Froogalism

[Amy SF]

Have you heard of it? Are you interested in it? Are you already into it?


Froogles: The new challenge to rampant consumerism
They call themselves the 'froogles' - and they've pledged to go without shopping for a year. Helen Brown reports on the new anti-consumerism movement
Published: 05 October 2006

Last week Laura Cousins chose to make some soap. She had all the ingredients: the drain cleaner, essential oil and rain water. "But I didn't have the sugar thermometers I needed, or a stainless steel pan, or a pair of rubber gloves."

Most of us would have remedied the deficit with a quick trip to the high street. But Cousins has made a resolution to buy nothing new for 12 months. "I placed a 'wanted' ad on freecycle for the things I needed," she explains as we drive through her home town, Bournemouth, "and I got the pan and the gloves. But nobody had a spare sugar thermometer. So I popped round to my neighbour Joyce's house. She's quite elderly and admitted that since her stroke, her jam-making days were over. But she said I could rummage through her cupboard and see what I could find. In exchange for a thermometer, I gave her some eggs from our chickens, and promised a bar of the soap. My resolution allows me to buy essentials and barter for other things I need."


Read the rest of the story here: http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article1800829.ece

[janie]

That just sounds silly to me.

[Ludi]

Wow, not buying food, that would be hard...

Oh, ok, buying essentials.

I guess it would depend on what one considers "essential."

[Elena99]

Are there two of these threads? I thought I saw one earlier where someone made a comment about gas counting.

[Amy SF]

Are there two of these threads? I thought I saw one earlier where someone made a comment about gas counting.

I did a search and nothing else came up on this subject.

[Dirty Martini]

hm..

no thanks. I like toilet paper, TYVM.

[Amy SF]

Toilet paper is an "essential" and thus would be exempt from the consumption ban.

Methinks some people are missing the whole point of froogalism. :confused:

[Elena99]

I think it's a neat concept, myself. :)

[jeezycreezy]

I think it's a wonderful idea and everybody should do it…except me. :smoke:

Cheers!
TJ

[kpickell]

Nah, sounds like a yuppy thing. It'd be great though if they coupled this anti-consumerism with selling all their possessions and giving the money to the poor. People that do that, rock.

[Dirty Martini]

Well I didn't read the article, just the stuff you quoted.
Statements like:

"they've pledged to go without shopping for a year"

and

"Cousins has made a resolution to buy nothing new for 12 months."
made me think they weren't buying anything for a year.

Turns out, that's not true.



* Avoid processed food. Buy locally if possible and avoid supermarkets.
* It's fine to buy basic toiletries. Extras, such as make-up, can be found in charity shops if you're prepared to rummage.
* Underwear is OK.
* You can buy lightbulbs - if you're replacing bad old bulbs with new energy- saving versions
* Pharmaceuticals and health products are allowed. But with your new cook-from-scratch lifestyle, you might ask yourself if you really need those vitamins and supplements
* Shoes - utilitarian only. The froogles point out that this is no dispensation for those Manolos.
* Everything else must be bought second-hand, shared, borrowed or bartered.


So you can buy things from your 2ndhand store, corner store, farmer's market, and Target (if it's light bulbs, underwear, drugs, and shoes).

btw - you should never ever use someone else's makeup.

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

Ewwww.... 2nd hand MAKE UP? blechhh... now THAT gives me the willys!

Otherwise - the whole "froogle" thing has it's merits (I hate stupid spellings for things) - heck, I lived almost exactly that way for over two years! But turning it into the next faddish lifestyle? Nah, just a phase people will grow tired of...

[Gita]

I thought that was normally called "poverty."

[veggienurse]

I can understand this concept but there are some things that can lead to more harm than good. Being a nurse, I highly recommend not using someone else's makeup. I can imagine the eye infections.........not a good sight!!

[IamJen]

Hm..there's this guy here in the UK (I'm hunting for the story but no luck so far), that is going to attempt to live a brand free life for a year, which I also find interesting. I saw the story on the news one night. He realizes that he may need to buy things, but he's only going to buy bulk/nonbranded, etc.

[jeezycreezy]

I have decided to be a flexifroogle. This is defined as: "a froogle who shops."

I'll abstain from rampant consumerism except for when I choose not to.

[Coney]

That's amazing. What does a person do for food, though? If you can't grow your own grains, you'll have to buy them somewhere. Veggies and fruits you could grow if you had the space, but what about bread?

I always try to take on this idea of not buying anything when my husband goes out on tour. I think I've gone 3 days without purchasing anything. It's quite a challenge. He takes off tomorrow for 3 weeks, I"ll see how long I can go. I'll stock up on canned goods and frozen veggies, then cut the ties of consumerism!

[Ludi]

You can grow your own grains if you have a big yard, but if you're trying to garden for calories, grain takes up a lot of space for the calories produced and you might be better off growing certain root crops, or a nut tree.