The Buy Nothing Project started as a small experiment in the US and has turned into a global movement of over 12 million people. It has even made its way to Brussels.
Founded in 2013 by Rebecca Rockefeller and Liesl Clark in Washington state. Its original purpose was to make local communities stronger through gift-giving and mutual aid – while also reducing consumerism and waste.
When someone needs a specific item, they can post a request in the group, and members who want to give that same item can respond with donation offers.
Members can also post offers as a means of contribution. Items on offer can be anything from a half-used bag of rice, baby formula, furniture, or a bicycle. In some cases, services like language lessons or IT help are also offered.
Although the movement started in the US, its influence quickly spread to different parts of the world, with groups operating in 44 countries and over 12 million community members online.
Welcome to Brussels
Brussels is one of the many cities contributing to this project, with the Buy Nothing Brussels group on Facebook now boasting of over 57,000 members.
"I started the Buy Nothing Brussels group with my sister since she lives in Belgium. I wanted to see how Europeans would react to such a thing," said Gabriella Della Volpe, an Italian woman who initially discovered the movement while living in the US.
Della Volpe explained that she first contributed to the movement in 2018 and was able to meet a lot of nice people in her community through donating and receiving items from the group.
"I would definitely suggest that anyone who's thinking about it should join just to see how much stuff you can donate, that’s how it started," said Della Volpe.
"I had stuff sitting around the house, like baby clothes I was looking to donate, so I started posting. I found out that the more I gave, the more I got back in terms of connections, and I felt like I was doing something good for the community," she continued.
Once she began contributing to the project, Della Volpe explained that she started to think more consciously about things she bought, especially things that she was likely to only use once.
"The group truly allows for pretty much anything to be donated. I’ve even shared food and produce with neighbours, even though some people may consider it weird."
