consumption
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Are rich Americans having more kids?
“Soon we’ll have our own lacrosse team!”In Tina Fey’s recent piece in The New Yorker, she writes that elite Manhattanites seem to be trying to outpopulate the rest of us: I thought that raising an only child would be the norm in New York, but I’m pretty sure my daughter is the only child in […]
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Ask Umbra on the disappearance of OB tampons and more sustainable alternatives
Some are calling it a Tampocalypse. But sometimes disappearing OB tampons happen for a reason. This could be your chance to switch to a greener option
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Cups made of Jell-O are the unnecessary product du jour
Today in why-is-this-thing-real news, we have party cups made of Jell-O.
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'Collaborative consumption' can put your underused stuff to work [VIDEO]
Rachel Botsman, coauthor of a book on collaborative consumption, details a 21st century economy rising up to take advantage of all our unused stuff.
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Bras give energy efficiency a sexy boost in Italy
An Italian lingerie company is offering to help women shrink their waste while supporting their busts (and the planet) with a bra recycling program that finally gives energy efficiency that sexy push-up it's been lacking.
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Ask Umbra on Black Friday, giving thanks, and buying nothing
Don't get caught in the herd headed for Black Friday's 'Savings Stampede!' Join Umbra in celebrating Buy Nothing Day, or "Giving Thanks Day."
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Ask Umbra on parabens in processed foods and personal lubricant
A reader gets hot and bothered looking for a paraben-free lube. Ask Umbra explores the perils of parabens and the everyday products they're in!
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Feeding the world means hogging less grain
How many people can the Earth support? Depends on their level of food consumption. At the U.S. average of 1,763 pounds of grain per person annually for food and feed, the 2-billion-ton annual world harvest would feed just 2.5 billion people.
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Ask Umbra on how to repair a broken electric toothbrush and other gadgets
Ask Umbra brushes off her handy tools for fixing gadgets -- like a reader's broken Sonicare toothbrush.