To follow an earlier item about mobile gardens: ...

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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.

7:59 pm - Sun, Oct 28, 2012: 49 notes

High-Res

To follow an earlier item about mobile gardens:

Produce carts are common enough that they no longer garner much attention, especially around farmers markets.

So one design firm redesigned the ubiquitous cart, adding pedals and a folding system of trays that can haul up to 150 pounds of fruit and vegetables. The result was the Mattapan Mobile Farmstand, from Boston-based nonprofit design collaborative Building Research + Architecture + Community Exchange. BR+A+CE (pronounced “brace”) designed and built the human-powered mobile farm stand as the first project in support of its mission to create new community spaces that engage social, economic, and cultural issues.

…

Pedal-powered, cargo-carrying tricycles are increasingly popular in hip neighborhoods in European and North American cities, and have been widely used in Asia for decades. BR+A+CE designed their own version on a large-framed tricycle with a unique cargo box that contains four bays on two levels, each of which holds two produce bins for a total of eight.

More: Pedaling Produce: Boston Gets a Bike-Powered Farm Cart | Wired Design | Wired.com