Hot among the “DIY” and “craft” items pinned on...

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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.

8:37 am - Tue, Jun 26, 2012: 155 notes

High-Res

Hot among the “DIY” and “craft” items pinned on Pinterest lately are images of this mirror, which many of us might say is pretty attractive. Also making the pin-rounds are photos of this lamp and a pink starburst sort of mirror (pictured below), among other DIY projects.

What do they have in common, beyond being projects that many of us could possibly make on our own? These items are made from new plastic spoons — new ones.

The maker of the “chrysanthemum mirror” above says this about her project:

First, I bought six packages of 48 plastic spoons [pictured above], and I cut the handles off of all of them. I bought the absolute cheapest spoons available that cost somewhere around $1.30 per package … .

And about the pink starburst mirror, source Country Living magazine says:

For an 18-inch round mirror, you’ll need a hot-glue gun and about 105 colored plastic spoons ($6.39 for 50; [and includes a link to a retailer].

I’d love to read where the makers of such projects actually crafted their objects from used plasticware!

I hope such projects serve as inspiration for people to use used items — to keep them out of landfills — instead of heading, say, to dollar stores to buy new stuff made of plastic.

P.S. to fellow pinners and bloggers: Let’s label such items with something other than “recycled,” as in made from “recycled plastic spoons,” or “project made from recycled stuff,” okay?!

P.P.S. Unconsumption is on Pinterest. You will not find photos of these particular projects pinned on any of our boards. Just sayin’.

Special note: Plastic cutlery and plates labeled with #6 as the resin ID code are accepted by some, but not all, municipal recycling programs.