Contact

Trying to reach us?

We can only respond to questions about our mission, open source documents, philosophy and history. You can reach us about these subjects via email to thebuynothingproject@gmail.com.

All issues pertaining to local group rule changes, leadership, members, and the like need to be brought directly to those groups. The Buy Nothing Project acts as a resource for people around the world who want to set up their own gift economy groups, but these groups are all locally created and managed. Local group leaders are solely responsible for what happens in their groups. If you have an issue that can’t be resolved, we encourage you to set up your own new group using the tools provided on this website. Visit our Start A Group page to find out how.

Looking for a Buy Nothing Project group for your community?
Visit our Find A Group page for a list of all our official hyper-local gift economies.

Yours in Buying Nothing,
Liesl Clark & Rebecca Rockefeller, Buy Nothing Project co-founders

736 thoughts

  1. Hi, I’m a follower of Trashbackwards on Pinterest. What would be expected of an administrator of a local buy nothing project page?

  2. Hi Kristen –
    Our local admins help by answering questions, inviting people to their group, and, in the beginning, seeding their group with offers, asks, loans, and posts expressing gratitude. These are the basic post categories in our groups, and it really helps people to see all of them so they understand the culture we’re developing through this experiment. We have more information about how to start a Buy Nothing group here: https://buynothingproject.org/start-a-group/

  3. Greetings! I run a non-profit called Food Rescue in Vallejo, CA and we do much of what you are proposing, but in a less formal way. I’d love to host a Buy Nothing Vallejo group! I’ve done some writing on what I call the economics of generosity. I think it’s great how you’ve structured things and I’m eager to get started.

    Here’s a link to our Food Rescue Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-Rescue/242371599128370?ref=hl

    Please let me know how I can start a group through you. I already have a pretty generous community around me that would jump right in!

    Thanks,
    Adrienne Waterman

  4. Hi Adrienne – Your Food Rescue group sounds amazing! I’m off to click through that link above as soon as I finish writing this comment. We’d love to work with you to start up a Buy Nothing Vallejo group. Send us at email to thebuynothingproject(at)gmail.com and we’ll get things set up. It sounds like this would be a natural extension of what you’re already doing!

  5. Hi, Liesl & Rebecca, I joined the “Buy Nothing Bainbridge” group mostly to see what the movement was about. I am utterly intrigued by the idea. I myself am a recovering hoarder and it took going to Uganda and Kenya to discover that not only did I have too much stuff, but so much stuff in the U.S. is utterly wasted. I also discovered that a sense of community and hospitality were two of the attributes that I found most appealing in those that I met during my visit. I also discovered their resourcefulness, their ability to take something that we might view as trash and turn it into something truely marvelous, for example, a friend of mine is taking broken laptops and repairing them for use in a Mobile Computer Classroom project in his area. I have mostly been impressed with the creativity of the BNB group. I just love the giving vase, the giving bench, the shared sourdough, replacing an received object with a squash! It’s great! I would very much like to start a local group (Bremerton? Central Kitsap?) How can I try to replicate your little experiment down here? Blessings ~ Tammi

  6. Hi Tammi –
    Thanks! We’d love to help you set up a Buy Nothing Bremerton or Buy Nothing Central Kitsap group! We’ve got a Buy Nothing North Kitsap group growing, and we’d love to see this grow across all of Kitsap. If you’re interested in being the hyper-local admin for a new group, we’ll set the page up and help out as admins as well. Send me at email to thebuynothingproject@gmail.com and I’ll send you all of the detailed information and get things rolling!

  7. Hello? Ever heard of “Freecycle.org”?? There are Freecycle groups in many cities across the U.S.! It is NOT barter, it is FREE, no strings attached. Items allowed include foods as well as almost anything! They have common-sense rules, and the Freecycle community welcomes new members all the time! Check it out!

  8. Hi Jo –
    Yes, of course we’ve heard of Freecycle! I’ve been a member of my local Freecycle group since it started up here. What we’re doing is actually quite different, and it doesn’t replace Freecycle at all. My local Freecycle group does not allow food to be offered, it limits the number of “asks” members can post, it doesn’t allow lending or borrowing, I don’t believe members can gift services to each other (only tangible goods), and members can’t “see” and “talk” with each other online, everyone participating in group discussions.
    We encourage people to ask for whatever they want or need, even if that seems excessive; we trust our members to give as they desire to people who are asking for things. We encourage people to gift services when they’d like to (a ride home from the doctor, free help setting up a website, a free cooking class, etc). We allow people to offer and ask for food (garden produce, home-made vinegar, extra casserole, etc); we trust people to use their common sense and accept only the food they feel safe eating. We have almost daily group discussions about what we’re doing and how things could improve, and we also have some discussions that are just plain funny. Because of the platform we’re using, members can easily see other member’s profile pictures and personal pages, and can see what friends they have in common in the real world – This goes a long way to supporting our mission, which is different from Freecycle’s. Freecycle’s mission (and it’s a great one) is to keep useful items out of the landfills. Our mission is to create local gift economies that tie people together, to inspire a rethinking of use, reuse, and sharing of resources within communities. (One quick clarification, since there seems to be some confusion about this: Neither Freecycle nor our Buy Nothing Project groups allow bartering or trading)

  10. Hi Liesl and Rebecca — did you get my email last week requesting your help in starting a BuyNothingBurien group? We’re ready to go!

  11. Pingback: Buy Nothing Groups = Random Acts of Kindness All Day Long | Buy Nothing Project

  12. I’d like some more information on how to start a group. I’m from Duluth MN which is a city with a small town feel. If you have 10 friends on facebook here the chances are high that each one of them knows at least 10 other people that you also know. It’s amazing the connections you get when you start friending people. We already sort of swap amongst ourselves at a steady pace or do favors. So something like this would really work well!

  16. I would love to be part of this amazing group!! Can someone please approve me on Buy Nothing Bainbridge please?! We are brand new to the island, but have heard what a great group this is from my neighbor. Thanks so much! 🙂

  17. Hi Kimberly: Welcome to the island. I don’t see you in the queue to join Buy Nothing Bainbridge. If you go to the group and request membership, I’ll add you right away.
    — Liesl at The Buy Nothing Project

  20. Hi,
    I see there are no Buy Nothing groups in my area, and I’m just discovering Buy Nothing, and it seems like an excellent idea, and would like to start a group for Upper Bucks County, PA or even Bucks County.

    Thank you,
    Jennifer Miller

  21. What a great idea would love to start a group in Kentucky if you would consider helping with set up

  22. Hi Liesl, I’m also in Duluth, MN and would love to get connected to whatever group has started. Thanks, Mari Anna

  23. Hi, left a message under Start A Group (I think). Posting here too. Please help me start one for Ballard, Seattle, WA. We’re a neighborhood in NW Seattle. Thanks!

  24. Hi Deb: We’d love to start a group in your area. I’ve sent you a note via email, so please check your inbox. Looking forward to hearing back from you!
    — Liesl at The Buy Nothing Project

  25. Hi Jennifer: Thanks for your note. I sent you an email recently, letting you know that we’d love to set up a Buy Nothing group in Upper Bucks County. Please do check your inbox and we can get things rolling!
    — Liesl at The Buy Nothing Project

  27. I friend in the Seattle area sent me your link. I am in Eastern North Carolina and would like more information on Buy Nothing Project.

  28. Hi Lisa: We’re just getting started in some Buy Nothing groups in North Carolina. I’ll get in touch with you via email to see if you’d be interested in being a local admin for a group where you live. Thanks for your interest in building a local gift economy!

  38. Hi there! I’d love to start a Buy Nothing group in my community – Beacon Hill – a part of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (formerly Gloucester, Ontario). Can you help me get started?

  39. I would love love love to start a group here in Manassas, Virginia. The closest one to me is in Fairfax, but that’s anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour away (gotta love DC traffic!). I’m fully willing to be an admin for the page.

  40. I would like to set up a group in Providence, RI. Doesn’t look like RI has any yet.

  43. I want to join the buynothing orleans group. Sent a request to join but no reply received for over a week. How do I join?

  45. Hi ! We would love for you to be a member of your local Buy Nothing community group. Have a look through this list to find one in your area, click on the link, and request to join. If there is not yet a group where you reside, let us know if you’d be interested in being a local Admin for a group, and ask us how to get one started … it’s free, and easy ! https://buynothingproject.org/find-a-group/

  46. Hi Scott ! the local admins for Buy Nothing Orléans have sent you messages in response to your request, however they are landing in your ‘other’ folder. Due to facebook limitations, non-friends are not able to message each other directly because of privacy settings. Do have a look around the messaging system so that you can respond 🙂 Thanks for your interest in joining our social experiment.

  47. Hello, I am interested in joining and have done so twice without ever being accepted. Can you please tell me what to do next?

  48. Hi Trish ! I’m not sure which group you’ve requested to join, however, I’d like to direct you to the ‘other’ folder that Facebook sometimes sends your messages to, depending on the privacy settings for your profile. It could be that the Admin for the group has tried to reach you to verify your location, and those messages are waiting for you. When in facebook, if you click on the icon for messages, you will see that Inbox is in a bold font. Next to Inbox you will see the word Other in a light gray font … when you click on that word “Other” you will find perhaps some long lost messages 😉 Hope this helps !

  49. I’m just learning of your project and this its brilliant. I’m thinking of starting a group in Kanata, Ontario because there isn’t one. I have no idea who I can contact in my area for tips. Can you please advise?
    Thanks!
    Jodi

  50. Hi Jodi ! thanks for your enthusiasm for the Buy Nothing Project. There are already active giving groups for the Kanata area in Ontario, and we’d love to have you join. The mission of the BNP is to foster hyper-local gift economies, and so in keeping with the principle to ‘give where you live,’ there are two groups for the area, and each member is asked to join their most local group. Here are the links (you may have to copy/paste the URLs into your browser) :
    BN Kanata North https://www.facebook.com/groups/1450247665225146/
    BN Kanata South https://www.facebook.com/groups/1450686961853606/

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