In ‘Buy Nothing’ Facebook groups, Brookline’s gift economy thrives

From doorknobs to limited edition hot dog-themed Red Sox hats, Brookline’s gift economy is thriving, helping residents furnish their apartments and even adopt aquatic pets. Buy Nothing—-a global movement started in 2013 by two friends, Rebecca Rockefeller and Liesel Clark, in Bainbridge Island, Washington, to reduce waste—-encourages 7.5 million participants internationally to offer and ask for anything and everything, attracting those moving into (and out of) town, cleaning out their closets or hunting down a hot commodity. One Brooklynite searched for and found dryer lint to use as hamster bedding. The hyper-local virtual communities, in which neighbors within a small geographic radius trade free goods, exist on Facebook and the BuyNothing app. Brookline’s Buy Nothing South Facebook group founder and co-administrator, Madeline Fine, 77, is a retired art teacher and a Brookline native. Get the latest Brookline news free in your inbox. All fields required. You may unsubscribe at any time. “I wish we had some way of measuring how much has not been thrown into Brookline trash,” said Fine. “That would be tons and tons.” Brookline’s Buy Nothing North chapter had just over 600 members in 2018, and has since expanded nearly fifteen-fold. The original Facebook group has over
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