March 2012
THANK YOU! -- Unconsumption remains in top 5 for Knight News Challenge $
We’re thrilled to say that our proposal seeking Knight News Challenge funding to expand the Unconsumption project is among those with the most “notes” on Tumblr.
And we’re in good company, with highly ranked proposals from tech entrepreneurs Anil Dash and Gina Trapani, and UNICEF.
There’s still one more hour (until midnight Eastern) for our proposals to get additional “notes,” so if you’ve been waiting to add your support, simply “like” and/or reblog this post now.
Also, we encourage everyone to open our News Challenge proposal post here, scroll down to the area where Disqus comments start, and add a comment and “like” there. What would you like us to do more (or less) of — leave a comment and tell us!
Again, thank you for all your support.
—Molly
What's next for Unconsumption? You tell us!
Thanks to everyone who has been pitching in with likes and reblogs to help us in our pursuit of a Knight Foundation grant to take the Unconsumption project to the next level! (If you haven’t done so and want to, go here and like/reblog! And do it before Knight’s deadline: Midnight Eastern, Thursday, March 29.)
You might be wondering what, exactly, the “next level” could entail.
As you probably know, Unconsumption is an all-volunteer effort; all of us contribute here in our spare time, and we have no desire to convert this site into a revenue generator: Although we’ve been told that with the audience we’ve built up, we probably could, it just seems wrong to “monetize” something called Unconsumption!
So one answer is that with a bit of (noncommercial) funding, some of us could afford to devote real time to ideas we’ve batted around for quite a while now. A few of those ideas are below.
But another answer is more interesting, because it’s a question: What do you think we should do to expand and improve Unconsumption? If you have thoughts, I’d love to hear them. Please leave them in the discussion section here, on the Knight site. (Not the discussion section of this post.) Part of what the Knight folks are looking for is audience engagement. And since we’re totally into that, it makes sense to open up the discussion.
Here are some thoughts I’ve had about the difference Knight funding could make:
- More time recruiting top-notch contributors to add projects to our Uncollection “Artist Series,” to serve as inspiration — examples of ways to create fresh value and enjoyment in things you and/or members of your family may already own.
- Resources to create occasional Unconsumption presences in the real world — imagine a craft-show booth where you could bring, say, an old garment and give it a “new life” by getting our Mr. Cart logo printed on it for free!
- Time to do original Q&As with leading creative thinkers and authors whose work relates to Unconsumption.
- The time and resources to arrange occasional “guest posts” from similar figures.
- Time and resources to explore new ways of spreading the Unconsumption message, such as a “badge” system designed to highlight and reward mindful/positive consumer behaviors.
- Time and resources to improve our wiki offshoot.
- Time to pursue new partnerships to keep spreading the Unconsumption idea.
But again: What do you think? Answer here (not below).
And either way: Thanks again for the support!
— Rob Walker
Reminder: Today’s the last day — with less than 10 hours to go — to help us qualify for Knight Foundation funding. A click or two on Tumblr here — as Rob indicates above — is all it takes. Your Tumblr likes/reblogs count the most — they are key!
Many, many thanks for your help!
What's next for Unconsumption? You tell us!
Thanks to everyone who has been pitching in with likes and reblogs to help us in our pursuit of a Knight Foundation grant to take the Unconsumption project to the next level! (If you haven’t done so and want to, go here and like/reblog! And do it before Knight’s deadline: Midnight Eastern, Thursday, March 29.)
You might be wondering what, exactly, the “next level” could entail.
As you probably know, Unconsumption is an all-volunteer effort; all of us contribute here in our spare time, and we have no desire to convert this site into a revenue generator: Although we’ve been told that with the audience we’ve built up, we probably could, it just seems wrong to “monetize” something called Unconsumption!
So one answer is that with a bit of (noncommercial) funding, some of us could afford to devote real time to ideas we’ve batted around for quite a while now. A few of those ideas are below.
But another answer is more interesting, because it’s a question: What do you think we should do to expand and improve Unconsumption? If you have thoughts, I’d love to hear them. Please leave them in the discussion section here, on the Knight site. (Not the discussion section of this post.) Part of what the Knight folks are looking for is audience engagement. And since we’re totally into that, it makes sense to open up the discussion.
Here are some thoughts I’ve had about the difference Knight funding could make:
- More time recruiting top-notch contributors to add projects to our Uncollection “Artist Series,” to serve as inspiration — examples of ways to create fresh value and enjoyment in things you and/or members of your family may already own.
- Resources to create occasional Unconsumption presences in the real world — imagine a craft-show booth where you could bring, say, an old garment and give it a “new life” by getting our Mr. Cart logo printed on it for free!
- Time to do original Q&As with leading creative thinkers and authors whose work relates to Unconsumption.
- The time and resources to arrange occasional “guest posts” from similar figures.
- Time and resources to explore new ways of spreading the Unconsumption message, such as a “badge” system designed to highlight and reward mindful/positive consumer behaviors.
- Time and resources to improve our wiki offshoot.
- Time to pursue new partnerships to keep spreading the Unconsumption idea.
But again: What do you think? Answer here (not below).
And either way: Thanks again for the support!
— Rob Walker
Noted: Tracking Your Used Clothing | The Etsy Blog →
etsy.com
An article in GOOD reports that only a shocking 15 to 20 percent of clothing donations are resold in U.S. thrift shops. The rest is either sold to become industrial wiping rags, recycled into insulation, or shipped to other countries. While the most desirable vintage items are sold to Japan, Africa receives the bulk of our secondhand clothing, making it one of the continent’s top imports. This exchange is documented in films like T-Shirt Travels, which shows how imported American used clothing is responsible for killing off the Zamibian clothing manufacturing industry.
Perhaps the most surprising statistic in the article is that Americans only keep 21 percent of the clothing we buy each year. The facts are astonishing: not only does America export the majority of its donated clothing, we simply can’t reabsorb the amount of clothing we give away. We have an overwhelming excess of garments. No longer a hand-me-down culture, cheap clothing prices have made it affordable to buy into new trends and toss out last season’s look.
I bolded the bit I personally found most surprising. I’ve read quite a bit about the ecosystem of donated goods, particularly apparel. But I can’t recall seeing a stat about how much or how little clothing we buy we actually hang onto. The number is so stark I’m not completely sure I accept it — do people really get rid of almost 80 percent of the apparel they buy every year?
Play
Companies Pick Up Used Packaging, and Recycling’s Cost - NYTimes.com →
nytimes.com
A growing number of large food and beverage companies in the United States are assuming the costs of recycling their packaging after consumers are finished with it, a responsibility long imposed on packaged goods companies in Europe and more recently in parts of Asia, Latin America and Canada. Several factors are converging to make what is known as “extended producer responsibility” more attractive and, perhaps, more commonplace in the United States.
“Local governments are literally going broke and so are looking for ways to shift the costs of recycling off onto someone, and companies that make the packaging are logical candidates,” said Jim Hanna, director of environmental impact at the Starbucks Corporation. “More environmentally conscious consumers are demanding that companies share their values, too.”
Perhaps most important, he said, “companies are becoming more aware that resources are limited and what they’ve traditionally thrown away — wow, it has value.” It is now cheaper to recycle an aluminum can into a new can than it is to make one from virgin material, and the same is becoming true for plastic bottles.
