What do you do when you have an old board game that you no longer play or a coffee pot you don’t like? Depending on who you ask, the answer is usually “drop it off at a consignment shop” or simply “throw it away.” But there’s a great eco-friendly and community-based solution to your spring cleaning woes — the Buy Nothing Project.

Supported by social media groups and the BuyNothing app, more than 13,000 volunteers facilitate local gift economies across the world that benefit millions of participants. Group members can give any gift that follows national and local laws, whether it’s a physical item or a gift of service to others (think gardening or repair work). Members can also freely ask for these gifts from others.

How the Buy Nothing Project Started

The Buy Nothing Project was started in 2013 by Rebecca Rockefeller and Liesl Clarkin on Bainbridge Island, Washington. The two friends got their inspiration from villagers in the Himalayas who rely on their own form of a gift economy to care for one another.

They launched an experimental hyper-local gift economy in the form of a Facebook group called “Buy Nothing” in their own community. In two months, Buy Nothing became a social movement that grew to more than 4,000 members in 16 groups throughout the U.S. By the end of that year, there were 80 groups.

By April 2022, the Buy Nothing Project had more than 5.3 million participants in 44 countries across the world, and its founders only expect more growth.

How It Works

Participating in the Buy Nothing Project is simple. Just download the Buy Nothing app to get started. Within minutes, you can post anything you’d like to give, lend, receive, or borrow and watch those messages from neighbors come rolling in.

Say you have some leftover paints and art supplies after a DIY project and you’d like to get rid of them. Try posting a “give” on your local Buy Nothing group and see who responds. It’s likely that a neighbor can take them for their own project. Sometimes local teachers or daycare owners will reach out as well, asking to add the supplies to their collection.

You can also ask for things on Buy Nothing groups. If you’re in need of moving boxes, for example, post a request. It’s likely that a few people will have extra boxes at the ready and all you’ll need to do is pick them up.

“Buy Nothing Project rules are simple: Post anything you’d like to give away, lend, or share amongst neighbors. Ask for anything you’d like to receive for free or borrow. Keep it legal. No hate speech. No buying or selling, no trades or bartering, we’re strictly a gift economy.” —Buy Nothing Project

The Buy Nothing Project Is Great for the Environment

Not only does the Buy Nothing Project allow participants to save money and a trip to the store, but it also diverts materials from the landfill and sharply reduces waste.

The project allows neighbors to share unneeded or unwanted belongings with each other, creating a gift economy that benefits everyone — including the environment. Neighbors can give away items that they may otherwise throw in the trash and the recipients can reuse or repurpose them to fit their own needs.

For example, one neighbor may be remodeling their house, tearing out carpet, and painting it a new color. Rather than throwing out the old materials, which can be harmful to the environment when sent to the landfill, they can snap a photo of the leftovers and post it to their local Buy Nothing group. From there, neighbors can claim and reuse these items for their own projects.

The group also reduces food waste. When participants get their hands on an extra loaf of bread or find that their family doesn’t care for the brand of canned goods they just purchased, they can post those items to their Buy Nothing group. Neighbors who claim the food will save it from going to waste. Because food waste accounts for 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions, these gifts are great for the environment.

“Asks” are another eco-friendly Buy Nothing feature. Asking for things like a yoga mat or an extra curtain rod saves you money and a trip to the store. Plus, reusing a neighbor’s item keeps it out of the landfill and saves the resources needed to manufacture a new product.

How to Participate in the Buy Nothing Project

Head to the Buy Nothing website to learn more about how it works, review the community guidelines, and download the app. Within minutes, you can Give, Ask, and share your Gratitude with your neighbors. If you prefer to join a Facebook BN Group, go to Facebook, search for The Buy Nothing Project to find a group for your community, and request to join. From there, you can post your offers and requests. Just follow the rules laid out in each group’s description.

If there’s no local group for your community, you can start one. Read the instructions and fill out the form to get started building community. Then get ready to start enjoying the benefits of your local gift economy.

Notes From Our Hands-On Experience, Fall 2024

Some of the Earth911 team recently moved, which involved shedding a lot of furniture, office furniture, and household items, such as a dress form. After joining the local Buy Nothing group on Facebook, we had limited success in giving away the items we listed. Many people responded to the offers but only one of seven people showed up to collect the items. The strange thing about this was that the same items, when listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace sold and were picked up by the buyers. By contrast, another member of our network successfully gave away dozens of items using Buy Nothing in the same area and same part of the year, just before the Thanksgiving holiday.

We did reach out to people who failed to keep their Buy Nothing pick-up appointment and found two explanations. First, several people’s schedules conflicted with the appointment time, which leads us to believe that it is best to offer a large window of time, such as a whole day, so that people can flex their schedules. The other reason was intriguing: Despite seeing photos of what we offered, people couldn’t believe that the item was free (a view supported by those items selling for cash when offered), so they did not appear when they promised after several exchanges of messages.

Editor’s Note: Originally published on May 18, 2021, this article was updated in June 2024.