Buy Nothing

Buy Nothing is a worldwide movement that creates neighborhood-based gift economies in which people give, receive, lend, and share goods without buying, selling, trading, or bartering. Founded in 2013 by two women on Bainbridge Island, Washington, the project has more than 14 million members in 50+ countries and more than 8,000 Facebook groups.

The basic idea is: give what you have, ask for what you need, and build relationships with your neighbors. Someone may offer a chair they no longer need, ask for gardening tools, lend a ladder for the weekend, or give away surplus food, clothing, books, plants, furniture, or household supplies. Gratitude and generosity are considered more important than monetary exchange.

Buy Nothing is more than a way to get free stuff. It is an experiment in an alternative economic relationship based on abundance rather than scarcity, reciprocity rather than commerce, and relationships rather than transactions. Items that might otherwise enter the waste stream can remain useful, while neighbors who might never otherwise meet become connected.

Groups are hyper-local: members usually participate in the Buy Nothing community that serves their neighborhood. The project aims to create a “web of connections” among real-life neighbors.

Oakland Buy Nothing groups

（can be located here https://www.findyourgroup.com/)

• Allendale / Jefferson / Harrington

• Bella Vista / Cleveland Heights / Eastlake

• Downtown Oakland

• Fruitvale / Jingletown

• Havenscourt

• East Hills / Castlemont

• Reservoir Hills / Meadowbrook / Oak Tree

• Stonehurst / Las Palmas / Chabot Park

• Upper Telegraph / Fairview Park / North Rockridge

• Longfellow

• Piedmont Avenue & Rose Garden

• South Rockridge & Shafter