Thinking alot lately about how to use on-line to drive local community and local purchases. Was in my favorite men’s store in Seattle, Oslo’s the other day and picked up the 3/50 project flyer. Very cool project. Didn’t know anyone had quantified the impact of shopping local. Forget Obama’s stimulus funneled through DC and the politicians. Shop local.
We launched Kashless.org last year after Christmas in Seattle. I was surprised to see that the first item posted was a Christmas tree and Christmas decorations. When I think back, it makes alot of sense. What to do with all that extra stuff after Christmas? All the extra trimmings, all the old things that you now have new ones of, the double gifts you received, the wrapping paper, boxes, etc. Thoughtful people look to reuse and recycle all that and along came Kashless.org. I expect a similar trend this year.
Interestingly though, we have seen quite a spike in traffic, membership and postings this year BEFORE Christmas. Not sure if it is people making room for all the new stuff coming, or looking for free Christmas presents, but traffic is up about 30% this last week and over 5,000 new members have joined in the last month. Many new people are finding us through our recent partnership with RecycleBank. Many members are also finding holiday shopping deals through our partnership with eBates to get cash back web shopping. I have also found our partnership with NextWorth personally useful as they sent me cash for an old cell phone!
Merry Christmas all and to all good reuse and recycling!
Sometimes it's easy being green.
Sure, being sustainable may not be all fun and games (shorter showers? Such hardship!) but some green practices are easy and fun to adopt.
Without further ado, 5 fun ways to get a little greener:
1) Shop vintage
Vintage clothing, furniture, and household items are more than just green. They're also unique, funky, and fun to look for. A day of vintage shopping is always fun, and you're
sure to find some real gems. Seriously, one of my favorite pieces of clothing (a vintage Dolce and Gabbana pencil skirt, in case you were wondering) was found in a heap of vintage skirts in a basement resale shop - and I got it for a song.
2) Go digital
Bookworms rejoice: ebooks are awesome and eco-friendly. Even if you don't have a snazzy Kindle of your own, your local library has ebooks these days, too. You can download and read them instantly - with no late fees and no trip to the library.
3) Get crafty
The sky is the limit when it comes to repurposing. Almost everything can be "upcycled" and given a new lease on life. If you can dream it, you can make it. Look around your house for ideas. My mother, a glass artist, has an entire line of recycled wine bottles. She shapes them into tumblers, slumps them into cheese boards, melts them into bowls, or turns them into mosaics. Get creative!
4) Grow it yourself
Gardening at home is as green as it gets. No chemicals, no transportation costs, no nonsense. Just good old fashioned vegetables! It's fun to see your love and care blossoming. If you're garden-shy or low on space, try growing herbs in your window sill. It's nice to have something truly green and growing - and delicious, too.
5) Take a stroll
Walking or biking to work saves on gas and cuts your stress. Sure, it may take a little longer to get there, but life's about the journey, isn't it? By walking or biking to work, you'll get in some exercise and get to know your town. You may find things you never would have seen if you were bottled up in your car racing from place to place. Make it an adventure - but take your time.
Now, let us hear it! What are your favorite fun ways to go green?
Very good overview article. No mention of Kashless, but we are still in development.
There are many out there who are worried that the current economic crisis will result in a significant retrenchment in available technology, money, etc. I don’t share that view, but it is good to ponder what would I do if the supermarket, gas station, and restaurants were empty. This could happen either due to lack of money to purchase their goods, a significant disruption in the supply chain, significant political unrest, any number of alternatives with increasing probabilities.
check out the 10 skills required in a FreeConomy post by Matt over in England. And There is a good list of the 200 artisan skills required to make a Victorian town functional on the Transition Culture blog
Back home in America there is always the stand-by Mother Earth News. I am personally buying a couple of these resources in physical book form (in case the internet explodes).
GoGreenOnline did a survey of their readers asking what kind of common green behaviors they engaged in. Of the three “R’s, “Reduce” and “Recycle” were 95% of the activities. “Reuse” had only two items and both at less than 50%. I bet the actual reuse rate is way lower. Why don’t people who are very attuned to Recycling Reuse at a higher rate?
about the Waste hierarchy. In our opinion, Reuse is the most underdeveloped bar in this whole scheme. Sure, you re-use shopping bags, but what about all that stuff in your garage that isn’t really trash yet. That is the problem Kashless.org is solving. Have a read. Earlier this year they also did a primer on REUSE specifically.
highlights:
- According to the U.S. EPA, in 2006, Americans generated about 251 million tons of trash. That’s about 4.6 pounds per person, every day. Of this 251 million, 82 million tons of it was recycled. This recycling saved “the energy equivalent of more than 10 billion gallons of gasoline.”
Reuse is simply the act of finding a second (or third, or tenth or hundredth) use for a product to prolong its life. Reuse is an important step after you’ve already reduced, but before you are ready to recycle.
Most of us reuse everyday without realizing it. Any time you buy or sell a product secondhand, such as from Craigslist, eBay or Goodwill, you are providing an additional use for this product, while at the same time, not requiring another one to be created.
To really get in the habit of reusing, focus on:
It seems that the idea of a store where everything is free, although undoubtedly there have been many throughout history, the modern idea is credited to The Diggers. Check out this and that. They seem to have a virtual store, but it doesn’t seem to have much in the way of listings or activity.
A bunch of artist in NYC has opened a physical store where everything is free. The Post did a good story on it. If you are in NYC drop by 99 Nassau St. Now they just need an on-line presence.
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