Freeganism - denial of consumerism

Nowadays, you can increasingly see people rummaging through trash cans, choosing what they can eat or use in some way. People picking up half-eaten leftovers from plates in public cafes is also not uncommon. Most of them, of course, are ordinary beggars, who evoke a feeling of pity in some, disgust in others, and both in others. But among this army of “recyclers” there are also those for whom such collecting is simply a philosophy, a way of life. These people are followers of “freeganism”; they deny all the principles of the existing “consumer society” and fundamentally minimize their participation in the current economic system.

Freeganism appeared in the mid-90s of the last century, as one of the manifestations of anti-globalism. The term “freegan” is a fusion of two English words “free” and “vegan”.

Freeganism is a kind of response to a situation common in rich and prosperous countries, when it is more profitable for the owner of the goods to simply throw away the entire batch than to sort out suitable products or organize sales at reduced prices.

In addition, in rich countries, wealthy residents often throw away things not because they have become unusable, but because they are simply out of fashion, tired, etc. And this applies not only to small items of clothing or household items.

The ideology of freeganism is based on the fact that a person should consume only what he needs, and only in the necessary minimum. A person should also try to help others and be generous.

In America and rich European countries, stores can send entire batches of perfectly good products to landfills because several samples did not pass quality control.

By sorting such already discarded goods, it is quite possible to collect for yourself not only the necessary minimum of completely edible products, but also much more. The same applies to industrial goods.

A true follower of freeganism digs in a landfill not only and not so much in order to get himself the minimum necessary to maintain life.

Without entering into trade and financial relations, he seeks to deprive his side of monetary support from those corporations that are engaged in the production, transportation and sale of these goods. This is the freegan's contribution to the fight against globalization.

Freegans also do not enter into monetary relations with each other. They do not sell the things they find, but exchange them for what they need.

In earning their livelihood, freegans must abide by their code of honor. For example, they should only dig into landfills near supermarkets or apartment buildings. Waste dumps near private houses are beyond their competence.

Also, the code of honor requires that a freegan must put all garbage back into the bins after he has rummaged through the landfill. If a freegan finds any documents in a landfill containing personal or important information, he should not touch them.

The freegan movement is actually gaining more and more supporters every year. Freeganism is most common in prosperous Sweden, the USA, Great Britain, South Korea, Brazil and Estonia.