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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.

1:09 pm - Fri, May 11, 2012: 74 notes

We often feature examples of palletecture and cargotecture — wood shipping pallets and metal shipping containers repurposed for architectural uses — though seldom come across the two incorporated into one project. One of the few examples involving both types of repurposing can be found in this earlier Unconsumption post about Infiniski’s Manifesto House in Chile.

As you can imagine, I was psyched to learn during my most recent trip to Dallas about the opening of The Foundry, a beer garden in the Oak Cliff neighborhood, which features BOTH palletecture and cargotecture, among other examples of creative reuse.

The Foundry’s stage, designed by Gary Buckner, is constructed from used pallets, and several decommissioned shipping containers furnished with second-hand items serve as lounge areas.

For additional information on The Foundry and attached restaurant Chicken Scratch, see this D Magazine review. From writer Carol Shih: “Just about every piece of furniture and design — from the hanging lamps fashioned out of crates to the wall decor — is a lesson in recycling.”

Well done, isn’t it?

Photos, top to bottom, used with permission from Flickr user Bullneck and Instagram users Megan Smith (@megan_sm on Instagram), Matt Shelley (@mattshelley), Fred Pena (@alfredchingon), and @redondallas. Bottom photo via D Magazine.