Free Stores

How To Start A Free Store In Your Community

December 24, 2024 Chana Widawski, Grassroots Economic Organizing. Create! Anti-capitalist, Community, Free Stores, Zero waste

If you are moved by the abundance of waste in your neighborhood, are concerned about your neighbors in need, are a fan of building and strengthening community, want to take action to reject capitalism, or just enjoy the mystery of seeing colorful displays of random items, each with a story, you’re not alone! And that’s great news because teamwork is the dreamwork for creating a free store or neighborhood sharing hub. Free stores are an extension of the gift economy, where all items are available to anyone at no charge.

The US Moneyless Economy Is Booming

September 8, 2023 April M. Short, In These Times. Create! Communities, Consumerism, Free Stores, Recycling

Humans have a serious stuff problem. We keep making and buying new things when most of the time we could find those things in great condition, secondhand. Instead, we’re making trash at such a rate that an unfathomable 40 percent of the ocean’s surface is now covered in trash islands, and there is literally more than a ton of trash for each one of the 8 billion people on this planet (9 billion tons, and growing). If these heaps of waste (the lion’s share of which is produced by corporations rather than individual households) aren’t mortifying enough to drive people toward the free economy of reuse, maybe the lack of a price tag is — especially given the staggering wealth gap and cost-of-living crisis in the United States.

Free Stores Offer An Alternative To The Exploitative Capitalist Economy

October 4, 2022 Ella Fassler, Truthout. Create! Capitalism, Cooperatives, Free Stores, New York (NY)

Queens, New York - We all love a good bargain, and are sometimes willing to go to great lengths to secure one. But for a few hours at Woodbine, an experimental hub in Ridgewood, Queens, New York, thrifting was entirely free and there wasn’t a catch. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a flood of people showed up to the space 30 minutes before its “Free Store” event was supposed to begin. At a free store, people are encouraged to bring things they no longer need, but are too nice to throw away, and take things they want or need without any questions asked. It’s meant to be an experimental space for building an economy based in solidarity, not sales or barter, and to harness the immense amounts of waste and excess generated in capitalist economies.

How Free Stores Fight Waste, Connect Communities And Foster Resilience

August 21, 2022 Joanna Haugen, Resilience. Create! Community, Finance and the Economy, Free Stores, Poverty

For many people, the daily reality is dire: As of May 2022, 58 percent of Americans (approximately 150 million adults) are living paycheck to paycheck. Inflation recently hit a 40-year high, with prices for food, rent, energy, and basic consumer goods increasing by the day. Despite this, the federal minimum wage remains locked in at $7.25 an hour — a rate that hasn’t increased since 2009 — and while wages have been increasing, they aren’t keeping pace with the cost of living. Meanwhile, the mitigation and management of excessive waste is a concurrent issue. As the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic wane, families who are downsizing their lives or cleaning out their closets face the challenge of finding a new home for their excess stuff — or simply dumping it in a landfill.

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