Stuff. We buy a lot of it every year – and it all adds up to a big chunk of carbon.

There’s no simple fix, but if you’re carbon-conscious there are ways you can achieve low carbon spending. Here's a couple of ways you can do it...

Do we really need to buy so much?

In a world designed, literally, to make you want to buy stuff, convincing yourself that you probably don’t need that new jumper can be tough.

But the truth of the matter is that people’s passion for buying shiny new products is hurting the planet.

• In 2016, Greenpeace estimated that Singles Day (think ‘Black Friday’) produced 258,000 tonnes of carbon from clothing sales alone. That weighs the same as 1,146 Statues of Liberty.

• In 2018, Amazon calculated its own carbon footprint to be about 44 million tonnes, around the same amount as a small country.

Whether online or in-store, buying new products will have a significant carbon cost. The biggest impact you can have on reducing this is by setting yourself challenges to buy less, or buy second-hand/refurbished.

Do I need something new?

Got something in your wardrobe you haven’t worn in a while – or maybe never at all? You’re not alone. According to Weightwatchers, around 50% of clothing in the UK is never worn. That’s £10.5 billion worth of clothes which could be re-worn or given away.

The fashion industry is responsible for around 10% of annual global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined (Worldbank, 2019), so making your wardrobe work harder (or expanding it by borrowing rather than buying) could make a big impression on your carbon footprint. Or Pawprint, as we like to call it.

Out with the new in with the old

“The greenest product is the one that already exists” is the mantra of eBay’s Green Team, which is pushing the company’s environmental credentials. You may need to buy, but do you need to buy new?

People have been buying from charity shops and ‘thrift stores’ for decades, but in recent years there’s been a boom in the resale market, ranging from shops selling donated items, to higher-end stores which specialise in upcycling.

According to online thrift store thredUP, the second-hand market will be worth $51 billion by 2023 and is growing 21 times faster than the retail apparel market has done over the past three years.

Done with it? Then give it away

As the old saying goes, ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’. Even products you might not be able to sell on can find a home.

Take inspiration from Canadian blogger Kyle MacDonald who, starting with a red paperclip, landed himself a two-storey house for free. It’s an extreme example, sure... But it shows the power of ‘freecycling’.

And what about when a product really is past its prime? Think of all the technical equipment which is thrown out as junk when it has stopped working. According to the UN’s E-Waste Report, around 50 million tonnes of ‘e-waste’ is produced each year but only 20% is recycled. If you were to pile up all the commercial airliners ever made, you’d equal the weight of global e-waste in a year. Not great.

If you’re serious about living a low carbon lifestyle, don’t just chuck your electrical goods once they’re dead. Companies are starting to offer trade-in schemes where old devices can be recycled. Use these services!

‍