海角大神

Affordability crunch also spurs creativity, generosity around the globe

It is almost noon in the Nyanya market in Abuja, Nigeria鈥檚 capital, and Aondofa Iornenge rings a small bell in one hand, gesturing with the other at the heap of clothes spread across the tarpaulin at his feet.

鈥淔our hundred naira!鈥� he calls out, again and again. A customer crouches, rummages, picks five pieces, pays, and walks away. He watches her go. 鈥�Na mumu dey go boutique,鈥� the vendor mutters, laughing, a phrase that means 鈥渙nly fools buy new clothes.鈥�

Buying okrika, the local term for secondhand clothing, once carried a stigma here in Nigeria. 鈥淧eople who bought from us were considered very, very poor,鈥� Mr. Iornenge says. That is now changing.

Since 2023, the naira has lost more than half its value against the U.S. dollar, driving up the cost of essentials, including clothing. For many young Nigerians who once shopped brands such as Zara and H&M, secondhand markets have become a practical alternative. 鈥淎 new outfit can cost up to 100,000 naira,鈥� or about $72, says Olagoke Precious, a banker in Port Harcourt, near Nigeria鈥檚 southern coast. 鈥淣ow, I can put together five looks for the same price, and people can hardly notice the difference.鈥�

And it鈥檚 a shift they are embracing.

Mr. Iornenge says his client base has expanded. 鈥淣ow, I sell to doctors, lawyers, and people who buy from us to resell at government offices,鈥� he says.

Across continents, citizens are reconsidering what it means to consume in an era of persistent economic strain.
As inflation, currency shocks, and rising living costs 鈥� now exacerbated by the Iran war 鈥� squeeze households, practices once associated with hardship, such as buying secondhand clothes, sharing goods, or forgoing purchases altogether, are becoming normalized, and even embraced. What emerges is both a set of coping strategies and a broader cultural shift in how communities address affordability.

The good wall

In Sweden, it turns out, there鈥檚 a shared understanding of what it means to be cold. About eight years ago, Tomas Widerl枚v guessed that many Swedes would be willing to offer their spare coats and hats to help others stay warm.
That was when his real estate company created Sweden鈥檚 first Wall of Kindness, garishly pink and generously stocked. Its continued success is in its simplicity: If you have extra coats, hats, or scarves, hang them on the wall. Anyone who needs them is free to take them.

In the years since, the idea has taken off. Each autumn, Widerl枚v & Co. opens Walls of Kindness in Stockholm, Uppsala, V盲ster氓s, and beyond with the help of City Mission, a nonprofit that works with homeless communities throughout Sweden.

The program began with the idea of helping those experiencing homelessness, says Rickard Salzmann, a spokesman for V盲ster氓s City Mission, in an email. 鈥淏ut the need for support has since spread to a much broader group,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭oday, even a single parent with a steady income may turn to us for help, simply because their finances no longer add up.鈥�

鈥淭he willingness to help seems to be growing,鈥� says Mr. Salzmann, 鈥渁lthough the need for support may be increasing at an even faster pace.鈥�

The concept behind these walls are part of a long tradition of mutual aid, forged in times of crisis, after hurricanes or food price spikes. And temporary help often turns into permanent efforts. There鈥檚 a not-for-profit restaurant in Amman, Jordan, for example, that feeds 200 to 250 people per day by allowing customers who are able to pay for the meals. In the same spirit, 鈥淐ommon Pot鈥� community kitchens give people the opportunity to help feed their neighbors across Latin America.

When takeaway coffee is out ...

Not all efforts are collective or visible in public space. In the United States, they are happening in quieter, more individual ways, such as through 鈥淣o Buy鈥� challenges 鈥� pledges people take to purchase only essential items for a set period of time.

In a recent chat among a 鈥淣o Buy鈥� group on Reddit, one member shares his resolve to not stop for a take-out kebab; another asks for help to refrain from online shopping when bored.

Such challenges are not entirely new, but they are gaining popularity through social media posts that call attention to a world that feels more and more unaffordable, while also eminently shoppable. According to a NerdWallet study, 26% of American respondents have attempted a 鈥淣o Spend January.鈥�

Jennifer Beeston, a financial expert and mortgage lender, says these sorts of challenges can 鈥渄efinitely鈥� lead to long-term behavior changes for the better. And, she says, they can be fun.

鈥淎 no-spend month is simple: Do not buy anything you do not need to survive,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚f you have no food in your house, should you buy food? Yes. Should you pay your mortgage? Yes. Should you go out to movies and get three tubs of popcorn and four sodas? Absolutely not. Should you buy that really snazzy gadget that you saw on Instagram? Absolutely not.鈥�

Like in Nigeria, where a generation of resellers has built followings on Instagram and TikTok by styling okrika finds with the same intentionality used for luxury wear, no-buy challenges are popular on social media, especially TikTok and Instagram. The visibility makes them more socially acceptable and fun, says Ms. Beeston.

鈥淲e have a severe lack of financial education in the United States,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd we live in a culture of buy, buy, buy.鈥�

... or buying anything at all.

The kindness trend is also about building connections.

Liesl Clark, co-founder of the Buy Nothing Project, where neighbors share items and services for free, says it enables neighbors who might inhabit different bubbles to get to know one another. 鈥淎nd that is so important in this day and age,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e always say, 鈥橮eople come for the stuff, but they stay for the community.鈥欌��

Since 2021, the Buy Nothing app gets downloaded anywhere from 750 to 1,000 times each day, Ms. Clark says. Currently, across 50 countries, more than 13.5 million people have joined Buy Nothing Facebook groups and the app.

Ms. Clark says the project is 鈥渕ore relevant than ever and more needed than ever.鈥�

鈥淟et鈥檚 face it,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hings are tough for people no matter if it鈥檚 having to do with tariffs and the [Iran] war and the cost of fuel and to transport new goods into stores.鈥�