Oxford is my world Your – Guide to saving the planet!

LIFESTYLE: Shopping

Everything you buy has used energy in the sourcing of its raw materials, manufacture and transport. Before they've even been bought consumer goods have generated carbon emissions and electrical equipment uses energy over the course of its lifetime. Finally when goods are disposed of more energy is used to transport them to landfill or recycle them.

For this reason, if you want to shop greener you should buy less of what you don't really need, make sure the stuff you do buy will last and, wherever possible, buy second hand and give away unwanted goods. Furthermore ‘consumer power’ has never been stronger, so every spending decision you make could potentially affect what you see on shelves in the future.

Very Easy

- Buy second hand from car boot sales. The largest one is on Sundays at the Kassam Stadium. You don't have to bring a car though as you can get the No. 1 bus from the city centre.
- Buy and sell things in the small ads in the local paper, Daily Info or web-based auction sites like eBay and Oxford-based Scoodi.
- The Oxford Antique Fair in Gloucester Green on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month is good for antique furniture and vintage items. There are also regular Vintage Fashion Fairs at venues in Oxford.
- Shop local and don't use a car – you'll be in good company: a recent study in Bristol showed that 78% of people didn't drive to the shops (44% walked, 8% cycled and 16% took the bus).
- Orinoco Scrapstore run a re-use project that rescues household paint, garden tools and a range of business waste from a tragic end in a landfill or incinerator and makes them available for free or at low cost to anyone who wants them.
- Instead of spending money and natural resources on new DVDs, why not rent your DVDs by-post for a fraction of what they cost to buy (less than £2 each). Or visit your local library to browse the latest releases and request new ones.
- Get used books and CDs from Oxford's second hand bookshops or from Amazon for a fraction of their new prices.
- There are a number of unique charity shops in Oxford, such as ‘No Tat’ in The Covered Market, Age Concern on St Clements and the first ever Oxfam shop on Broad Street is still going strong!
- Choose not to consume as much and make things last longer.

Fairly Easy

- Consumer choices: use your power as a consumer to support low energy, long-lasting or organic products.
- Why shop when you can swap? Contact your local Community Action Group or look out for posters for their regular Saturday Swap Shops.
- Buy A+ or A++-Rated appliances: as it not only saves you energy and money, it also encourages manufacturers to make their products more efficient. The Energy Saving Trust and Thames Valley Energy Advice Centre have more information on energy saving products.
- Buy recycled products online at the Recycled Products website.

Not Quite So Easy

- Why not de-clutter by holding your own swap shop amongst your friends and family, any left over items can be given to charity or put on Freecycle.
- Shop less, live more: do something more rewarding (and less costly) with your time such as volunteering for a local group or charity, for ideas visit our Leisure and Communities sections.

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