‘Buy Nothing New Month’ aims to tackle consumption behaviour
The Keep Britain Tidy (KBT) initiative is challenging the UK public to purchase nothing new in January to raise awareness of how to live more sustainably, and that ‘recycling should be the last resort’.
The ‘Buy Nothing New Month’ campaign – which will run in January – urges consumers to reconsider their purchasing habits, highlighting the benefits of buying pre-loved items, reusing, or repairing products rather than disposing of them.
KBT’s initiative is supported by its YouGov poll finding that over two-thirds (68 per cent) of UK adults believe that “recycling is the best thing they can do to reduce the environmental impact of the things they buy”.
This comes in spite of the position of recycling in the waste hierarchy – below prevention and reuse – with KBT claiming the public is ‘mistaken’ on the environmental value of the process.
Pointing to the need to change purchasing behaviours, Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “It's time to connect the dots. Buying new things has an impact on the environment…We need to stop kidding ourselves that recycling is a solution – it’s a last resort.”
For example, the charity states that buying just one t-shirt has the carbon footprint equivalent of watching 34,000 hours of television.
Research from the European Recycling Industries Confederation (EuRIC) textiles branch has indicated that clothing reuse has a 70 per cent lower environmental impact – with significant water and CO2 savings – than purchasing new items, even when accounting for the transport emissions involved with exports.
The results of the YouGov poll also found that 85 per cent of UK adults incorrectly believe that recycling is a form of waste prevention. However, the survey does reveal that 86 per cent of respondents claim that they are aware of other actions they can take, alongside recycling, to reduce the environmental impact of their buying habits.
“Fifty-eight per cent of UK adults agreed they are concerned about the carbon footprint of their purchases, and so our award-winning Buy Nothing New Month campaign is the perfect time to stop and consider whether we really need something new,” commented Ogden-Newton.
Buy Nothing New Month
The campaign is being run in partnership with Olio – a free platform for donating, lending or borrowing items in your local community with the objective of reducing household and food waste.
CEO and Co-founder of Olio, Tessa Clarke, said: “We have more than enough 'stuff' in our local communities, which is why Olio is thrilled to support the Buy Nothing New campaign.
“We really hope this campaign will inspire millions more Brits to start sharing instead of shopping. It's a great way to start the new year - by saving money, saving the planet, and supporting your local community.”
Throughout the month, in collaboration with sustainability and lifestyle experts, KBT will share tips on how consumers can reduce both their environmental footprint and the strain on their wallet, signposting more sustainable options such as repair, renting, borrowing or how to reuse items already available in their homes.
Ogden-Newton added: “To tackle the damage done to the planet by our excessive consumption, the focus needs to shift from mindlessly throwing things away to thinking about what we buy in the first place and what we do with things we no longer want or need.” 
