Earth Day Challenge: A week without buying anything new

Announcing our Pre-loved Planet Earth Day Challenge: Can you go a week without buying anything new?

Today, the 22nd of April is Earth Day. If you know you know, if you don’t, then Earth Day is a 24-hour celebration dedicated to preserving, honouring, and protecting our planet. The first Earth Day took place in 1970, which means this year is its 55th anniversary. Every year, climate activists the world over use Earth Day to launch new projects, raise awareness, and fight for environmental issues from Shanghai to Mexico City, and this year, we’re asking our members to join in the fun.

So, what’s the big plan?

Well, as we said at the start, this Earth Day, we’re asking Riloop Members, and anyone else with a passion for the planet, to take our Pre-loved Planet Challenge. The concept is simple: for the next seven days, we challenge you not to buy anything new. Now, of course, there’ll be some exceptions; we’re not asking anyone to live on second-hand bread and cheese, but for the most part, we have faith that our thrifty members can survive a week without adding a single new item to their shopping list!

The Rules

Rule one: Exceptions

Like we said, there are exceptions, but wherever possible, we’d like you all to try and avoid spending money on any new product. As mentioned, food is an obvious carve-out, but that’s really the only thing we’ve chosen to exclude. Wait a minute… we hear you ask, what about stuff like cleaning products, toiletries, and other hygiene products? Good question, but when it comes to other consumables like that, we’re hoping you’ll get extra thrifty. Now, we’re not trying to turn anyone’s home into a slum, so if you absolutely need some bleach or toilet paper, then that’s fine. However, if you can, we’d ask you all to try and ration products like this. After all, how we use the stuff we own is as important as our buying habits. So, if you can get by with a little less detergent for a few days or be extra careful when you’re squeezing the toothpaste tube, then we know you can keep the cupboards stocked a little longer than usual. In addition, we’re inviting you to buy less fuel and use less power. If you have a smart meter, take a note of your average weekly consumption, then this week, why not see if you can limbo under the limit?

Rule Two: Anything else is fair game

That’s it, there are only two rules: if you can’t eat it, then you have to source it second-hand.

Hacks and hints:

The point of our Pre-loved Planet Earth Day Challenge is to highlight that we can all make a difference. We want everyone to throw as much effort as they like into the task, and we want to hear from you, too. We’ve got some tips and tricks to offer, but we want to know how you’re getting on too. If you come up with some inventive solutions, or find a sneaky workaround around a situation where you’d normally have to shell out for something new, then please tell us about it. Meanwhile, here are some ideas to get you rolling.

Spring into action

Now is the time to get in the garden, and when the sun comes out, it’s always tempting to spend the weekend at the garden centre looking for some inspiration for summer, but wait, remember there’s more than one way to get green fingers. Did you know that many people have too many plants or gardens they can no longer manage? Instead of spending your cash in the garden centre, where you’re almost certain to come back with extra bits like planters, pots, and stuff, why not search online to see if someone’s looking to shift a few plants of their own? Many online marketplaces have gardening sections now, and of course, you can browse all of them at once by using your Riloop account.

Upcycle Chic

Every year, clothing manufacturers account for almost 10% of all global emissions. The good news is that fashion is changing, pun intended. In the years ahead, the numbers look set to fall as consumers shift their priorities towards a more sustainable environment. Of course, this Earth Day, we can make our difference to the status quo by sourcing our clothes from the second-hand market. The key thing to remember when sourcing new pre-worn clothes is that pre-loved doesn’t need to mean pre-worn. All over Europe there are gifted makers and designers who specialise in upcycling second-hand clothes into new garments. From Etsy to eBay, from Facebook Marketplace to Vinted, you can now find chic, stylish, shiny duds that you can’t find on the high street and for a lot less than you’d expect. If you’re short on time, you can use your Riloop account to trawl all the sites at once and find all the best deals.

Retro-techno

You may have noticed the tech world is going through a bit of a wobble now. The trade fights the US has started like a drunk hillbilly in a hick bar parking lot are taking a toll on the consumer electronics market. The upshot of which is that folks with the means to do so are taking full advantage of the temporary tariff exemptions on things like smartphones and laptops. Now, it’s not rocket surgery to work out that many of those same people are going to need to unload their current tech to pay for their upgrades. In short, there’s never been a better time to pick up ‘nearly new’ technology and gadgets for cut-down prices. Just use your Riloop profile to set up alerts for any gizmos you’re after, and you’ll see prices are tumbling across sites like eBay, Marketplace, and wherever you source your tech.

So, there you have it. Three hacks to make sure this Earth Day, you have something to celebrate and your own part to play in protecting the planet without missing out on your spring treats.

If you’d like to join in our Pre-loved Planet Earth Day Challenge, please let us know by using the hashtags #prelovedplanet, #earthdayriloop, and #earthdaychallenge. We’d love to hear about your second-hand wins and finds and we’d especially like to hear how you overcome stuff like buying household consumables. Remember, Earth Day is a global event and we’d love as many people as possible to join in the #Prelovedplanet challenge, so please take a moment to share this article with your friends, family, and followers and don’t forget if you haven’t already you can set up your own Riloop account and use our platform to search and set up custom advanced alerts across dozens of the world’s most popular online marketplaces. Get real time notifications from sites like Reverb, eBay, Vinted, Discogs, and so many more.