Used Christmas presents...why not?

Offering used Christmas gifts is a great way to reduce pressure on the planet by reducing resource extraction, energy and transport expenditure and waste production.

If you have young people who suffer from eco-anxiety or older ones who are aware of environmental issues, buying used items is a good way to address their concerns. These purchases are good for the environment and it's a great way to buy local.

Indeed, even if the object was made in China, for example, its used purchase becomes local, because all the profits remain in Quebec. Even though in most cases, it is non-profit organizations that run second-hand goods stores, so there are additional positive social spinoffs.

A large selection of gifts is available to us in the user. Whether it's sporting goods, CDs, DVDs, video games, books, clothing, furniture, antiques, kitchenware, electrical appliances, etc., you can find almost anything in a used version.

There are several places where you can get these items. Let us mention flea markets, garage sales, bazaars, auctions, charity counters, thrift stores, resource stores, classified ads, bulletin boards and finally the various distribution tools, mainly on the Internet: Pacs, Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace, AbeBooks. In addition, online sales have recently been added by the organization “Our things have a second life”.

You have to overcome certain prejudices when it comes to giving used gifts. However, when one understands the benefits to the environment, one can easily gain recognition from those to whom one gives such a gift. In addition, you can often offer a larger gift, because the prices in the user are 20 to 30% lower than those of new objects.

Buying used gifts for Christmas is a good way to continue the tradition of holiday gifts without falling into the abuse of harmful overconsumption for the planet. Personally, I bought the gifts online for my four children, their spouse and my eight grandchildren, in three hours, for a cost of less than $225 and almost all in a used version.