When Southwest D.C.'s Keya Chatterjee opens her closet, a complete lack of anything new is showcased. "That, a friend gave to me. This, was my sisters."

Believe it or not, its been well over a year since Keya and her husband took their purchasing power offline. "There's just so much stuff out there, its amazing how much stuff we've produced as a society and don't use," said Keya. 

Deciding to live by the compact, a growing movement that started in 2006 in San Francisco, the Chatterjees agreed to buy nothing new. They decided to barter, borrow, or buy second hand for a year.

"Its not about depriving myself, its just something that's fun and interesting and a puzzle," said Keya. 

That meant when needs popped up, using eBay, Craigslist, hitting second hand stores, and asking around. "I needed a safety vest because I ride my bike to work. I sent an email out to friends and turns out somebody did [have one]."

"Those stools, our neighbors would be shocked to see in our house, because they put them in the trash behind our house, we just brought them in the house and cleaned them," acknowledged Keya. 

Dvds and books came from the library, their bed is used, their stove came from a neighbor. But after a whole year of not buying new, Keya says there are times when new is better. "We bought a used washing machine, ended up really regretting because it was really inefficient compared to new ones today."

While still largely living by the compact, Keya did get a new energy efficient washer, insulating blinds so they don't need heat or air-conditioning, a hand cranked radio, and a battery charged by riding a bike that powers some of her home's lights. "We buy things that are specifically for the purpose of reducing our consumption." 

While the exact number of compacter is hard to determine, recent estimates say about 9,000 people worldwide have joined the movement by not buying for a year. Locally, compact Internet groups have about 100 members.

What makes The Compact compelling for average Americans is that there are no hard-and-fast rules; you won't be ostracized for buying a designer handbag or any other slips in consumerism. Members simply try to conserve the best they can. When necessary, they borrow, barter or buy second hand. Food and hygienic purchases are OK, but the idea is to cut back there too. 

Food prices in April took their biggest one-month leap in 18 years and are rising at a rate well above last year's increase. Milk costs 10.2 percent more than it did a year ago.

On July 16, the Labor Department said consumer prices rose 1.1 percent in June, nearly the fastest pace in a generation. 

Critics say that the U.S. economy would cave in if enough people radically pulled back on spending. But even in a downturn, the ranks of The Compact likely won't grow large enough to pose any threat to the nation's manufacturers. 

The conservation movement is nowhere close to crippling consumerism, however. Even devoted members of The Compact still buy things like shower curtains or kitchen appliances. 

On the Net:
The Compact Group Online

sfcompact.blogspot.com

simplicityatheart.blogspot.com/2006/10/compact.html