Expand the Unconsumption Project

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Your daily source of inspiration for creative reuse and mindful consumption.

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We welcome your tips, suggestions, and feedback. Contact: unconsumption@gmail.com

[Background on, & press coverage of, Unconsumption can be found here and here.]

Consumption is a word used to describe acts of acquisition – generally, the acquisition of things, in exchange for money.

Unconsumption is a word used to describe everything that happens after an act of acquisition.

Unconsumption is an invisible badge.

Unconsumption means the accomplishment of properly recycling your old cellphone, rather than the guilt of letting it sit in a drawer.

Unconsumption means the thrill of finding a new use for something that you were about to throw away.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a service like Freecycle (or Craigslist, Goodwill, or Salvation Army) to find a new home for the functioning DVD player you just replaced, rather than throwing it in the garbage.

Unconsumption means enjoying the things you own to the fullest – not just at the moment of acquisition.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a pair of sneakers until they are truly worn out – as opposed to the nagging feeling of defeat when they simply go out of style.

Unconsumption means feeling good about the simple act of turning off the lights when you leave the room.

Unconsumption is not about the rejection of things, or the demonization of things. It’s not a bunch of rules.

Unconsumption is an idea, a set of behaviors, a way of thinking about consumption itself from a new perspective.

Unconsumption is free.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Founder & Editor: Rob Walker, journalist, Savannah, GA

Editorial & Community Manager: Molly Block, marketing and business development geek, Houston, TX

Brian W. Jones, designer & writer, Göteborg, Sweden

Kashvi Kumar, Environmental Studies and Economics major at New York University

Deirdre Nelson, ever threading artist, Glasgow, Scotland

Shanna Trenholm, writer. catalyst. force of nature. San Diego, CA

* * *

Alumnus & Unconsumption logo creator: Clifton Burt, graphic designer, Portland, OR

Further information about Unconsumption can be found here.

Original by Knight News Challenge

8:38 pm - Mon, Mar 19, 2012: 242 notes

Expand the Unconsumption Project

newschallenge:

1. What do you propose to do? [20 words]

Expand Unconsumption’s capacity to serve as a resource for sharing stories and ideas about creative reuse and mindful consumption.

2. Is anyone doing something like this now and how is your project different? [30 words]

Not that we’re aware of. The Unconsumption project is unique: it’s an all-volunteer enterprise advancing an idea; it’s not a commercial entity; it’s ad-free, by choice.

Read the rest here.

GOOD NEWS — ALSO, YOUR HELP IS NEEDED NOW!

First, the good news. Unconsumption is a contender for funding from Knight Foundation, a major grant maker that supports media innovation, community engagement initiatives, and arts programs.

A proposal (a portion of which is shown above) to expand the Unconsumption project — which would help make this Tumblr even better than it is now — is among 1,078 applications vying for a portion of $5 million in Knight funding. Five million dollars!

How can you help? Knight is looking favorably at groups like us who turn to our communities — that means you — for support. The five proposals that receive the most support (hearts/likes/reblogs/comments) by March 29 will advance as finalists for funding, in addition to proposals recommended by Knight staff.

So, if you’re inclined to help — do these things:

Give this Unconsumption post a “heart/like” on Tumblr.
Reblog this post on Tumblr — encouraging others to “heart/like” and reblog it.
Open the News Challenge Tumblr post here, scroll down to the bottom, and add a supportive comment. (Note: To comment from a mobile device, you may need to switch from Tumblr’s mobile view to standard.)
While you’re at the bottom of the News Challenge page, hit the “like” button above the comments section.
Encourage non-Tumblr-ing friends, family members, co-workers, to add comments (see #3 above) and “like” the post (#4).

As many of you know, Unconsumption is an all-volunteer initiative. We aren’t a commercial entity and aren’t backed by one, like some eco-blogs. We’re ad-free — by choice — so, unlike many blogs, you don’t see us promoting advertisers’ products/services.

My Unconsumption collaborators and I post things here (and on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and elsewhere online) in our free time because we enjoy it. And because we feel like it’s a good thing to do. Feedback from friends like you encourages us to keep going. And, so we are.

Funding from Knight Foundation would enable us to spend more time each day on the project — sharing ideas, news, and information with you — which would benefit us all.

We are grateful for your support, and look forward to continuing to grow with you.