Buy good things - own them a long time
So it has been a wee while since my last stuff purchase. It was my birthday in late May and I didn’t go out and buy myself stuff. This was a reasonable accomplishment to be fair. My family did give me cards, thats fine with me, they can be recycled or reused, and my father gave me a gift card, though made out of plastic, was better than a gift that I would not like/use...I am bringing my step-mother along on this journey (actually to be fair, she is taking herself).
I did spend some of the money off the gift card on a new handbag...actually more like a Mum bag, you know the huge type of bag that fits everything in it that a Mum needs. The bag that I was using was falling apart. It had been a gift from a very good friend, and had been loved to death, but, unfortunately, as it was made out of PU, had begun to peel and flake off, and was just literally falling to bits. So I went to the department store of which the gift card came and bought a $200 handbag that was on a 50% off sale.
I have never spent that much on a handbag in my entire life, and it was 50% off. But again it got me thinking, what was the real cost of my previous bag? This new hand bag is made out of ‘real’ leather, and as such should be a lot more durable than my previous bag(s). It has steel clasps and fittings that could be easily replaced, if necessary, and should have a much longer lifetime than a few years of daily use. Though this remains to be seen it made me think of the link to poverty and environmental sustainability.
When we are affluent, we can afford to buy better things, case and point my ($200) bag. Budget restrictions are not forcing me to buy a $30 handbag that may have a limited lifespan and end up in the landfill. Having a reasonable income allows me to make a considered decision when making necessary ‘stuff’ purchases, rather than having to settle for ‘what I can afford’ which is generally made of ‘cheap’ synthetic materials that will not last and due to the synthetic/cheap nature will end up in the land fill.
This is something that I intend to ponder on more. I just read on facebook today that former New Zealand Prime Minister and current UN Development Programme Administrator Helen Clark is working on projects investigating the connection between poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability. I will make this a point of research over the next little while. There has be to be a better way.
Still working towards ‘no more stuff”!