Reducing: The First Step in a Zero Waste Journey

Reducing your waste can mean refusing what you don’t need. It also means participating in a model called “collaborative consumption,” or the Sharing Economy. If you’ve ever gone antiques shopping, sold your unwanted clothes, or had your phone repaired, you’ve participated in collaborative consumption. It’s avoiding “buying new” and instead embracing secondhand shopping, and a minimalist approach to consuming products. 

With more than 8 billion people on a single planet with finite resources, it’s unsustainable for each of us to continue to own a brand-new one of everything over the course of our lives. Here’s our rundown of how to refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, and rent your way through life before buying new products, which are often made of finite virgin materials.