Let’s Rethink Consumer Culture at Duke

This guest column was contributed by the Kenan Living Learning Community.

At the end of last academic year, Duke was spotlighted in the local Durham newspaper, the Indy. The feature made its way to national recognition through a New York Times article within just a few weeks.

The recognition: large amounts of still-useful goods get regularly left behind as trash by Duke students upon campus move-out every year. As Lena Geller details in her Indy article, the problem is not just that barely touched clothes, appliances, and furniture were left by Duke residents in her downtown apartment trash room, but also that the abundant access to goods that is normalized in our culture leads one to casually consume, dispose, and desire in ways that actually feel gross.

We as Duke students have probably seen some of this ourselves. The phenomenon of throwing out still-good goods is not limited to off-campus apartment buildings. If we’ve been around for a move-out season, we’ve probably contributed to the like-new appliances, storage cubes, unopened nonperishables, barely used camp gear (from tenting), and gently used high-end shoes and clothing that fill dumpsters outside of residence halls. This is the reality of move-out days at Duke.

The culture of college students throwing out goods en masse at the end of the year is not specific to Duke. Nor is it a lost cause. Several initiatives already exist on campus to help change this culture. One initiative, Devils Care Donations, collected over thirty thousand pounds of donations brought to TROSA and Goodwill for resale in 2025. Another campaign, Devil’s Thrifthouse, offers a more sustainable approach to getting rid of no-longer-needed items throughout the year. Students have even set up tables in dorm lobbies to exchange or barter belongings. We are grateful for the success of these efforts. The more initiatives the better.

As members of the Kenan Institute for Ethics Living Learning Community, we are interested in building a different sort of culture around consumption, waste, and moving out while benefiting both Duke students and our Durham neighbors. This is why, with an eye toward a larger one off-campus at the end of the year, we are hosting our first on-campus Really Really Free Market on Sunday, March 1 from 1–3:00 p.m. on the Bryan Center Plaza.

What is a Really Really Free Market?

A Really Really Free Market (RRFM) is exactly what it sounds like: a pop-up gathering where neighbors bring items to share, all for free. It is not a yard sale or place to drop off goods for a thrift store to resell. Rather, it is a local gift economy in miniature. Anyone can lay out clothes, books, furniture, or even food, and anyone can take what they want or what they need. In our society where the logic of making a profit often feels like it’s supposed to be the sole purpose of life, the thought of having an event where nothing is bought, sold, or even traded is really (really) unusual.

Traditionally, RRFMs are created by grassroots organizations or DIY (do it yourself) efforts. They are participant-run, low logistics, and held at a public park or a common area at a recurring time (often monthly). In North Carolina, RRFMs have been run by groups in Carrboro, Durham, Raleigh, and beyond for years, each adapting the same basic structure to local needs. The only consistent rule is that people treat one another with respect.

It felt important to us, when visiting other local RRFMs for research, to see that there was no stigma attached to the exchange taking place. All attendees were contributing equally to the event by virtue of being there. The categories of seller and buyer didn’t make sense. Even the categories of giver and receiver broke down, since people participated as both. The interactions we witnessed seemed to have the potential to build trust, empathy, and belonging between members of a community who might not otherwise cross paths. With a band, food, and crafts, it also was fun.

When thinking about the practices of moving out, and the general cultures of consumption and disposability that are normal to us, we decided we wanted to try a RRFM on campus. What other values we might foreground as part of Duke culture? RRFMs foreground generosity and connection over profit, and sustainability over waste. To participate is a small act of creative reimagining toward another way of living. We want to experiment with this promise, as members of the Kenan Ethics Living Learning Community, the Duke student body, and residents of the city of Durham.

Please join us on BC Plaza on Sunday, March 1st from 1–3:00 p.m. Bring what you have, take what you want. Stay tuned for our end-of-year effort to bring our still-good goods off campus and into Durham as well!

Victoria Pulliam, Rohil Watwe, Romit Chunduri, and Abby Davis
Really Really Free Market Committee, Kenan Ethics LLC

Shannan Hayes, PhD
Kenan Ethics LLC Faculty Director