Free Stuff

Regular readers of this blog are probably aware that I don’t like to spend money. Mostly because I don’t make much. But, rather than buy the cheapest junk, usually full of animal ingredients and produced in socially-abhorrent conditions, I’m willing to pay a bit more for good products—I just buy less of them.

Luckily, there are a few great, affordable, vegan companies that sell ‘personal’ and cleaning products in Australia. Unluckily (for me), the store which consistently sells them is a bit out of bike range from where I live. So before he left, Andy and I took the Subaru in that direction to load up on things like sun cream, aloe vera, and tea tree bug spray for him, and hair and skincare products for me.

I came home with more than I expected to—not because I was overwhelmed by choice and bought as much as I could, but because I scored some great free stuff.

In the orange box is the facial cleanser I use, which was packaged with a free bottle of toner and priced cheaper than the cleanser alone. A’kin skincare products, along with Al’chemy haircare products, are produced by The Purist Company which is vegan, organic and Australian. Their mandarin shampoo smells good enough to eat.

I also grabbed a bottle of facial scrub from Sukin (another vegan, organic Aussie company) for less than $8.

When we neared the counter, there was a display advertising a free bottle of hand wash with every purchase of any Purist Company product. There were two flavours available: Tea Tree & Eucalyptus, and Lemon Myrtle. Rather than choosing between the two, Andy and I split up our purchase and each got a free bottle. As I was checking out with my half of the gear, the cashier told me about an unadvertised promotion with Sukin as well—meant to be with any purchase of lotion, but since they had so many they were giving them away with all Sukin products. So I got a free rehydrating spray.

Free, vegan and organic? Hell yeah.

Later in the week I scored some more free stuff. There is a fruit & veggie co-op starting on campus (I signed up this morning) where you order a small or large box of produce and get whatever is in season. It comes from Bowen, which is less than 200 kms south of Townsville (about 120 miles for the metrically impaired). It’s not usually organic, because the idea is to ensure that poor students are eating nutritious food.

Although I hadn’t signed up in time for the first delivery, my friend Chris did. In her box she was given a head of lettuce, and since she’d already bought one earlier in the week, she passed it on to me. Free local lettuce!

A bit beat up from being stuffed in my backpack on the bike ride home, it still made a lovely salad.

I mixed it with carrot, alfalfa sprouts, black eyed peas, avocado, and a dressing of hummus, raw garlic, fresh dill and lemon juice. Yummy!

And I've just spent the past day and a half at a conference, which was ridiculously expensive but which I got into for free! The conference was timed to coincide with Townsville's huge, annual Cultural Festival (which I think is interesting in the ways it promotes 'consumption' of culture rather than real engagement) and was attended by people from around Australia and the world. I heard some very interesting speeches and met amazing people--all for free!