Second Nature

Do you feel like you’re drowning in advertisements, clutter, or debt? A no-buy year could help. In a capitalistic society, we're brainwashed to default to buying our way out of our problems. That's what makes a no-buy challenge so much more than a New Year's resolution or an extreme budget. A no-buy or low-buy challenge not only gives you permission to hop off the buy-buy-buy hamster wheel — it also makes you more privy to sneaky marketing and helps you put your money toward what actually makes you happy. These are the kinds of mental shifts that could stick with you for life.  In this episode, we hear from listeners about the different ways to do a no-buy or low-buy year, and what they've learned about themselves and their finances in the process.🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.📞 Want to submit your Community Classified? We'd love to hear from you!📱 Want to try no-buy challenge join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Amandine Thomas, Cara Sanford, Daria, Justina, Melissa TanEditing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - What is a no-buy year? (03:18) - A no-buy new year’s resolution made Amandine more stylish and saved her lots of money. (06:43) - Melissa has found freedom and simplicity in her no-buy challenge. (11:20) - Daria’s secondhand challenge rippled out from clothes to other parts of her life. (13:15) - After switching to part-time work, Cara was still able to live comfortably due to the success of her no-buy challenge.

[This episode originally aired April 2,2025] The secondhand clothing market isn't equipped for textile recycling. So when your donated clothes don't sell, where do they end up?With the rise of overconsumption and fast fashion, clothes have piled up in thrift stores, landfills, and incinerators around the world. Countries like Ghana and Chile are dealing with fashion waste from countries like the U.S., UK, and China, and the impacts are vast. Mountains of clothes lead to fires, polluted waterways, dying ocean life, and lost livelihoods. So how do we stop the cycle? How can we donate with purpose and dignity, and get fashion brands to actually take accountability for the full lifecycle of their clothes?Listen to hear what our community does with their used clothes, how a new law could force companies to clean up their act, and how Los Angeles's Suay Sew Shop is dealing with the untenable amount of clothing donations from wildfire relief. ➡️ If you want to support Suay Sew Shop, you can browse their site here and contribute to their Textiles Aren't Trash fire relief campaign. By the way, you can earn rewards for Suay purchases and donations in the Commons app!🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading in the full show notes.📞 Want to submit your Community Classified? We'd love to hear from you!📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Holly Kane, Maya Roman, Nate Rauh-Bieri, NickEditing and engineer: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Introduction (02:45) - Mirrored catastrophes in Ghana and California amplify the clothing crisis (06:43) - Community voices: What do you do with clothes you don't want anymore? (12:00) - n interview with Sumaq Alvarado del Aguila, one of the leaders at SUAY Sew Shop — an LA-based vertical sewing and production shop that's recycling millions of pieces of clothing (30:17) - Sanchali shares progress for clothing company regulation and responsibility (35:12) - Last looks and points to remember

From the halls of government to the depths of the ocean, how deep does the plastic crisis go, and can we recycle our way out of this mess?Plastic has completely permeated our existence, and its effects are far-reaching, from soil to glaciers. Recycling was supposed to take care of this mess — or was it?   In this episode, we’ll figure out how the plastic industry is behind one of the biggest greenwashing schemes of all time, the current state of recycling, and why Big Oil is banning big on plastic. We’ll also hear from our plastic-perplexed-but-optimistic community and our expert, Head of Research at The Ocean Cleanup, Laurent Lebreton. Episode CreditsListener contributions: Anna, Mac Hansen, Sawyer, Sobia Zaidi, Tiffany, Valli Divya, Rachel RadvanyEpisode expert: Laurent Lebreton, Head of Research at The Ocean CleanupEditing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:17) - Intro (08:12) - How does our community handle plastic recycling? (12:31) - Interview with Laurent Lebreton, Head of Research at The Ocean Cleanup (32:22) - How Big Oil is banking on plastic. (39:54) - Outro

We see greenwashing everywhere — from product labels to fossil fuel ads. But it goes even deeper than that. Greenwashing gets in the way of climate policy changes too!On this episode of Second Nature, we’re hearing how our community dodges greenwashing, talking through 4 questions to ask yourself to see if a brand is greenwashing, and we’re talking to Dr. Mara Einstein about how greenwashing has evolved with the rise of social media.   📱 To join the Commons community and see our expert brand ratings, download the app.🚫 Check out the Dirty Money list.📞 Want to submit your Community Classified? We'd love to hear from you!🌎 Find further reading and citations in the full show notes.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Obehi Ehimen, Louka, Leïla Six, Nicole Collins, Verity, Danielle  Bird [s2], Bo Meisl, Kenzie Rattray, Grace HebertEpisode expert: Dr. Mara EinsteinEditing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Companies have gotten really good at greenwashing (02:43) - How to know if a company is greenwashing (07:54) - How our community finds and avoids greenwashing (11:57) - Interview with Dr. Mara Einstein about the background go greenwashing and how social media has perpetuated it. (36:00) - Taking collective action against greenwashing

For the past three seasons of the Second Nature, hundreds of you have shared climate actions you take in our own homes — composting, avoiding overconsumption, eating less meat. These practices give us a strong foundation for what comes next. ‍This season, we’re focusing our energy outward and making our efforts bigger by proxy with the help of community. This first episode serves as a mission statement for our season of community and connection, and we are extremely honored to have our first guest of the season be the one and only Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.‍Be sure to listen to the end of the episode to hear our first-ever Community Classifieds — an audio bulletin board of community climate efforts to join around the world. Want to submit your Community Classified? We'd love to hear from you!🌎 See photos of our contributors and find further reading and citations in the full show notes.📱 To join the Commons community, download the app.📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Amandine Thomas,Braden Marazzo-Nowicki, Liv, Melissa Tan, Willa StoutenbeekEpisode expert: Dr. Ayana Elizabeth JohnsonEditing and engineering: Evan Goodchild‍Hosting and production: Katelan Cunningham (00:00) - Intro (02:32) - How our community is taking collective action (05:45) - Transition to systemic thinking (07:36) - Interview with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (23:55) - Outro (26:05) - Community Classifieds