consumption
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‘The Story of Broke,’ Annie Leonard’s new video
Annie Leonard made a splash with her viral video about our consumerist society, “The Story of Stuff,” which inspired a book, an in-depth website, and a series of spinoffs. Her latest installment in the series is “The Story of Broke” — watch it here: The video in a nutshell: The Story of Broke: Why there’s […]
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Can smart consumption replace green government?
A couple of years ago we were promised the “greenest government ever” — not a difficult thing in the U.K., but it sounded fun all the same. Sadly, the green stuff that was a major part of Prime Minister David Cameron’s “detoxification” of the Conservative party image a couple of years ago left no trace […]
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Stop breathing! You’re putting us into debt
Starting next week, everything you eat, breathe, use, and touch will put you further in debt to the planet. Each year, humans consume more resources than the planet can produce, putting us into "ecological debt" to the planet.
Unlike monetary debt, this over-budget spending can't be forgiven or wiped away. -
How old is your phone? I bet mine is older
Planned obsolescence is morphing into desired obsolescence: Customers want gadgets to wear out so they'll have a good excuse to buy a new one. But some of us cheapskates aren't playing along.
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Are these eco-friendly sandals worth $18,000?
Chipkos, a company that produces eco-friendly footwear, has partnered with artist David Palmer to produce the world's most expensive pair of flip-flops. They cost $18,000, but hey, at least they're really ugly!
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The medium chill
Step off the aspirational treadmill and forego some material opportunities in exchange for more time to spend enjoying the things that make for a good life.
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Hoofin’ it: Ask Umbra on faux-leather Birkenstocks
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, I love Birkenstocks, but what’s the deal with Birko-Flor? A leather alternative, sure. But they’re vinyl, and I believe vinyl is a four-letter word in Grist world. Would I be better off just sticking to traditional leather-upper Birks? JenniferBrooklyn, N.Y. Heart and sole. Photo: pi?A. Dearest Jennifer, […]
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Barking up the wrong tree: Ask Umbra on printing emails
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, Can you bring some balance and common sense to the Wall Street Journal‘s aw-shucks oversimplification of the issue of to print or not to print emails? I learned about it from a few colleagues’ change in email signatures, encouraging people to print their emails to promote a […]
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Royal wedding will be slightly greener wretched pile of excess than usual
I've noticed that I have zero posts in my Twitter feed about how awesomesauce the royal wedding is, and 2930820385 about how nobody else will shut up re: the royal wedding and its awesomeness. But clearly somebody somewhere is into this, so okay, this one's for you: Looks like Prince Harry and Princess Hermione, or whoever, are taking steps to turn their wedding from a completely over-the-top exercise in overconsumption to an eco-completely-over-the-top exercise in overconsumption.