September sees many students migrating to Bellingham for the school year, setting up their new apartments, houses and dorms. For some students, making ends meet while on a budget can be tricky. Buy Nothing, however, presents a unique and free opportunity for students to get what they need.
Operating through Facebook and the Buy Nothing app, users can post their unwanted items or create a post requesting specific things. The cardinal rule, however, is that the group works exclusively through donations. Users are not allowed to ask for items in exchange; the nature of the group is grounded in the idea of gifting something to a neighbor.
“So many students need things as they move into their first apartments,” said Jean Ryan, an admin of Buy Nothing Bellingham’s Downtown, York and Sehome group. “They need connections to folks who can help in their new communities.”
Ryan, who has been an admin of various Buy Nothing groups for nine years, appreciates the community building the site helps encourage. According to their website, Buy Nothing groups are an “experimental hyper-local gift economy” with groups in 44 different nations. Their main goal is to build and strengthen the connections neighbors create with one another through exchange.
“We're trying to be better neighbors to each other,” said Katie Cobb, a fourth-year student at Western Washington University and member of Buy Nothing. “Back in the day, neighbors used to just give each other things when asked.”
While the allure of a good deal can be tempting to students, Bellingham is a big city. Popular second-hand stores like Goodwill and Value Village are miles from Western’s campus and can be tricky to get to without a car.
To remedy this, Buy Nothing breaks their groups up into neighborhoods to ensure no one has to venture too far to get what they need. Bellingham has nine different subgroups, with adjacent areas like Lynden and Mount Vernon having more.
“Buy Nothing is unique in that it is so local,” Cobb said. “I can’t bike to Value Village, but I could bike to the three blocks away Buy Nothing posting.”
Buy Nothing isn’t the only free resource available to Western students. The Career Closet, which is located in Old Main, provides free professional clothing for students who may need them.
Britta Eschete, the event coordinator at Western’s Career Services Center, agreed that it is important for students to have access to free resources like Buy Nothing and the Career Closet.
“Access to resources like the Career Closet allows students and alumni to prepare for important events without the financial burden of buying new clothes and to confidently participate in professional engagements,” Eschete said.
Buy Nothing and the Career Closet are also constantly making a positive impact on our environment. By encouraging Bellingham residents to regift and donate their unwanted items, fewer things are being sent to the landfill.
“It is one of the many threads that lets our community of people, who are interested in their physical impact on the environment, get the things they need without further need to manufacture,” Ryan said
For students interested in joining their local Buy Nothing group, the neighborhood boundaries can be found here. For students curious about the Career Closet, an appointment can be made here.
Aidan Hadley (he/him) is a campus life reporter for The Front this quarter. He is a third-year student at WWU studying news/editorial journalism. Outside of reporting, Aidan enjoys baking, eating good food and finding a new TV show to watch. You can reach him at aidanh.thefront@gmail.com.
