[Graphic by Canadian designer Sarah Lazarovic

Under the category of Friends Doing Fabulous Things:

A Lesson in Buyerarchy
Impacting Waste Reduction at the Source
by Janet Williams

[A Buyerarchy Lesson was originally published on Sustrana’s blogsite in February 2015.]

Here’s an experience each of us has every day: we discover we “need” something. Some tangible thing in order to do our job or accomplish something. And we don’t have it. Nothing in the desk drawer. The supply closet is out. What’s our first response? Do you fill out a purchase order, drive to a store, or order it on Amazon? That’s true for so many of us, but buying something new should become a last resort, reached only after thought given to alternatives and creative options. It’s worth slowing down the purchase decision-making process and examining these other options because, let’s face it, the most “sustainable” purchase is no purchase at all!

Canadian designer Sarah Lazarovic creates wonderful drawings and charts about rampant consumerism and living with less. She recently produced a graphic she calls a “Buyerarchy of Needs.” It is a great reminder about finding alternatives to always buying something new.  Continue reading…