craigslist houseshare ad: “i have a garden growing in my shower so you have to use eco-friendly hair products. you will see worms and other insects, and you will occasionally see a spider too but they all help out the ecosystem.”
ok.
I’m all for using graywater to water plants. (Green) thumbs up for this!
Maybe pair it with this moss bathmat?!
Makes me think of showers that are designed to conserve water by reusing gray water.
So, could you see yourself using a garden-in-a-shower?
It’s wine o’clock somewhere — which means it’s time to share another wine-related repurposing find.
Today, it’s wine corks used as floor covering.
This photo, via MSN, shows the cork-floor handiwork of Dan Phillips, of Huntsville, Texas-based Phoenix Commotion (mentioned previously on Unconsumption here), which constructs affordable homes from recycled, salvaged, and/or found materials.
More posts in Unconsumption’s wine o’clock series can be found here.
(Thanks, Chip, for the tip!)
Interesting product, the idea is to use colored cardboard cut-outs with a bottle or glass of your choice, converting into a “geometric vase.” More here: Design Milk
Ecover, the green cleaning brand, said on Thursday it will use plastic waste retrieved from the sea to create an entirely new type of sustainable and recyclable plastic bottle.
The Belgian company is working with plastic manufacturer Logoplaste to combine plastic trawled from the sea with a plastic made from sugar cane (‘Plant-astic’) and recycled plastic, in what it is calling a world-first for packaging. Products made from the packaging will go on sale next year.
But the company was unable to give details of how much plastic would be retrieved or what percentage of “sea plastic” would be used in the packaging.
Ecover chief executive, Philip Malmberg, said: “We won’t have a definitive figure on the amount we will retrieve we are just hoping to get as much as is possible and give fishermen an incentive to join the initiative and help clean the seas. We want to get the sea waste in as much of our packaging as possible – it will always depend on the amount and quality of the plastic they have managed to fish.”
Read the rest here.
FWIW, Ecover owns Method, which also is producing packaging from ocean debris (mentioned previously on Unconsumption here).
New Study: Recycling May Cause People to Consume More
Doug Rice of Marketing Mediator reports:
Jesse Catlin of Washington State University Tri-Cities and Yitong Wang of Tsinghua University suggest that the option of recycling may lead consumers to use more resources than they would otherwise use when there is no option of recycling available. Their proposition is the result of two experiments conducted at a university in the western United States–one a laboratory experiment and the other a field experiment
…
The authors conclude that the findings agree with much other research on the unintended consequences of recycling programs. Other studies have shown that people engage in “green” behaviors to alleviate guilt and justify subsequent non–”green” behaviors. For example, someone who recycles may rationalize taking a higher-pollution mode of transportation. The authors conclude that consumers use recycling as a “get-out-of-jail-free card,” enabling them to use as many resources they please as long as they recycle the waste.
REAL-WORLD IMPLICATIONS This study has major implications for consumers, policy makers, and “green” marketers. Recycling may not be as harmless of an environmentally-friendly endeavor as we may think. Because we subconsciously justify using more materials when recycling options are available, we end up demanding more energy usage in the production of those additional resources. The additional production of materials we feel justified in using indiscreetly takes a toll on the environment as well.
“Green” marketers, it would seem, have the upper hand on this one. As long as consumers use recycling as a justification to use more resources, producers of “recyclable” products are likely to sell more of those products.
As consumers, if we truly want to have a positive impact on the environment, we need to recognize that recycling should not be used as a license for greater and more careless consumption. If we want to save the planet, we will pay just as much attention to how much materials we are using in total as we do to the amount that we are recycling.
Policy makers need to be aware of the negative unintended consequences of recycling in the form of increased resource usage. In addition to recycling programs, initiatives related to reducing total usage of resources might also be worth considering.
The study was published in January 2013 in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.
So, there actually is a “National Cereal Day”?!
Not surprisingly, we say, “Reuse that packaging!,” and have rounded up some reuse ideas on this Unconsumption Pinterest board.
Cerealist (artist) Michael Albert uses cereal boxes as art material. Pictured: Albert’s ”Cheerios on Black” collage, 1998.
Above, the trailer for Midway, a film by Chris Jordan that “explores the plight of Laysan albatross plagued by the ingestion of our plastic trash.”
More info here.
(via MIDWAY - a film by Chris Jordan)
Note: This post is really from Unconsumption contributor Deirdre Nelson, but something went haywire with the video on that version so I’m reposting — Rob W.
To follow recent posts on leasing jeans, and jeans “made of garbage,” this:
A PhD student at Scotland’s Heriot-Watt School University knew, and set about to find a more sustainable alternative. What Dawn Ellams came upon was Tencel, a fiber from wood pulp, which could replace the cotton in the iconic garment.
Tencel is the trademark name for Lyocell, a man-made fiber that is spun from the cellulose of wood pulp. Its texture is soft, silky and wrinkle-free. Ellams’ research shows that using Tencel in place of cotton can significantly reduce the carbon footprint and water waste that normally occurs in producing jeans.
We highlighted Dolan Geiman’s work a year ago, but can’t resist highlighting this collection:
Dolan Geiman is Chicago-based mixed media artist whose “eco-friendly artwork emerges from a folk art tradition infused with a contemporary, urban style”. Based in Chicago, Dolan spends his time creating incredible pieces from salvaged wood, found objects, and other recycled materials.
Obviously, we’re over-the-moon for his Dog Walk Collection, a series of made-to-order artwork available in just about any breed.
How GM Makes $1 Billion A Year By Recycling WasteThe automaker generates an eye-popping $1 billion a year reusing or recycling materials that would otherwise be thrown away — everything from scrap steel and paint sludge to cardboard boxes and worn-out tires. It’s an unexpected but welcome revenue stream that comes from rethinking its approach to waste reduction.
Full Story: Forbes
10-year-old Vanis Buckholz started My ReCycler when he was only 7. Inspired by his mother’s advice to never litter, combined with his love of cycling and riding his scooter, the business has expanded to recycling by the truckload. …
via 10-Year-Old’s Recycling Business Hailed by City Leaders | Creativity on GOOD
Today’s edition: Food packaging
1. Why not make globes/ornaments from cereal boxes or other paperboard packaging? Plumpudding made these globes using this simple tutorial from marthastewart.com.
2. More DIY inspiration: A very cool necklace, made by Bird Ross (photo via PaMdora’s Box).
Want to check out other ways to repurpose packaging? See this Unconsumption Pinterest board.
