I was thinking about this today. I try to research products and save up before buying something, so I invest in quality (also trying to buy responsibly due to environment), but sometimes I buy something expensive and then half a year later realize I didn’t use it as much as I had hoped to… but feel bad about donating / recycling the thing so soon since I paid a lot of money for it.
Another example is shaving razors. I’d like to buy a proper, metal one with a replaceable blade, but then I’m thinking how much nicer it is to just dispose of it once I am done (no need to clean it or sharpen it).
Any thoughts, experiences, comments are appreciate it. Really interested about what people think about this topic!
You’re not “giving to a cause”. I worked at donation centres for quite a while, and there’s a good chance that your stuff got tossed, and if not then it was picked up by a flipper. If you want it to be put into the hands of someone who needs it, you need to do it yourself.
I agree that it is a good idea to consider who in your community accepts donations, and try to make a mindful decision. As a matter of fact, I donate to a VERY small operation that I trust to be good stewards of what they receive.
I wish more people had something like that. Unfortunately “goodwill” at this point is just a fancy synonym for “feel-good junkyard”.