're headed for a world where buying used may become nearly as easy as buying new for many goods, maybe even preferred. If we do it right, we can slash the monumental environmental impact of all the stuff we buy.

Here are a few pointers to get started:

Start with "used items" on Google Shopping: Google scans many of the largest retail sites including eBay, Etsy, Mercari, Poshmark and Amazon, as well as physical chains like Play It Again Sports. It won't find every option online, but it's the easiest place to start.

Many used items are virtually new: Brands are reselling returned items. These may only have been tried on and still have their tags. That's especially true on massive sites like eBay, Mercari and Etsy.

Try these places if you want more vetting: Big centralized marketplaces such as Goodwill, Amazon Warehouse and Amazon Renewed are clearinghouses for used, returned and refurbished items.

Search in your category, especially clothes: New companies are specializing in furniture, electronics, baby gear and, above all, clothing. Poshmark, Depop (now owned by Etsy) and thredUP curate vast inventories at every price point.

Buy from your neighbors: Garage sales have gone online thanks to companies like OfferUp, Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and Nextdoor. Buy Nothing groups let you give, and receive, free of charge.

Is the used online market ready for prime time? Quality varied. My preferred styles weren't always available. Returns and shipping weren't as seamless as Amazon. For low-cost items, it was sometimes cheaper to buy new than pay to ship even discounted used items.

But as a result of my one-month experiment, my shopping habits have started to change. Instead of buying new as the default, I'm searching first for used.

Learn more in this week's Climate Coach column.

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See you on Thursday,

Michael Coren, Climate Coach