Second-hand gift-giving is a well-deliberated decision

University of Eastern Finland

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Fair price, treasure hunting, i.e., the thrill of finding something rare or valuable, as well as ethical and ecological reasons motivate consumers’ intentions to buy second-hand gifts, a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland finds. Administered to users of one of Finland’s most popular consumer-to-consumer online marketplaces, Tori.fi, the survey also shows that an intention to buy a second-hand gift often leads to an actual purchase decision.

“Our findings indicate that buying second-hand gifts is a well-thought-through decision rather than an impulsive one. It involves the same motive – intention – behaviour chain as when buying a new product,” Assistant Professor Heli Hallikainen of the University of Eastern Finland says.

The study suggests that purchase intentions most often translated into purchase decisions for items that required less inspection, such as books. In contrast, consumers tended to deliberate more when buying second-hand furniture or clothing.

“Consumer-to-consumer buying and selling is growing in popularity. This leads to an increasingly diverse selection of products available, with advanced C2C platforms making it easy to find items one is looking for,” notes Maria Ovaska, MSc (Economics and Business Administration), a co-author of the study.

“Earlier, practical challenges could hinder purchase intentions. Now buying is much smoother and I believe the role of intention as a predictor of purchase behaviour will strengthen further,” Ovaska adds.

According to the researchers, buying second-hand goods and gifts is becoming increasingly common and socially accepted.

“As services evolve and consumer attitudes shift, the role of second-hand products in the gift market is likely to grow even stronger,” Ovaska notes.

Published in European Journal of Marketing, the study explored what motivates consumers to buy second-hand gifts, and how intentions translate into purchase decisions. The study also examined how consumers’ green values influence the association between intentions and decisions. Two surveys were conducted before and after Christmas to investigate consumer motives, intentions and purchase decisions.

Consumers’ green values drive faster purchase decisions

Christmas is a major gift-giving season in many parts of the world. For example, Americans spend hundreds of billions of dollars annually on Christmas gifts. The environmental burden of gift-giving is significant, and second-hand gifts can help reduce it. The study found that consumers’ green values not only strengthened but also sped up their decision to buy a second-hand gift.

“Our findings encourage consumers to reflect on their consumption habits and consider whether a second-hand gift could replace a new product. Retailers should also think about how innovative business models could promote sales of second-hand items, especially during peak gift seasons. For instance, targeted gift catalogues for different customer groups could help boost second-hand gift sales,” Hallikainen suggests.

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Journal

European Journal of Marketing

DOI

10.1108/EJM-06-2024-0481 

Article Title

What motivates second-hand gift-giving?

UK

Half-way point in rail nationalisation as Greater Anglia returns to public hands

James Moules & Daniel Green  10th October, 2025

Train services operated by Greater Anglia will be brought into public ownership this weekend, marking the half-way point in the nationalisation of the nation’s rail network.

Public ownership of the railways was one of the key pledges Labour made upon its return to office last year, with promises to improve services and drive down fares.

As Greater Anglia services transfer into public ownership on Sunday, almost half of rail passenger journeys that Great British Railways will ultimately be responsible for will be operated by publicly owned companies.

The rail operator, which covers routes across the East of England and parts of London, boasts being the country’s most punctual service.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “From this Sunday, passengers commuting into Norwich or heading for a day out in Cambridge will be travelling on services that are owned by the public, and run with their interests front of mind.

“We’re reforming a fragmented system and laying the foundations for a more reliable, efficient and accountable railway – one that puts passengers first and delivers the high standards they rightly expect.”

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It comes after South Western Railways and c2c were both returned to public ownership earlier in the year. West Midland Trains and Govia Thameslink Railway are expected to follow suit in 2026, meaning that eight out of ten passenger rail journeys will be on publicly owned services by the middle of next year.

Martin Beable, managing director for Greater Anglia, said: “I am very proud of what we have achieved here in East Anglia over the past thirteen years, significantly improving standards, investing in a complete fleet of new trains, and working closely with the local community.

“Moving into public ownership is an exciting opportunity to build on this success. By working more closely with the wider family of publicly owned operators, we can share expertise, drive innovation, and deliver even better journeys for our passengers across the Anglia region.

“This transition also brings us one step closer to Great British Railways – a simpler, more unified network that puts passengers at its heart. Together, we can create a railway that drives growth, sustainability, and pride for the communities we serve and right across the UK.”

High fares hurt working Londoners and students, and exacerbate social isolation – new briefing

HubMP2012

OCTOBER 5, 2O25

London’s high public transport fares obstruct access to employment opportunities, education and reasonable living standards, a briefing published today by Fare Free London shows. 

Working Londoners spend many extra hours a week – and, in some cases, many extra hours a day – commuting, to avoid expensive trains and use cheaper but slower buses. 

Students tangle with trade-offs between housing costs, which are lower outside the capital, and travel costs that are much higher.  

London’s tube and train fares are among the world’s highest. They exacerbate social isolation and mental illness among the most vulnerable Londoners. They obstruct people’s ability to socialise, to take their children places, and to access London’s cultural treats. 

The briefing, Fares Unfair: London public transport and the cost of living crisis, is based on the results of a survey conducted over the summer by volunteer researchers. 

Pearl Ahrens of Fare Free London said: “We did not have the intention, or capacity, to survey a demographically representative group of Londoners. We focused on the way that the relatively high cost of public transport in London affects lower-income households, whose views are often least heard.

“Nearly half of our respondents said they worry about costs every time they use public transport. More than half said they use cheaper modes of transport because better ones are too expensive. This often meant people taking long journeys by bus instead of tube.”

Respondents’ quotes in the survey are a stark reminder of the yawning gap between London’s wealthiest and poorest households.

One takes a journey from Lewisham to the Royal Docks using three buses and the Woolwich Ferry, “to save the money I would have to spend if I took the Underground or the DLR”. Another takes an hour’s journey to school by bus, double the time it would take by train.

A single man told one of our researchers of how he had had a cleaning job in Zone 1. To start work at 7.0 am, he caught a bus from SE18 at 5.0 am, got off in Zone 2 and walked the rest of the way.

A single mother of two daughters explained how she takes three buses to work, from SE9 to Piccadilly. She described herself as “struggling to make ends meet – doing a balancing act”, and having to limit her daughters’ weekend outings due to travel costs.

Another respondent commented: “Every time I step out of the house, I spend more money on travel than even groceries. It disconnects me from seeing my family as well as my friends.”

The briefing urges the Greater London Authority and the Mayor’s office to consider how the impact of high fares affects policy goals including those in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and policies on tackling social inequality.

It urges that these issues are included in discussions about the funding basis of Transport for London, to “consider how this can be changed, to reduce and eventually abolish reliance on fares income.” 

More information at farefreelondon.org.

Image: 1967 Stock train at Finsbury Park in 2010. Creator: Tom Page  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

 Rally held outside ICE detention center in WA for 2 union members arrested

Franque Thompson

FOX NEWS
Thu, March 27, 2025 


The Brief

Communities rallied for the release of union organizer Alfredo "Lelo" Juarez, detained by ICE, emphasizing his advocacy for farmworker rights and the circumstances of his arrest.

Juarez, facing removal despite living in the U.S. since childhood, was arrested after ICE agents stopped his car, raising concerns about targeted enforcement.

The rally also highlighted the detention of Lewelyn Dixon, a permanent resident and union member, due to a past conviction, reflecting broader fears over immigrant worker rights.

TACOMA, Wash. - Communities rallied outside the Northwest Detention Center on Thursday for the release of two union members arrested by immigration agents this month.

Farmworker, Alfredo "Lelo" Juarez, was the most recent arrest, which happened on Tuesday in Sedro-Wooley.

Grassroots organization Community to Community (C2C) used the power of social media to raise awareness and support for Juarez. The 25-year-old is a farmworker leader for C2C, as well as an organizer and member of Familias Unidas por la Justicia.

"Lelo is a labor organizer, a dedicated advocate for farmworkers and a beloved member of our community," said Tony Mellilo, President of the Northwest Washington Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. "We demand he be released and allowed to return to his home here in NW Washington."

The backstory

According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Juarez, who is a citizen of Mexico, was ordered to be "removed to his home country by an immigration judge on March 27, 2018." ICE said it conducted a joint federal law enforcement arrest in Sedro-Woolley on March 25.

His supporters said on March 25, Juarez was taking his partner to work when ICE agents stopped his car and broke his window to arrest him.

Though ICE did not specify why Juarez was being detained, ICE spokesperson David Yost said Juarez refused to comply with commands to exit his car.

Yost further wrote in a statement, "ICE does not indiscriminately conduct enforcement actions on random people. ICE conducts targeted enforcement actions that are based on intelligence-driven leads focused on aliens identified for arrest and removal from the United States. U.S. immigration laws allow aliens to pursue relief from removal. However, once they have exhausted all due process and appeals, the aliens remain subject to a final order of removal from an immigration judge and ICE must carry out that order."

The National Farm Worker Ministry said Juarez came to the United States as a child and has been an activist for farmworker rights in Washington since he was 12.

"We are quite distressed by his arrest and detention. He has lived and worked in this country for many years and is only seeking to make life better for farm workers and immigrants," said Julie Taylor, Executive Director of National Farm Worker Ministry.

In June 2015, at 15 years old, Juarez was arrested in Bellingham for driving the wrong way down a one-way street, telling officers he was 18 and without a license. Juarez later told FOX 13 Seattle, "I thought I was going to get away with it, but that was a bad mistake that I made."

During the 2015 incident, officers weren’t able to identify Juarez, so they called Border Patrol, who then sent the teen to the Northwest Detention Center. His family sued the City of Bellingham claiming racial profiling and agreed to a settlement.

Now, Juarez and his family are up against a new fight, as ICE said he will "remain in custody pending removal proceedings."

Big picture view

The family of Lewelyn Dixon is in a similar situation.

"She's been here over 50-plus years. You would think that being a permanent resident is protection," said Lani Madriaga, Dixon’s niece.

Dixon, a SEIU Local 925 member and lab technician at the University of Washington, was arrested and transferred to an ICE detention center in early March. Despite holding a green card, in 2001 Dixon was convicted of embezzlement. Madriaga said immigration attorneys told the family that was possibly the reason for her detainment.

"It's been so long that it's happened and that was a mistake," said Madriaga.

Labor leaders, rank and file union members, and community members spoke during the rally outside the Northwest Detention Center.

"Since its founding, the labor movement has been clear: a threat to one of us is a threat to all of us," said April Sims and Cherika Carter, executive officers of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. "We will not stand by while the federal government’s cruel and chaotic attacks on immigrant workers escalate. The rights of all working people – to organize on the job, to exercise our constitutional rights of due process and protection from unlawful search and seizure – are under threat."

UK

Revealed: The first rail services to be brought back into public ownership

Olivia Barber 

Yesterday
Left Foot Forward 

“John Major’s decision to privatise British Rail in 1994 was foolish, ideologically-driven, and doomed to fail.”

South Western Railway, C2C, and Greater Anglia will be the first rail operators to return to public ownership, the government has announced.

​​South Western Railways will be renationalised in May 2025, C2C in July 2025, and Greater Anglia in autumn 2025.

This comes after the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 received royal assent on 29 November.

The services will initially be operated by DfT Operator Limited, with Great British Railways (GBR) taking over control once it has been set up.

“For too long, the British public has had to put up with rail services that simply don’t work”, the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said in a statement.

Alexander, who took over the role from former transport secretary Louise Haigh on Monday, said that starting with South Western Railway, “we’re switching tracks by bringing services back under public control to create a reliable rail network that puts customers first.”

She added: “Our broken railways are finally on the fast track to repairing and rebuilding a system that the British public can trust and be proud of again.”

The Department for Transport statement said that the move will “clamp down on unacceptable levels of delays, cancellations and waste seen under decades of failing franchise contracts”.

Commenting on the announcement, Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, said: ‘Keir Starmer, Louise Haigh, and Heidi Alexander have delivered on the Labour Party’s manifesto commitment by bringing Britain’s railways back into public ownership.”

Whelan stated: “This is the right decision, at the right time, to take the brakes off the UK economy and rebuild Britain.”

He described the prime minister John Major’s decision to privatise British Rail in 1994 as “foolish, ideologically-driven, and doomed to fail”.

“It was described even by that arch-privateer Margaret Thatcher as “a privatisation too far” and so it proved.

“The privateers have taken hundreds of millions of pounds from our railways and successive Conservative governments have pursued a policy of managed decline which has sold taxpayers, passengers, and staff short.

“Now we are going to see the wheels and the steel put back together, an end to the failed fragmentation of our network, and a railway brought back into the public sector, where it belongs, to be run as a public service, not for private profit.”

The RMT released data last year estimating that railway privatisation has drained at least £31 billion from the system over the past 30 years, which has mostly gone into shareholders pockets, while passengers are paying 8% more to travel.

Labour has not indicated whether it will renationalise lucrative freight services and rolling stock companies (ROSCOs), which own and lease trains to rail operators.

The three ROSCOs that the government created to privatise rail in 1993 – Angel Trains, Eversholt and Porterbrook – paid dividends of over £400m in 2022-23.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

COP29

From conflict to cooperation

Aisha Khan 

Published October 23, 2024 

DAWN

AS we approach the 29th Conference of Parties to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, the most important discussions will pivot around enhancing the Nationally Determined Contributions and the New Collective Quantified Goal. Both will require high-level political commitment with adequate financial cash flows and investments in policy and action to keep the people and planet safe. COP29, labelled as the COP of action and ambition, will be judged by how it uses the COP presidency to align enhanced NDCs with the vison of the Global Stocktake (GST) at COP28. The business-as-usual approach is not likely to achieve desired outcomes. The GST on energy at COP28 made clear the need for transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable energy requiring member states to:

• transition away from fossil fuel in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, in keeping with the science, and with developed countries taking the lead;

• increase global energy capacity threefold by 2030 and enhance the worldwide annual average rate of energy efficiency improvements twofold;

• eliminate inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that fail to tackle energy poverty or facilitate equitable transitions as swiftly as possible.

COP29 will mark the beginning of this journey spread over the next nine to 12 months when countries will be asked to submit enhanced NDCs aligned with the 1.5 degrees Celsius, including actionable energy transition targets and strategies, underpinned by robust implementation and investment frameworks.

Taking into account that 90 per cent of global emissions are derived from fossil fuels, the task will not be easy. It will be necessary to pair renewable and efficiency scale-up with fossil fuel phase-out, as despite an exponential rise in renewable energy, the use of fossil fuel has still not declined to safe levels. According to the Production Gap Report 2023, governments are planning on producing around 110pc more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 2ºC.


The Global Stocktake on energy at COP28 made clear the need for transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

The magnitude of the production gap is also projected to grow over time: by 2050 planned fossil fuel production will be 350pc and 150pc above the levels consistent with limiting warming to 1.5ºC to 2ºC respectively.

This places a big responsibility on the COP Troika to lead by example on transparency, high integrity, credibility and a robust monitoring mechanism for achieving net zero by 2040 for developed countries and by 2050 for developing countries. The COP Troika can restore hope and re-establish trust in the multilateral system by presenting the third cycle of NDCs (NDCs 3.0) that is fully aligned with all aspects of the GST decision at COP28, including mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage.

It will be equally important to disclose how voluntary pledges (Global Methane, Forest Declaration) and alignment with the SDGs and the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework goals are integrated into NDC and tracked for implementation. The comprehensiveness, accuracy, consistency and comparability in completing the checklist while avoiding double counting as per Article 4.13 of the Paris Agreement will be the benchmark for evaluating the real success of COP29. The best way to demonstrate integrity for the COP Troika countries would be to show how national planning, governance and regulations are being developed to implement their NDCs.

As we continue to break guardrails accelerating our clash with nature, the political paradox at play is becoming both dangerous and worrisome. High level of hunger is predicted to continue for another 136 years in many developing countries. In Pakistan, food insecurity is projected to rise from 40pc to 60pc by 2050 with a 40pc stunting and 17.7pc rate of wasting.

Across the world, the demand for water is exceeding availability. Global water demand is projected to increase by 20-25pc by 2050 while the number of watersheds with predictable water supply will decrease by 19pc. Pakistan’s per capita water availability has gone down from 5000m3 to 906m3 with groundwater reserves near depletion.

The rapid decline in mass balance of cryosphere will accelerate sea level rise, jeopardising the lives and livelihoods of millions. As part of the Himalaya-Karakoram-Hindukush mountain range, Pakistan relies heavily on snow and glacial melt with a 1,050-kilometre long coastal belt exposing the country to both hydrometeorological disasters and acute water scarcity.

Gender disparity at the global level continues to deprive women of equal opportunity and access to resources. This year, Pakistan ranked 145 out of 146 countries in the Gender Parity Index, making the human capital disparity disturbingly stark.

The uptick in conflicts and disruption in supply chains leading to high inflation and mounting geopolitical tensions are adding to the brewing crisis, with no respite in sight.

In the backdrop of all the cataclysmic indicators, climate took a back seat at UN General Assembly this year to the deteriorating geopolitical context. The Pact for the Future at the Summit of the Future outlined 56 actions to turbocharge the SDGs and speed up progress on peace, security, global governance, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations.

The landmark declaration set out a promise for a revitalised world order but failed to state how it plans to translate lofty statements into realistic achievements.

The real test of intent behind diplomatically crafted language at multilateral and bilateral forums aspiring for peace and prosperity will require moving away from conflict to cooperation (C2C), recognising the need for working with each other for peaceful coexistence, investing in stabilising the climate and building a future on the principles of equity and justice.

The writer is chief executive of the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change.
aisha@csccc.org.pk

Published in Dawn, October 23th, 2024

UK
Delays and disruption warning as train strikes begin

Joe Langstaffe,BBC News

PA
Avanti West Coast trains will not be operating on Wednesday

Rail passengers across Wales are to face disruption on Wednesday with train drivers from the Aslef union striking as part of a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.

Great Western Railway (GWR) services along the south Wales mainline will be “extremely limited”, according to the operator.

No Avanti West Coast trains will be running between Chester and Holyhead on Anglesey, while the CrossCountry service between Cardiff Central and Nottingham will also not be operating.

Transport for Wales, which provides all other train services in Wales, is not in dispute with Aslef and trains will be operating as normal.

Train strikes: How are you affected this week?

New direct train from London to Wrexham proposed

Transport for Wales rail fares to rise by 4.9%

However, it warned services are likely to be particularly busy.

Aslef members at 16 train operators across the UK are taking part in the strike.

Three of those, which do not operate in Wales, will walk out on Thursday.

The union first balloted its members in June 2022, with numerous strikes and other industrial action taking place since.

Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said: “Our pay deals at these companies ran out in 2019.

"Train drivers at these train operating companies have not had an increase in salary for five years.

“That is completely wrong. The employers – and the [UK] government – think we are going to give up and run away. They’re wrong”.

Great Western Railway said it will continue to operate limited services between Cardiff Central and Bristol Temple Meads, however all other GWR services have been cancelled.

It also warned services in the days following the strike could be affected.

The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies affected by the strikes, said last month: "This wholly unnecessary strike action called by the Aslef leadership will sadly disrupt customers and businesses once again, while further damaging the railway at a time when taxpayers are continuing to contribute an extra £54 million a week just to keep services running.

“We continue to seek a fair agreement with the ASLEF leadership which both rewards our people, gives our customers more reliable services and makes sure the railway isn’t taking more than its fair share from taxpayers."

Fresh strikes by train drivers to cause more disruption for rail passengers

The dispute is now the longest ever in the rail industry

PASSENGERS ARE BEING URGED TO CHECK BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO TRAVEL BY TRAIN THIS WEEK (PA)

PA WIRE

ALAN JONES19 HOURS AGO

Rail services on some of the busiest commuter routes in the country will be at a standstill on Tuesday because of a fresh strike by drivers in a near two-year long pay dispute.

Members of Aslef at English operators including those running services into London such as Southern, Southeastern and South Western Railway will walk out for the day.

Strikes will be held on Wednesday and Thursday at different operators, while drivers are also banning overtime until Saturday which is also causing disruption.

Passengers are being urged to check before attempting to travel by train this week.

The dispute is now the longest ever in the rail industry.

There is a glimmer of hope that negotiations will start in a bid to resolve the row after the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) invited Aslef to talks about exploring any common ground which could break the deadlock.

No formal talks between the operators and the union have been held for a year and for longer involving a transport minister.

Business groups have warned of the impact on the economy of the strikes, especially for hospitality firms.

Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive at BusinessLDN, said: “Yet another round of industrial action across the rail network will cause disruption for businesses and commuters up and down the country.

“Amid weak economic growth, and as we head into a summer trading period which is crucial for retail, leisure and hospitality firms, we urge all parties to work together to resolve these long-running talks and keep the city moving. The impact of these walkouts will be felt even more acutely by many owing to a shorter working week.”

Train drivers will strike on the following days:

– Tuesday May 7: c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR’s Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern (including Gatwick Express), Southeastern, and South Western Railway.

– Wednesday May 8: Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway, Chiltern, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, GWR, and West Midlands Trains.

– Thursday May 9: LNER, Northern, and TransPennine Express.

Aslef said its members have not had a pay rise for five years and has accused the Government of “giving up” trying to resolve the dispute.