The Compact: "Don't Buy New" Consumerism Group Recruits Thousands

A Burgeoning Movement Among Consumers?

We first heard about them a year ago. Money magazine profiled Jonathan and Miranda Edels of Rochester, Minnesota in their August 2006 issue. At the time, they had four children, a fifth on the way, and a $90,000 combined annual income. Jonathan, 29, was a surgical resident. Wife Miranda, then 34, taught graphic design. What made the Edels particularly noteworthy was Miranda's decision to join The Compact. She entered the marriage with $50,000 of debt and a love of shopping.

This group was formed to go beyond recycling to try to counteract the negative global environmental and socioeconomic impacts of American consumer culture and to resist global corporatism. Members support their local businesses and farms whenever possible. They purposefully reduce clutter and waste in their homes and generally follow a path to simplify their lives.

Lots of people want to do that. What makes these folks so special? They exist only as an online group that's growing like crazy. In January alone, they signed up 1,000 new members.

The Compact resides as a Yahoo! group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecompact. Membership is by invitation. You fill out the form and explain in a couple of sentences why you want to join. A few minutes later, you'll receive an email reply and instructions on how to proceed if you were accepted.

The principles of the The Compact are straightforward but not easy to follow. Members agree not to buy new products of any kind from either stores or web sites. If they must replace something, they must borrow it or buy it used.

Most individuals can immediately think of roadblocks to living this way. Keeping that in mind, the group initially established some automatic exceptions. They recommend that members use the standard of what a "fair and reasonable" person would do regarding:

Food, drink, and necessary medicine (forget the Botox injections)

Necessary cleaning products (but not equipment to use them)

Socks and underwear if not fashion statements

Pajamas for kids