What is true cost? It’s most commonly defined as an economic model that involves including externalities into the pricing of goods and services. These externalities are most apparent in harm caused to living beings, including the environment as a whole. True cost includes everything from the depletion of non-renewable resources to pollution from shipping the product to you. Toothpaste from China may be cheap in price, but if it has anti-freeze in it, your true cost just went way up.

I love the concept - it applies the old adage of "you get what you pay for" in a new way. More importantly, it also allows us to calculate the real impact of our choices. For an everyday, real-world example, if I need to run an errand and decide to drive, at a minimum it will cost money for gas, add mileage to the car, and emit CO2. Even though I can’t really put a specific dollar cost on the CO2, at least I can recognize that there is a clear cost to the environment. If I walk, it only costs a little extra time, which I usually have. The better choice becomes clear.

The Reduce-Reuse-Recycle hierarchy comes in to play most often when considering purchases. I say "hierarchy," because this really is how it should be used: the best choice is reducing consumption. So, although I’ve been feeling pressure to have the coolest green products, it’s actually better not to buy anything new. At all.

To see how this felt, a week ago I decided not to buy anything new products (not including food, of course). This eliminates the use of resources in every stage of a product’s life cycle, from raw materials to disposal. It actually wasn’t too hard where I was concerned, but a baby shower broke my resolve – surely, it’s tacky to take used merchandise to a baby shower!?! I suppose I could have made something, but Martha Stewart I ain’t!

Gifts aside, this experiment felt really good, and not just for the sense of reducing consumption and saving money. More than that, it has taken the pressure off - I don’t have to have a new organic cotton shirt, because I don’t need another shirt, much less a new one. Whew! And I’m actually greener for it!

Of course, a complete ban on stuff can’t go on forever. But there are plenty of great options for reusing merchandise – the second level of the hierarchy – including thrift stores and garage sales. Check out Google’s new maps tool, which allows you to find all garage sales listed on craigslist near you. Cool events like swap-o-ramas are also popping up all over. Who needs bamboo underwear? OK, bad example.

Image credit: www.swaporamarama.org