What's next for Unconsumption? You tell us!

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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.

8:22 pm - Wed, Mar 28, 2012: 21 notes

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