SAN FRANCISCO: Group's rejection of consumerism is catching on

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 12/27/6 | Carolyn Jones

[SmithL]

3,000 people attempt to get by without buying new things -

For Shawn Rosenmoss, the deal-breaker was a drill bit.

John Perry's worst temptation was a plumber's snake for his clogged drain.

Sarah Pelmas and Matt Eddy succumbed to the siren song of new white paint.

But aside from the occasional hardware crises, the Compact -- an ever-growing group who have vowed not to buy anything new except food, medicine and underwear -- is going strong on its first anniversary.

The Compact originated in December 2005 at a San Francisco dinner party, where guests decided to take recycling one step further and go for a year without new purchases. Consumerism, they said, is destroying the world and most of us already own far more than we need.

They called themselves the Compact as a semi-joking reference to the solemn commitment of the Mayflower pilgrims, but the concept is being taken quite seriously and has quickly spread.

They've been featured in newspapers across the United States and Europe and on the "Today" show, "Good Morning America," "CBS Evening News," TV news in China and Poland, and countless shock-jock radio programs. They were offered book contracts and at least two TV reality shows, all of which they turned down because it seemed contrary to the Compact principles.

Almost 3,000 people from six continents have joined the Compact group on Yahoo, and chapters have sprung up around the globe from Alabama to New Zealand.

"It's been staggering," said Compact co-founder John Perry, who works in communications at a Silicon Valley technology company. "We never set out to start a movement or be holier-than-thou models of righteous behavior, but it's been very gratifying to see the impact."

There's also been a mild backlash.

[arthurus]

The vast majority have been staying home...it is evidence that a large number are simply NOT saying that they want those two as their leaders

But they are saying that IT DOESN'T MATTER TO THEM which is the same thing.And they keep electing (or allowing, if you will,) the leftmost legislature on the continent, in Sacramento.

[Porterville]

They really don't believe they have an impact in polluted SF? I saw on a documentary that 99% of the species of natural sea plants alone are non native. It is a garbage town full of smug fart sniffers.

[ElkGroveDan]

But they are saying that IT DOESN'T MATTER TO THEM

No they aren't. They simply aren't paying attention. When they do pay attention they vote quite conservative. 62% voted to ban gay marriage in 2000, over 67% voted for Republicans in the Recall of 2003.

The simple fact is that if you travel through California (avoiding the San Francisco Bay Area, or West LA) the average person you run into will be quite normal, and not politically liberal.

How the lib kooks took charge and remain in charge (for now) is a more complicated discussion.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

**Where is the East LA picture?**

Maryland.

[mrs tiggywinkle]

You can't reason with unreasonable people. This thread is loaded with them, it would seem. sigh.

[Cogadh na Sith]

I believe in thrift, but with these Maoist weirdos, every act is political.

[Richard Kimball]

I went four years without buying anything except gas, food, and personal hygiene stuff. I called it being an undergraduate. Seriously, after I graduated, my mother looked at my clothes and said, "You took all these with you when you left! They're nothing but rags!"