Interview with Ashlee Piper on Sustainability, Simplicity, and No New

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Sustainability expert Ashlee Piper wants us to rethink not just what we buy—but why we buy at all. In this interview, she shares the story behind her new book, No New Things, and how stepping back from overconsumption can create more space, clarity, and calm.

Ashlee Piper, sustainability expert and author of No New Things.

Sustainability is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot—but what does it actually mean? Is it about composting, thrifting, banning plastic bags, or buying organic everything? If you’ve ever felt like you should be doing more for the planet but weren’t sure where to start, you’re not alone. The world of sustainability can feel overwhelming, complicated, and maybe even a little intimidating.

That’s where Ashlee Piper comes in. A former political strategist turned sustainability expert, bestselling author, and TV personality, Ashlee has spent nearly two decades making sustainable living accessible—practical, approachable, and free from pressure or perfectionism. She’s helped companies like LUSH and Airbnb rethink their environmental impact, appeared on over 300 TV segments breaking down eco-friendly living, and written Give A Sh*t, her wildly practical guide to making small changes that add up to something big.

Her upcoming book, No New Things, takes it a step further. Instead of just recommending sustainable swaps, she challenges how we think about consumption altogether. It’s a simple guide to saving money and the planet—without buying more stuff.

Cover of No New Things by Ashlee Piper, a 30-day guide to saving money, the planet, and your sanity.

For Ashlee, sustainability isn’t just about being eco-conscious—it’s about rethinking how we live, spend, and find joy. Her approach is refreshingly practical, focusing on what actually makes a difference, instead of making people feel like they have to overhaul their entire lives.

I’m so excited to share our conversation with you—especially now. Things feel heavy and unpredictable, and most of us are just trying to stay steady and brace for whatever tomorrow brings. No New Things isn’t a way out—but it is a way through. Ashlee’s insights will inspire you to take a step—big or small—toward a quieter, more intentional way of living.

Let’s get into the conversation!

Sustainable living is a term we hear all the time—but what does it actually look like in daily life?

It’s important to stress that sustainable living will look and be different for everyone. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, and that’s partly why my first book treated sustainable shifts like a Choose Your Own Adventure-type book—because not every habit shift and action is going to fit with everyone’s life.

That said, for me, sustainable living means constantly evolving and improving as I learn more about how our actions impact the planet. It’s about being mindful and doing the best I can in given circumstances. Sometimes, I’m pretty darn perfect at composting, reusing, buying only secondhand, cooking at home, etc. And other times, life is chaotic or the dog had to have surgery or I’m moving house and I’ll give myself the grace to order some food on DoorDash or something I badly need right now on Amazon.

I think a lot of the early sustainability influences (unbeknownst to them—no shade) whitewashed eco-friendly living and made it seem really crisp and aesthetic and all my trash fits in one Mason jar, which are all great, but that veneer of perfection kinda alienated folks who were interested in living a more eco-friendly life. So I tend to focus on progress and intention—be they small wins or big ones—over being absolutely perfect at everything in the eco realm.

You started your career in politics—what made you pivot to sustainability? Was there a moment when you realized this was the thing you were meant to do?

Veganism was really my ‘gateway drug’ to sustainability. I’d always been interested and active in animal rescue and rights, but when I became vegan many moons ago, it shifted how I saw and interacted with, well, everything. And sustainability is so inextricably linked to how we eat, what we wear, how we treat other creatures with whom we share this planet, that I found the synergies everywhere.

This was while I was in the thick of my career as a political strategist, and I was at a firm where I was assigned, rather than able to select, my clients. So, there I was, creating messaging campaigns for (some, others were fabulous and I feel fortunate to have worked with them) candidates who were, well…IMHO, shitheads who didn’t give a rip about the greater good, let alone the environment, and the gap in the marketplace became too big for me to ignore.

So, I thought, hey, wouldn’t it be wild if I scrapped my decade-long, pretty prestigious career to…do something in sustainability? And despite the many protestations (from myself and others), I followed that inner nudge, with no real blueprint on what I was doing and how to get there, and here I am, still working in sustainability.

After some reflection, I felt strongly that more people would live in a more eco-friendly way—they’d try some of these habit shifts, if they were better messaged. Like, when I started doing this around 2012 or so, any info on sustainable living was scanty, and what was out there was either really academic and dry, or made eco-living seem crunchy, expensive, inconvenient, and downright unfun.

I wanted to shift that narrative and make the information accessible and pleasant for people to access, which is why I felt that television would be a good outlet. So, with no connections and zero experience, I began pitching tv shows to do segments on sustainable living. I want to stress, that unless you’re hired by a network, you don’t make any money doing TV.

If anything, I lose money trucking to segments, getting the props, spending time pitching, etc. Also, at that time, nobody was really talking about eco-friendly living, and definitely not in mainstream media, so a lot of producers were like, No way. Our audience isn’t interested in that.

But I felt so strongly that this would be a great way to reach people. So, one fateful day, a producer at a local Chicago morning show (whom I’d been probably pestering for about a year) gave me the heads up that someone had cancelled and if I could get there by 7am with all my props and such, I could have a segment. I rallied and since then, I’ve done around 312 television segments on sustainable living. It’s been a journey.

People hear “sustainability” and think of giving things up—less convenience, fewer options, more effort. But your approach feels more like gaining freedom. What do people misunderstand about sustainability?

Well, thank you for saying that. That’s certainly been my hope and aim! One thing I learned being in political strategy and marketing is that people, over time, will believe what they repeatedly hear. That’s why communication is so freaking important.

And unfortunately, the narrative and visuals of eco-friendly living hit home this stereotype of being fringey, crunchy, isolated, inconvenienced, etc.—and that became the mainstream belief about sustainability. Like it was uncool and anti-social to adopt lifestyle habits that give a shit about the planet. Same goes for veganism, right? For a long time, the term and the lifestyle was convoluted by and fell victim to basically bad PR.

But those notions were the exact opposite of my personal experience with veganism and sustainability. I found the constraints actually really freeing. I found that eco-friendly habits gave me greater connection and satisfaction, whilst also saving me money, time, and stress.

Minimalist white mug with the word “JOY” on a wooden table, reflecting the simplicity and calm behind Ashlee Piper’s No New Things philosophy.

Journeying into these ways of life made me a happier, more whole person, and everything from finding a cool new plant-based restaurant to support to challenging myself to only acquire items secondhand, was a joyful adventure for me. And I still was maintaining a full-time career, relationships, doing fun things, feeling stylish, etc.

I wanted to add to the chorus of folks who were showing that you can have a really textured, badass, fun, connected life whilst also being a conscientious person.

Your upcoming book, No New Things, challenges people to buy nothing new for 30 days. What inspired you to take that approach, and what was the biggest shift you noticed?

I’ve always been a bit of a masochist when it comes to personal challenges. Can I go without coffee for 6 months (answer: no lol)? Can I read all the books that have been languishing on my shelf before I watch Love Is Blind? So, in 2013, No New Things was just the alliterative name I gave to yet another personal challenge that was intended to see if I could align even further with my values around sustainability and consumption.

I set the goal of doing it for one month, with some blessed caveats that I could pay my bills and obligations (of course), buy groceries and essentials best purchased new for hygienic reasons, and spend money on experiences, restaurants, donations, repairs, etc. Everything else I needed, I’d have to acquire secondhand or through borrowing, renting, upcycling, or finding for free.

I knew I’d save money and probably have less clutter, but the biggest thing I noticed was time. Like holy shit, the time back. It’s estimated (via the American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics) that we can spend anywhere from 2-7 hours a day on shopping and stuff-related activities, like browsing, buying, cleaning, arranging, repairing, storing, and offloading our things.

And within the first week of doing No New Things, I noticed I had so much more time because perusing online and brick-and-mortar shops wasn’t really part of my day anymore. Like, I was legit twiddling my thumbs going whoa, what the heck do I do with all this reclaimed time? I also found I was more creative. Creativity is like a muscle, and in America especially, we’ve been fooled to think that an abundance of choices makes us more nimble and creative, but it’s the opposite.

Our brains need constraints to hit up against to exercise creativity. The parameters of No New Things constantly faced me with creative problem solving and my brain just got so much more adept at that, and I found I could access creative ideas so much more quickly, and they were just flowing.

On top of these benefits, I felt a lot less stressed and more satisfied. The benefits were so multitudinous that what was intended to be a one-month challenge ended up going for nearly two years.

We’re constantly told to buy “better” products—eco-friendly swaps, reusable everything. But you argue that not buying is actually the most impactful move. Why?

Yeah, this is why I’m not an “influencer.” It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that human intervention hastens climate change, and that much of that intervention is wrapped up in our various consumption habits: what we eat, how we access energy and resources, what and how much we buy, how we discard those items (and why we have a disposability mindset overall). And so I never felt quite right about pimping products just because they’re eco.

Don’t get me wrong—I’ve been in the game for a long time (almost two decades at this point), so there are brands I love and really believe in and support because I know them and their business models and I know they’re solid, good actors. But for every one of those, there are 500 more who are absolute shills just greenwashing the heck out of marketing to sell you stuff you basically do not need.

Look at reusable water bottles, for example. These are items intended to combat single use, and yet now, people collect them like they’re fashion accessories. Stanley Cups have entire attendant cottage industries that make little lipgloss holders and key fobs and fucking fans to clip on the mugs. It’s wild.

And I see ‘sustainable’ influencers promoting these products, and it just feels like the same late-stage capitalistic swirl bullshit, just painted a tint of green. So, while I’m not anti-things or anti-new things, I also think we’re fed a bunch of bs around needing stuff when we actually have perfectly useful and good items that fit the bill already.

And it goes without saying (though I say it often) that something that already exists is infinitely better for the planet than something, even an eco-something, that has to be manufactured new.

Sunlight streaming through sheer curtains in a quiet home, symbolizing slower living and intentional simplicity.

Eating less (or no) meat is one of the biggest ways to reduce our environmental impact—but it’s also one of the most controversial. Why do you think people struggle with this shift?

Since my first television segment, when people ask me the #1 thing they can do to help the planet, and I say eat less—or better yet—no meat, people go on the defensive. And they still kinda freak out.

Food is a very personal and cultural thing. It’s also something basically everyone does (eating) and especially in the West, we have been conditioned to believe that we deserve to eat meat. Post-WW2 marketing really pushed the narrative that a victorious and prosperous society eats meat at every meal. So we’ve really been culturally conditioned, while simultaneously being profoundly removed from the absolutely gruesome and horrific realities of how animal products get to market.

People also mindfuck themselves into thinking that the eggs they get at Walmart that are called pasture-raised or the meat they get at the butcher shop is somehow not a product of the horrendous CAFO animal agriculture complex (they are). So, it’s a really tender issue, because: it’s so damn common and normalized, and most people see themselves as compassionate animal lovers, and when we’re saying hey, cool it on eating so much meat, they hear that as you eating meat all these years makes you a terrible person.

Anyway, there are a lot of experts (way more than I) who study the mindsets and attempt to determine why this is so controversial, but what I do know is that gentle nudging and conditioning is the only thing I’ve seen meaningfully move the needle for folks in my orbit. Nobody wants to feel judged, and people definitely don’t want to join a club that feels unfun and sanctimonious.

So, making veganism or even just eating fewer animal products feel more joyful and inclusive is the way, in my opinion, to win more hearts and minds and in turn, destimagize that very sensitive topic.

What’s one habit that completely changed your life—not just for sustainability, but for your overall happiness and well-being?

Without question, not eating animals. Veganism transformed the way I saw myself in and interact with the world. It set me on my path to caring about the planet, animals, and others more fiercely. I’d say next to adopting my dog, Banjo (who’s since passed on), not eating animals impacted every aspect of my life positively and profoundly.

What’s an easy first step—or a couple of simple changes—anyone can make today to live more sustainably?

People always want to know the big-impact actions they can make as individuals to help the planet, and often they think it’s these heavy-lift, big-ticket steps like getting an EV or installing solar panels on their house. But it’s the personal choice, low-expense habits that actually pack the biggest wallop.

Absolutely embracing a more plant-forward diet, even if that’s just swapping a meaty meal per week for a vegetarian one. There’s no Sherriff here to proctor you, so you do what feels doable for you and keep going.
On par with that is buying less stuff. I cannot stress this enough. Just stop buying so much stuff, and especially new stuff. We have more than enough things already existing on the planet to meet your needs.

The British Fashion Council says there are enough clothes on the planet right this second to dress the next 6 generations. We toss tons and tons of completely useful furniture into landfills, when a simple bolt tightening or cleaning would’ve made them usable. We have enough stuff. You reading this probably have enough stuff right now, or if you need something, I bet you can get it via borrowing or secondhand or rethinking the way you use something already in your possession.

So yeah, those are and have always been my top two things pretty much anyone can do to make a huge difference, and they’re so simple that folks will often be like wait, really? and I’m like yeah, dogg, really. It doesn’t have to be so convoluted and complicated.

You don’t need to buy your way out of the climate crisis. Just take steps to start consuming fewer animals and less crap and you’re gonna be climbing the ranks of Planeteer in no time.