Q: Who is the Free Market for?
People who cannot afford to buy new things? People who love to find a deal? People who care about the environment?
A: All of the above!
Wait, what? How does shopping at the Free Market help the environment?
Just because you can afford to buy new doesn’t mean you should. Any time you find a used item instead of buying a new one, you are saving the resources needed to make that item and the fuel to transport it. A simple example is paper. Today I straightened up the office supplies area, where I found lined notebook paper, note pads, notebooks with lots of paper left in them, and plain paper for drawing and crafts. When you pick these up and use them, you are literally saving the trees needed to make new paper!
The Free Market provides one way to consume less, which we all need to do. Bringing your kids to find school supplies before going to Walmart can be a good lesson for them, to save something from the landfill before buying new. If your home office or club or Sunday School class needs three-ring binders, file folders, pens or pencils, or magazine/notebook organizers, come and “adopt” ours and give them new life.
Everything in the store was given by someone who did NOT want to throw it away but hoped that someone else would get some use out of it. Be that hero!