1. shopping

live consciously
buy wisely
make a difference
No. 38 v Winter 2006/2007
What Does Not Buying Really Look Like?
An Exploration of Less During a Time of Excess
PHOTOS
BY ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
By Anna White
F
or the past four years my two
sisters and I have trekked to
our local Delaware shopping
mall the day after Thanksgiving — the
day that officially heralds in the annual
“season of consumption” — to promote a revolutionary new product:
NOTHING™.
Donning season-appropriate Santa
hats and matching “salesperson” attire
Inside This Issue
(T-shirts that read, “NOTHING™
What You’ve Been Looking For!” and
“Ask me about NOTHING™,” and
gigantic shopping bags labeled “FREE
SAMPLES — NOTHING™”), we
walk silently through the buying frenzy that has been in full tilt since the
wee hours of the morning.
On a typical visit, we are quickly
approached by shoppers wanting free
samples of “whatever we have.” We
oblige, telling our “customers” to put
out their hands, then we pull out an
empty jar labeled NOTHING™ and
proceed to pour nothing in into them,
while extolling the product’s attributes.
“NOTHING™ is a revolutionary
new product,” we gush, “Guaranteed
not to put you debt… 100 percent
nontoxic… sweatshop-free… zero
waste… doesn’t contribute to global
warming… family-friendly… fun and
creative!”
continued on page 6
Stress-Busters and Gift Ideas v Salvaging Sweaters v Fair Trade Fare v Local Buying Guides
Letters, Tips, & Tidbits
What’s the Alternative to Ads?
Nice as always to have a new In
Balance to read. (The article by John de
Graaf is a good one!)
I do have a question about the method
you’re choosing to stop BusRadio and
Channel One: Why isn’t this something
that the school systems of a community
can decide on? It would seem that not
having BusRadio on the buses at all is a
more direct route to removing it? … I
would think having parents (and kids!) bring
Go Online for Alternative Gifts
Alternative gifts offer a chance to
channel some of your holiday gift dollars
to good causes, while sharing a little
goodwill with others in your community.
Fortunately, online options abound for
last-minute gifts with lasting impact:
www.altgifts.org
www.justgive.org
www.globalgiving.com
www.ourvoicestogether.org
www.oxfamunwrapped.com
For more on alternative gift fairs:
www.newdream.org/holiday/altgift.php.
Product Placement Power
A recent ad industry report indicates
that paid product placement — inserting
products into movies,TV shows, books,
etc. — is accelerating rapidly as a form of
advertising. In 2005, spending on product
placement ballooned to $2.21 billion
globally, a 42 percent increase over the
prior year. $1.5 billion of that was spent
on the U.S. market.
Contents
What’s New
Stress-Busters and Gift Ideas
Good, Bad, Truly Ridiculous
Buy Green: Fair Trade Fare
Fun Box: Reuse an Old Sweater
Reviews & Recommendations
Spotlight on Sophie McKibben
New Dream Community:
Taking It to the Streets
Orwell: Happiness for Sale
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WINTER 2006/2007
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IT’S NOT JUST SCHOOLS… We’re seeing corporate influences in all sorts of places. MONTY ©
Jim Meddick/Distributed by Newspaper Enterprise Association.
these issues directly to a school board,
city council, bus company, etc. would be
a clearer route to a clearer goal: “No
required listening or viewing except for
what is specified by the teachers for
the class” (or something like that).
Dan Dewey
South Deerfield, Massachusetts
Our tax dollars pay for schooling
and apparently it is not enough money?
To me the corporations have
offered a solution to the school systems’ financial issues. What will our
children lose if those corporate funds
go away? The school buses themselves?
Matt Ortwein
Winchester, England
Senior Writer Dave Tilford responds:
It is only natural that school districts facing budget and program cuts
would view corporate advertising revenue as a gift horse — one they might
be disinclined to look too closely in the
mouth. In launching our campaign
against Channel One and BusRadio, we
hope to expose this particular gift
horse as one of the Trojan variety.
School advertising was never
intended by corporations to be a charitable endeavor. They receive a return
on their investment — unfettered
access to kids. In exchange for
promised revenue, schools are turning
kids’ minds over to advertisers for a
portion of each school day.
What would children lose if this
revenue stream dried up? Not much,
apparently. According to a new study
by the Arizona State University
Commercialism in Education Research
Unit, 68 percent of schools that participate in advertising activities expected
to generate income report receiving no
income at all from these activities.
None. Meanwhile, kids may be losing a
lot. The same study found that the
number one form of advertisement in
schools is for junk food, at a time when
childhood obesity rates are soaring.
Mr. Dewey is certainly right that
the best way for individual school districts to protect kids from inappropriate advertising is to just say no. Before
agreeing to any advertising contracts,
schools should look closely at what
they are giving up in return. And having
parents in the districts bringing up
these issues, and fighting on behalf of
ad-free spaces is ideal.
New American Dream feels we
need both civic/parent participation
within individual school systems and a
strong message to advertisers that
there should be limits on where and
how they advertise to children.
Individual districts and parent groups
should not be left alone to face a coordinated national effort on the part of
the advertisers. In launching a national
campaign we seek to raise awareness
of what’s at stake, and at the same time
take a firm stand that these types of
agreements have no place in schools.
Got something to share? Write to
[email protected] or send mail to
In Balance at our Maryland office.
We Have a New Executive Director!
New American Dream is
proud to announce the appointment of Lisa Wise as its new
executive director. Lisa will take
the helm in January.
“We are thrilled to have Lisa
guiding the Center for a New
American Dream in our mission
of advancing sustainable consumption worldwide,” said Board Chair
Robert Engelman. “She has the
energy, commitment, and strategic
vision we were hoping to find.
She has proven herself as an entrepreneur and a skilled
leader. Her strong background in non-profit management,
planning, outreach, and advocacy will be invaluable as we
move forward. We’re delighted to welcome Lisa to New
Dream’s leadership.”
Lisa comes to New American Dream following a
tenure as Vice President of Genetic Alliance (GA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals and families affected by genetic conditions. She managed GA’s
internal operations including budgeting, staff and volunteer
recruitment, evaluation and retention, contracts evaluation,
vendor management, and branding. She was a primary force
in growing the staff and doubling the organizational budget
in just over two years.
Previously, Lisa served as regional program manager
for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, designing
and implementing long- and short-term policy and program
initiatives. Her work included extensive strategic planning
and organizational development; training and curriculum
development; conference and event planning; and grassroots organizing.
In addition to her experience in non-profit management,
Lisa operates a financial planning service designed to help
individuals and couples at all income levels become financially
solvent and better educated about money. A former adjunct
professor of media arts and communications, Lisa is also the
founder of a not-for-profit media company in Tucson, Arizona
designed to give members of the community access to
media-making technology. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in
Political Science, a Bachelor of Media Arts, and a Master’s in
Media Arts with an emphasis on political economy from the
University of Arizona.
Please join us in welcoming Lisa to New American
Dream! We are delighted to have her on board.
The Center for a New American Dream helps Americans consume responsibly to
protect the environment, enhance quality of life, and promote social justice. We
work with individuals, institutions, communities, and businesses to conserve natural
resources, counter the commercialization of our culture, and promote positive
changes in the way goods are produced and consumed.
In Balance
is published quarterly by
Center for a New American Dream
6930 Carroll Ave., Suite 900, Takoma Park, MD 20912
Phone (toll-free): 1-877-68-DREAM v Fax: 301-891-3684
Email: [email protected] v Internet: www.newdream.org
In Balance is managed and designed by Jennifer Errick with oversight
from Monique Tilford, editorial assistance from Dave Tilford, and proofreading assistance from Sat Jiwan Khalsa and Nancy Smith.
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do
not necessarily represent those of the Center for a New American Dream.
Anyone may reproduce any of the resources authored by our staff, provided
that credit is given to the Center for a New American Dream and our website
and toll-free number are listed.
New American Dream Staff
Monique Tilford, Acting Executive Director
Emily Axelbaum, Communications Intern
Nicole Berckes, Communications Fellow
Franca Brilliant, Development Director
Anna Chamberlin, Responsible Purchasing Network Intern
Marcia Custer, Executive Assistant
Jennifer Errick, Communications Associate
Liz Fremer, Development Associate
Sat Jiwan Khalsa, Marketing & Membership Associate
Matt Kittell, Responsible Purchasing Network Program Manager
Steven Krieger, Grassroots Coordinator & Community Liaison
Alicia Leake, Administrative Assistant
Alice Meyer, Bookkeeper
Chris O’Brien, Director, Responsible Purchasing Network
Sarah Roberts, Communications Director
Jared Seltzer, IT Director
Seán Sheehan, National Outreach Director
Julia Slocum, Outreach Fellow
Nancy Smith, Director of Operations
Mary Jo Snavely, Responsible Purchasing Network Fellow
Dave Tilford, Senior Writer
Board of Directors
Alan Balch, Preventive Health Partnership
Liz Barratt-Brown, The Oikos Group
Robert Engelman, Population Action International
Julie Gorte, Calvert Social Research Department
Wendy Philleo, Independent Consultant
Juliet Schor, Boston College
Eleanor Sterling, American Museum of Natural History’s
Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
Betsy Taylor, Independent Consultant
Michael P. Totten, Conservation International
Alicia Wittink, Park Foundation
(Organizations listed for identification purposes only.)
Words of Wisdom
“[B]eing green, focusing the nation on
greater energy efficiency and conservation,
is not some girlie-man issue. It is actually
the most tough-minded, geostrategic, progrowth, and patriotic thing we can do…
Green is the new red, white, and blue.”
– New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman
WINTER 2006/2007
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What’s New at New American Dream
Please Support the Dream
It’s that time of year — our annual appeal for donations should have
just arrived in your mailbox. As
always, we deeply appreciate your
support. We generally only ask for
financial help once at the end of each
year to support our outreach, public
education, and institutional purchasing
programs. If you haven’t already,
please make a year-end donation. We
are attempting to shift the culture in a positive direction,
and every bit helps! All of us thank you for allowing us
to do this important work.
Newdream.org Wins W3 Award
New American Dream’s website, www.newdream.org,
was selected as a prestigious W3 Silver Award Winner in
the Charitable Organizations category. Our site was
chosen out of a pool of 2,300 entries from top agencies
and firms worldwide.
The W3 annual awards honor creative excellence on
the web and are sanctioned by the International Academy
of Visual Arts. For more information and a list of winners,
visit www.w3award.com.
Free “Wallet Buddy” Available Online
“The most wonderful little thing
arrived in my mail this week, almost
as light as a feather but with major
implications.”
So remarked Detroit Free Press
columnist Susan Ager about our
new Wallet Buddy, a cleverly
designed paper sleeve that wraps
around an ATM or credit card and
offers a list of possible questions
to ask before making a purchase. Was this item made with
environmentally responsible materials? Can I find it used?
Was it made locally? Can I recycle it when I’m done with
it? These and other questions can be slipped in your wallet or purse before going shopping. Originally created for
our Living Green Below Your Means online column, it
might even help you save money.
We’re offering the Wallet Buddy free online as part of
our Holiday Survivial Kit (see back page). You can also get
one at the link available now at www.newdream.org.
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WINTER 2006/2007
“Do Not Junk” Gaining Momentum
The first annual Junk Mail Awareness Week in
October was a huge success! Across the country, over
1,000 local organizers spread the word and helped build
momentum for a Do Not Junk Opt-Out registry modeled after the widely popular Do Not Call registry and
helping Americans remove themselves from the many
lists of direct mailers. Activists set up a display in a
library in Pennsylvania, several faith-based groups used
the materials in Michigan, and a condo association in
Virginia adopted our campaign — to mention just a few.
With your continued help, we’ll keep working to increase
awareness and demand for a national Do Not Junk OptOut registry and other junk mail reduction methods. If
you’d like to involve your community or have your organization endorse our efforts, please contact Grassroots
Coordinator & Community Liaison Steven Krieger at
[email protected].
In Balance Nominated for Utne
Independent Press Award
In Balance has once again been
nominated for an Utne magazine
Independent Press Award in the
category of General Excellence
(Newsletters). This award recognizes the best independent, forward-thinking publications
annually. New American Dream’s
newsletter (then titled Enough!) was last nominated in
2004. Being recognized by the savvy media champions at
Utne is always an honor!
Combined Federal Campaign: An Easy
Way for Federal Employees to Donate
Are you a federal employee? If so, you can take part in
the largest workplace giving
campaign in the nation — the
Combined Federal Campaign
(CFC). New American Dream is proud
to be part of Earth Share, a network of
the most respected environmental
charities in the country, and a recipient
of CFC support. Just enter CFC code
#0963 on your pledge card to support
our work. Thank you!
Winners of Clean-Energy Assistance Chosen, Program Under Way
About the Winners
In May 2006, the Ann Arbor City Council resolved
to buy 30 percent of its municipal energy from renewable sources by 2010. “The timing for this could not be
better,” said Energy Coordinator Dave Konkle. “This
BY JEFF STRICKLER/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
N
ew American
Dream’s Responsible
Purchasing Network
(RPN) and consulting firm
Think Energy, Inc. are pleased
to announce the recipients of
our pro bono clean-energy purchasing assistance: the city of
Ann Arbor, Michigan; the city
of Cambridge, Massachusetts;
and the state of Wisconsin.
The goal of the program is
to provide a model for how state
and local governments can
reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions and help slow climate
change by purchasing electricity
from clean, renewable sources.
RPN and Think Energy will
assist the three jurisdictions
with sizable clean energy purchases that will improve the local and global environment and boost the growth of the domestic renewable
energy sector, while meeting the budgetary needs of
each jurisdiction.
The jurisdictions were chosen because of their commitment to clean electricity and ability to serve as
national renewable energy leaders. By purchasing clean,
renewable electricity for their buildings and operations,
these jurisdictions will reduce their reliance on fossil
fuels, lowering conventional and greenhouse gas pollutants while supporting the development of clean, safe,
and renewable electricity sources.
With the increasing political demand for climate
solutions, New American Dream hopes that the project
will greatly spur national demand for solar, wind, biomass, small hydroelectric, and other forms of green
energy. At the conclusion of the purchasing program in
October 2007, RPN will publish a Clean Electricity
Purchasing Guide, which will be available online at
www.responsiblepurchasing.org.
purchasing assistance program
will help ensure that we have
good information available to
make the decisions for the Ann
Arbor community.”
Similarly, the City Council
of Cambridge, MA resolved in
June 2005 to purchase 20 percent of its electricity from
renewable sources by 2010.
According to City Manager
Robert W. Healy, finding the
best options for renewable
energy, “is complicated and
outside our traditional area of
expertise.” The free assistance
will help the city find timely
solutions.
In March 2006, the state
of Wisconsin legislated that it
must buy 10 percent of the
electricity for all state buildings
from renewable sources, under
an even tighter deadline — the
end of 2007. “Governor Doyle has committed
Wisconsin to being a national leader in the use of
clean, renewable energy,” said Robert Cramer, administrator of the state’s Division of State Facilities. “The
information and expertise from this program will
enhance our knowledge base and help our staff find
more sustainable ways to power Wisconsin’s state facilities.”
The bottom line? By switching the energy purchases of these three jurisdictions, New American
Dream and Think Energy will prevent up to 140 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually —
the equivalent of taking 9,100 sport utility vehicles off
the road — with the possibility of saving much, much
more in the future.
Chris O’Brien is Director of the Responsible Purchasing
Network at the Center for a New American Dream.
Matt Kittell is Program Manager for the Responsible
Purchasing Network.
Carbon dioxide emission reductions were calculated using
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Power
Profiler” web calculator. Utility fuel mixes are based on
year 2000 data from the eGrid Database.
WINTER 2006/2007
v
PHOTO
By Chris O’Brien and Matt
Kittell
5
What Buying Less Really Looks Like
continued from page 1
Our little improv act never fails
to elicit smiles and laughter. Mall
management, however, has been less
than humored by it. Accused of
“soliciting reactions,” we have been
physically handcuffed and arrested,
not once, but twice, charged with
“criminal trespassing,” and banned
from the mall for no less than three
years.
When it comes to ensuring the
mall remains safe — safe for shopping, that is — drastic measures will
be taken!
What Buying Less Looks
Like
While it can be risky in some
states to promote “buying nothing”
at a mall, actually buying nothing —
or less — is not. To the contrary,
many families are already consciously
choosing to buy less, both for their
personal well-being and the planet,
and thriving.
By combining strategies of buying less, making, sharing, bartering,
repairing, renting, scavenging, and
buying differently, many families
have dramatically reduced their
shopping habits and reaped sometimes surprising benefits. Many have
found that buying less means having
more — more time, more fun, better health, increased financial savings, and indeed, greater freedom.
The Compact
Chris and Sandy Clark of
Alameda, California, are members of
the Compact, a social network of
people committed to buying nothing
new, with exceptions for food, and
health- and work-related items. The
Compact began about two years ago
in San Francisco and has grown to
approximately 1,500 members, who
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WINTER 2006/2007
Indeed, the Clarks say that
one of the most significant ways in
which their involvement with the
Compact has affected overall quality of life and standard of living is
“a lot more family time together.”
“We used to overindulge at
Target — an impulse buyer’s
haven,” says Chris, “Since we’ve
joined in February, we’ve been
three times — down from weekly.”
Time that used to be spent
shopping is now spent doing quality things together, such as going
to the library, the beach, or a
museum.
The family also got rid of
their second car. Chris began taking public transportation to her
workplace and the family bought
The author and her sisters pose with their revolutionan electric cycle through
ary product, NOTHING™. Photo by Bob Herbert,
originally printed in the November 27, 2004 edition of Craigslist.org. Their annual car
the Wilmington News Journal (Delaware).
mileage has plummeted from
communicate primarily via email but
43,000 to 3,800 miles. The resultalso through local gatherings.
ing 90 percent reduction in their
“I read about it in the local
gasoline bill, coupled with fewer car
paper and was immediately drawn to payments, has been a “welcome
it,” says Sandy. “I told my wife
change in the budget,” says Sandy.
about it, and we started deliberately
The Clarks say that there are
curtailing our purchases.”
“no Compact police to enforce ‘the
While the Compact is known for rules.’” Rather, “to do it right really
the principle of buying nothing new, requires you to lead a well-examined
Sandy says that it also provides an
life.”
incentive to reduce consumption and
For others interested in adoptde-clutter. As a result, the Clarks,
ing a “buy nothing new” lifestyle,
who have a two-year-old daughter,
Sandy recommends getting rid of
have found that it is not just about
advertising in your life, since, “You
substituting used things for new
can’t want what you don’t see.”
things; they have been motivated to
buy less overall and get rid of excess
Carless in Seattle
stuff.
An accident that totaled the famSays Chris, “We used to pick up
ily car spurred Alan Durning’s family
a lot of stuff at yard sales. We’ve
to try an idea they had toyed with
just recently gotten over that. All of before, but figured was not very realthat stuff felt like it was trapping me. istic for a family of five: going carWe started to see time spent looking free. They gave it a try for a few
for stuff and sorting stuff and proweeks then decided to extend the
tecting stuff as wasted time.”
experiment for a year, which the fam-
ily is approximately two-thirds into.
cannot be reached readily by other
Wasting Less
The family has found numerous
means (such as an early Saturday
Over the past 30 years, Jeanne
benefits of living without a car. “We morning soccer practice miles away
Roy of Portland, Oregon and her
are walking more and are fitter,” says from any bus routes or families that
family have taken steps to dramatiAlan, “We are less stressed by traffic. could carpool).
cally reduce the amount of waste
The kids don’t fight en route to
“Having a car is like an ‘all you
they produce. In a typical year, they
places. We get to know our neighcan eat meal plan’ — it’s already
now accumulate just one trashcan
borhood much better. And we are
paid for, so you might as well go
full of waste, though this year they
much more intentional about our
use of time.”
It is the family’s use of time that
“All that stuff felt like it was
me. We started to
marks the biggest and most unexpected difference. The real substisee time spent looking for stuff and sorting stuff and protecting
tute for a car, says Alan, is not a bus
or a bike but planning. He says that
.”
stuff as
not having a car has pushed him off
“autopilot” and helped him reassess
– Chris Clark
how he spends his time. He now
gives greater priority to things that
give him “more joy.”
back to the buffet and load up
have not even reached that amount.
People tend to consider the
again,” says Alan, “Car sharing is
“My motivations were twoextra time that biking or public
more a la carte or ‘a la bite,’ at eight fold,” says Jeanne, “First, a ‘do not
transportation takes as wasted time, dollars an hour.”
waste’ ethic from my family that I
but Alan says it literally creates
Alan acknowledges that it is
retained. And second, knowing the
time. “The health benefits are pret- probably not practical for most fami- human impact on the earth, envity substantial,” says Alan, “The
lies to not have a car at all, however
sioning the harm done to the earth
largest health study on exercise
shedding at least one car should be,
— cut trees, oil rigs for plastic —
found that for every minute of
as the Clarks have done.
what happens before and after you
moderate exercise one extends lifes“If you were to ask our kids
have a product.”
pan by at least that amount, and
now about what it is like without a
Jeanne has employed a number
probably three minutes.”
family car, they would say it’s ‘not a
of strategies to reduce waste. One of
Alan says that it has been fairly
big deal.’”
the most important is “precycling,”
easy to adjust to living without a car
eliminating future waste by not purand that it is “only one trip out
chasing it in the first place.
of twenty that is a real pain.”
“When recycling, most of
He credits his family’s successwhat is left is packaging,” says
ful transition first and foremost
Jeanne, “So I think about
to their living in a compact
packaging before buy. I’m
community.
willing to spend more in
Living in a compact comorder to get something withmunity with a wide array of
out [throw-away] packaging.”
local businesses has given the
So what does one find in
family the option of walking,
the Roy’s trash can at the end
biking, or using other forms of
of the year? Things like plastransportation. The family has
tic bread bags, dental floss,
also relied on Flexcar, a payold photos, and packaging
The Durning family (minus eldest son, Gary), posing with their
by-the-hour car sharing sermade of materials that prevent
bicycles at the Seattle train station and preparing for a carless
vice, to get to places that
trip to Vancouver.
continued on page 8
trapping
WINTER 2006/2007
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PHOTO
PROVIDED BY ALAN
DURNING
wasted time
What Buying Less Really Looks Like
continued from page 7
them from being recycled (such as
cardboard orange juice containers
with plastic lining).
“I don’t automatically buy the
newest items,” adds Jeanne.
“When something new comes
along, I wait and ask myself, ‘Is this
something I really want, that will
really add to my life?’ Some things
do definitely offer benefit, others I
can easily do without.” Some of
the items she and her family have
chosen to forgo include: a clothes
dryer, a microwave, cell phones, air
conditioners, and a power mower.
Online Resources
Buy Nothing Day
www.adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/
NOTHING™ — What You’ve
Been Looking For!
www.buynothing.biz
Buy Nothing Christmas
www.buynothingchristmas.org
Alan Durning’s Blog About Living
Without a Car
www.sightline.org/carless
The Compact (email list)
groups.yahoo.com/group/thecompact
Freeganism
www.freegan.info
Freecycle
www.freecycle.org
Craig’s List
www.craigslist.org
Simplify the Holidays
www.simplifytheholidays.org
(An updated version of our free PDF
booklet, “Simplify the Holidays” and a
free Holiday Survival Kit are now available on the site.)
8
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WINTER 2006/2007
In some cases, says Jeanne,
buying new can mean buying less
and wasting less over the long run.
When she does buy something new,
she makes sure that it is durable
and repairable.
She finds that most things that
the family needs can be bought
used, rented, or borrowed rather
than purchased new. A member of
a book club, she takes books out of
the library, rather than buying them
new, as many other members do.
And she prefers to borrow her
neighbor’s punch bowl for a once a
year party rather than having her
own that takes up space the rest of
the year.
Jeanne says that her family’s
quest to reduce its waste and buy
things used has had a positive
impact on their standard of living.
“We don’t miss anything and we
save money, which gives us the freedom to do more things.”
From Consumer to Citizen
Last year, I told a reporter, “All
I want for Christmas is free
speech!” Christmas morning, I
opened a package from my sister
Rachel to find a paper figure
labeled “speech” escaping a box
decorated to look like a jail cell,
handmade made from recycled
materials. It drove home that
indeed, the best things in life can’t
be bought in a mall.
For many immersed in our
consumer culture that instructs us
to “shop, shop, shop till we drop,”
it may be hard to visualize the
alternatives, which do not flash on
a big video screen in the middle of
advertising-plastered Times
Square.
The Clarks, Durnings, and
Roys provide a snapshot of what
some of the myriad of alternatives
look like. The steps that they have
taken to achieve success in buying
less — be it cars, stuff, or packaging
— also suggest policy changes that
could catalyze more widespread
changes in consumption patterns,
such as bans on advertising in certain places, zoning laws that favor
compact communities over
unchecked urban sprawl, and legislation mandating recyclable products and packaging.
This past June, my sister Rachel
and I set up a booth to promote
NOTHING™ at a community festival on our hometown’s Main
Street. We asked people passing by
whether they viewed themselves
more as citizens or consumers. 100
percent answered “citizen.”
Perhaps the real question we
should ask ourselves is how much
time we devote in our daily lives to
shopping and managing “stuff” versus civic activities, particularly activities that could lead to the types of
systemic changes that could make it
easier for many more people to
have more of what matters by consuming less.
Anna White, aka NOTHING™
salesperson Frida Laff, is a global citizen and activist based in Washington,
D.C. When not taking police mug
shots with a Santa hat on, she coordinates Essential Action’s Global
Partnerships for Tobacco Control program, which works with groups in
over 100 countries to curb global consumption of a product that kills if
used as intended. Anna, a former
New American Dream staffer, can be
reached at [email protected].
The commission for this article is
being donated to the NOTHING™
Legal Defense Fund.
Last-Minute Stress-Busters and Nonmaterial Gifts
• Consider just one thing you would change in
your typical holiday celebration, and make a pledge
to try it this year. Do you dread hosting the annual family get-together and wish you could ask your brother to do it
this year? Have you wanted to volunteer with a local charity but feel like you never have the time? Whatever it is,
making a pledge to do one special thing for yourself can
make the errands for everyone else on your list feel more
joyful and less like a chore.
• Reflect on what matters most to you during
the holiday season. Whether you value time in nature,
spirtual reflection, fun with family, inner tranquility, or just a
lot of great food, keep the source of your enjoyment in
mind and use it as a way to guide your time, money, and
energy. It’s never too late to create new traditions, like
walks in the woods, family game nights, or charity drives to
add meaning and enjoyment to the holidays.
• Delegate what you can, where you can. Ask
family and friends for help decorating and cooking, and for
company doing errands. If you’re hosting parties, try making
them potluck, or suggest a lower-stress alternative to an
elaborate dinner, such as a dessert party or a low-key
brunch of bagels and fruit.
• Do something silly. If you’re stressed out, making a
The most important factor in giving
any gift is not the cost but consideration
for the recipient. As always, a little
thought about what the people on your
list really need and enjoy can save a lot of
time waiting in line. Here are a few ideas
not found in any store, that just might
make someone’s day.
• A photograph you took, or a
favorite poem or quote (hand-written), mounted in a spare picture frame.
• A “free lesson” kit. Depending on your skills and
hobbies, you may have everything you need in your workshop, craft area, or kitchen to teach someone something you
know. For example, put together a box of boards, nails,
sandpaper, and paint, and include a promise to show the
recipient how to make a shelf or CD holder. Or fill a basket
with several balls of pretty yarn, a set of knitting needles, and
the promise of a knitting lesson. For distant friends where
an in-person visit is impractical, writing out a special recipe
and sending the required ingredients in pretty containers
also makes a great present.
• Make a booklet listing your top 10 memories
of the recipient or the top 10 reasons why you love
him or her.
• Schedule an Upside-Down Day. For a child on
your list, pick a day next month and let him or her set the
agenda (with the parents’ permission). Take off your watch,
wear pajamas under your coat to the movies, eat dessert
for breakfast, play games instead of doing chores, and let
creativity rule the day.
• Schedule a monthly lunch or dinner date and
promise to cook 12 special meals for someone with whom
you want to reconnect in the coming year.
• Make your own one-of-a-kind calendar for
someone using family photos, cut-out pictures arranged in
collages, and/or drawings.
• Make a donation to a cause your recipient
cares deeply about. Last but not least, the holidays are
about giving back — and every bit counts.
EMRAH TURUDU/ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
Before making another shopping trip, try a few easy
steps to simplify your holiday thinking:
Last-Minute Nonmaterial
Presents
BY
First Things First
snowman, playing with finger paints, or
jumping in a big pile of leaves is a great
way to release some tension and have a
little fun.
PHOTO
We see evidence of it year after
year: Amid the stress of the holidays,
more Americans are trying to find ways
to reclaim the true meaning of the season. According to New American
Dream’s most recent holiday survey, 87
percent of Americans believe that the
holidays should be more about family
and caring for others, not about giving
and receiving gifts.
Now, we shouldn’t be ashamed to
buy responsibly, but especially as the
holidays draw closer, many of us make
unnecessary purchases out of a sense of
pressure and obigation. Instead of running around frantically for last-minute
“extras,” why not try a few nonmaterial
alternatives? It can make a real difference in the quality of
your celebration.
– Jennifer Errick
WINTER 2006/2007
v
9
The Good, The Bad, & The Truly Ridiculous
By 2020, Sweden hopes to be the first
industrial nation to break free from
fossil fuels, relying instead entirely on
renewables such as biofuels, wind, and
wave power. (Nuclear will not be in
the mix.) Toll and parking fee exemptions will encourage citizens to drive
non-gasoline-powered vehicles.
Currently, Swedish tax breaks make
ethanol one-third as expensive as ordinary gasoline.
Maine College Goes Carbon
Neutral
The College of the Atlantic in Maine
has vowed to become the first college
in the nation to offset 100 percent of
its greenhouse gas emissions. The college plans to reduce emissions on campus as well as invest in emissionscutting projects elsewhere. Emissions
generated by student travel to and
from campus will be included in the
offset.
New York Schools Cleaning
Greener
A breath of fresh air is blowing through
New York state’s schools this fall,
thanks to a new law mandating environmentally friendlier cleaning supplies.
Rhinebeck, New York, School Board
President Laura Rich says, “It’s welldocumented that when you clean up
the quality of the air we breathe
indoors, students’ attendance rates go
up, attention spans in the classroom
improve, and students perform better.”
10
v
WINTER 2006/2007
Truly Ridiculous
Overstepping Our
Bounds
Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor,
Your Toxic Products
The WWF/Global
Footprint Network’s
2006 Living Planet Report
indicates that humanity’s
“ecological footprint” —
the amount of planetary
space needed to meet current
resource demands — exceeds capacity
by 25 percent. This overshoot is due in
part to the fact that, (roughly speaking)
between 1961 and 2003, population
doubled, while consumption tripled. At
current rates, by 2050 we would need
an entire extra planet to keep up with
global resource consumption.
The LA Times reports that the United
States has become a “dumping ground”
for consumer products laden with toxic
chemicals banned in other countries.
One vivid example: China exports plywood glued using formaldehyde (a carcinogen) to the U.S. China forbids sale
of the same plywood at home.
Shopping Till We Drop
Millions of Americans have become
shopaholics — compulsively buying
things they do not need and often cannot afford, to the detriment of families,
jobs, and mental health — according to
a recent study in the American Journal
of Psychiatry. Not surprisingly, experts see this problem
exacerbated by the widening panoply of impulse shopping opportunities via
malls, the internet,
and cable shopping
channels.
Black Death: As
If We Didn’t Have
Enough Reason to Fear
Climate Change
A new study indicates the plague bacteria that felled 20 million or so people
in the Middle Ages flares up following
warmer springs and wetter summers.
Researchers in the Central Asian
nation of Kazakhstan found that a rise
of just one degree Celsius in the
springtime temperature led to a 59
percent increase in the prevalence of
the disease.
We Don’t Need No Stinkin’
Home Planet
Earlier this year, NASA quietly deleted
the phrase “to understand and protect
our home planet” from its mission
statement. NASA scientist James
Hansen opined that the language was
dropped after it inconveniently encouraged contemplation of uncomfortable
home planet subjects, like climate
change.
Today’s Health Lesson
Brought to You by
Twinkies
A study conducted
by the Arizona
State University
Commercialism
in Education
Research Unit
(CERU) found that
companies peddling junk
food are
behind most
of the commercial activity targeting
children in schools. CERU director
Alex Molnar notes pointedly that by
welcoming junk food ads, schools
encourage over-consumption of such
foods even as their own health curricula warn against it.
– Dave Tilford
BY ISABELLE DERVAUX
Sweden Says
“See Ya” to Fossil Fuels
Bad
ILLUSTRATIONS
Good
Buy Green
Fun Box: Salvaging Sweaters
Hand-made Fair Trade Fare
erhaps you’ve had this experience:
Once the weather turns
cold, you eagerly get out your
winter clothes. You uncover a pile of
old sweaters, forgotten since last year,
that have drifted to the back of the
closet. You don’t actually wear these
sweaters anymore — they no longer fit right, they’re motheaten, or they were hand-made by your Aunt Mildred, who
never understood how much you hate turtlenecks.
You could give them away, but you feel attached for sentimental reasons — despite never using them. At the same time,
all that clutter in your closet drives you mad. What can you
do? Here are a couple of ideas.
– Jennifer Errick
– Dave Tilford
WINTER 2006/2007
v
11
CAN STOCK PHOTO
Felt them. If you have sweaters made of wool, hot
water will cause the yarn to bind together into a solid piece of
fabric. Once the sweaters are felted, you can cut them without them unraveling, giving you several crafty options. You can
turn a pullover into a cardigan by cutting a seam down the
front and closing it with a brooch, jazzing up an older style.
You can use the fabric to make small items like towels or tote
bags. Or you can even cut squares out of them and sew them
together into blankets or throw pillows. Whatever you do,
remember that felting will cause the sweater to shrink a size
or two, so don’t do this if you want to wear it again and it’s
already a tight fit! Also, beware of “washable” wool that is
specially made to resist the felting process.
To felt the sweaters, put them into a washing machine
with a few towels (to balance the load) and run a hot water
wash, preferably on a delicate cycle. Check the sweaters every
five minutes or so to check the progress — felting is irreversible, so be sure to take the sweaters out before they’re
too small or shriveled.
Use the yarn for other craft projects. If you knit or
enjoy other needlecrafts, you can unravel a sweater for yarn.
This is especially nice with cashmere, angora, or mohair
sweaters that feel wonderful but just don’t fit anymore. The
process can be time-consuming and it won’t work with all
kinds of sweaters (some items are put together using a technique called “serging” which makes unravelling difficult).
However, it can be a great way to provide yarn for a new project without having to buy it, and one sweater can provide hundreds and hundreds of yards of yarn. For detailed instructions,
check out the guide at www.az.com/~andrade/knit/thrifty.html.
Seem like too much work? Donating a sweater to someone who could really use it this time of year is much easier,
and something even Aunt Mildred would approve of.
BY
iven the ever-increasing availability of fair trade chocolates, coffees, and teas, you may think “fair trade” is just
a food thing. But the fair trade model has long been associated with items you don’t ingest — jewelry, textiles, ceramics,
toys, and more. Even if you can’t eat them, you can use them
to adorn your shelves and yourselves, all the while providing a
decent living to talented artisans.
In a (hand-painted) nutshell, fair trade means a larger
share of control for on-the-ground producers, who traditionally see very little profit from their labors. The Fair Trade
Resource Network (www.fairtraderesource.org) offers a
more nuanced explanation: “Fair Trade Organizations (also
known as Alternative Trade Organizations) work with lowincome artisans to build their business and market their
products directly to consumers. In relationship to the producers, the FTOs adhere to a strict array of criteria… regarding workers’ pay, environmental practices, and other terms.”
The Fair Trade Federation website (www.fairtrade
federation.org) lists national, international, and online retail
stores. Ten Thousand Villages (www.tenthousandvillages.com)
and World of Good (www.worldofgood.com) both offer a
wide variety of fair trade items, inluding rugs, toys, baskets,
jewelry, scarves, and much more. Novica (www.novica.com),
owned in part by the National Geographic Society, offers
rugs, handbags, masks, mirrors, and furniture from artisans in
Asia, Latin American, and Africa. Global Exchange (www.global
exchange.org) also has an expansive online store.
A number of smaller companies and non-profits serve
more targeted communities:
Mercado Global (www.mercadoglobal.org) a non-profit
started by Ruth DeGolia and Benita Singh while students at
Yale University, works with women’s cooperatives in
Guatemala to offer jewelry, housewares, handbags, and clothing accessories. Bridge for Africa (www.bridgeforafrica.org)
works with African artisan communities to produce baskets,
jewelry, handbags, and cards. Lucuma Designs (www.lucuma
.com), features fine art and crafts from Peruvian artisans.
Taraluna (www.taraluna.com), a small, family-run business out
of Eureka, California, sells a variety of fair trade, organic, and
green gifts. (As part of its “Holiday Lights Campaign” Teraluna
is giving away a CFL bulb with each purchase!)
Perhaps the most unique fair trade offering we found:
Original T-Bag Designs (www.originaltbagdesigns.com) works
with a group of South African artists who turn recycled tea
bags into canvases, upon which they paint intricate designs.
Their unusual handiwork has even graced some of the
Smithsonian Institute gift shops.
PHOTO
G
P
Reviews & Recommendations
Made to Break:Technology and Obsolescence in America
Giles Slade, Harvard University Press
If you look around at the products and
appliances that accessorize the American
lifestyle, few of them are built to last. For
instance, my one-and-a-half-year-old iPod just
suddenly stopped working, and Apple told me
that the only solution was to recycle the old
one, as it was “gone forever,” and buy a new
one. How is it okay that things are just made
to be replaced, without any question as to why?
Made to Break delves into this topic with fervor. The beginning
of the book examines the economic history of obsolescence,
including the automotive competition between Ford Motor
Company and General Motors in the 1920s. The head of GM
saw the intrinsic business value in obsolescence and worked to
make it part of the company’s business model, gradually forcing
Ford to follow suit, despite its reputation for durability. Moving
ahead to the present, Slade sees “the industrial challenge of the
new century” in the made-to-break technology of cell phones
and computers, industries that rely on continuous upgrades and
produce mountains of toxic waste. For those interested in the
real story behind consumer product obsolesce, as well as interesting facts and tidbits on the subject, this is the book for you.
– Nicole Berckes
Recycle:The Essential Guide
Edited by Duncan McCorquordale and Cigalle
Hanaor, Black Dog Publishing
You might not think a book on recycling
would be much of a page turner, but I found
myself flipping through it eagerly, fascinated by
arresting photos of refuse cleverly transformed
into useful stuff. From simple practicality (a
yellow plastic bottle becomes a taxi sign) to
the decidedly whimsical (a shopping cart transforms into a rolling lounge chair), the pictures
invite you to see not trash, but raw materials.
This isn’t merely a picture book for your reclaimed wood
coffee table, though. The photos serve as a backdrop to the
larger story, which is recycling — the ins and outs (and back
ins) of everything including paper, plastic, glass, metal, household
waste, and compost. It covers where stuff comes from and
where it goes, offers advice on what individuals can do, and features case studies of what innovative communities are doing.
The consumer directory of eco-designers in the back will help
you build your straw bale house, floor it with cork, and keep it
tidy with a colorful doormat made from sandal scraps.
This may not be a cover-to-cover read for most. But the
book (printed on 100 percent recycled paper, natch) does
take a potentially dull subject and recycle it into something
provocative and informative.
How to Live Well Without Owning a Car
By Chris Balish,Ten Speed Press
We’ve heard it a million times: Cars are
bad for the environment, they cost more than
other forms of transportation, and they’re
worse for our health than walking and bicycling. Balish’s new guide to going carless doesn’t contain information that’s drastically
different from what you already know (and
perhaps have been telling yourself for years).
It does, however, provide timely statistics and
real stories addressing the concerns that keep many people
from actually going car-free.
For readers accustomed to the instant gratification of
automotive transportation, Balish provides guidance for making the switch in a practical way. He explores different ways
to get from here to there and the costs and challenges associated with each. Can you go on dates without a car? Can
you get your kids to school? Is riding the bus safe? Yes, yes,
yes, says Balish, to this and much more, with an upbeat,
encouraging tone. If you’re on the fence, here’s your motivational push. New Year’s resolution, anyone?
Simply Green Parties
By Danny Seo, Collins
When I first heard of eco-chic design
sensation Danny Seo several years ago, I was
dubious. Nicknamed the “Martha Stewart of
the environment,” I assumed his classy home
craft projects required more effort or more
money than I’d ever want to spend.
Simply Green Parties proves me flat-out
wrong. Not only are the many ideas for green entertaining
colorful, elegant, and inviting, they’re generally very simple,
too. And to my surprise, nothing new was purchased for any
of the projects in the book — everything was found in the
author’s home, in thrift stores, or in nature.
Whether it’s turning paint chips into place cards, wine
corks into trivets, pebbles into centerpieces, or tea tins into
vases, this book is packed with creative inspirations for birthdays, dinner parties, and holiday gatherings. (Seo’s blog,
dannyseo.typepad.com, also has loads of equisite, eco-sensitive
ideas, updated regularly, for free.)
– Jennifer Errick
– Jennifer Errick
12
v
WINTER 2006/2007
– Dave Tilford
Symbol denotes that the item has been printed on recycled paper.
New Dream Spotlight
Young Bookworm Sophie McKibben
come back from the local printing press,
she said, “it looked like a magazine!”
Three years into it, Bookworm is
still growing. As of this writing,
Bookworm has 61 subscribers and is on
its ninth issue. Children from over 20
different states and three countries
have had their work published. When
asked if she’d like to pick a poem that
she’s found especially meaningful, she
said that she receives so much amazing writing, she
could never pick just one.
Sophie plans to continue working on her publication
through high school. “It is extraordinarily important that
people my age and younger (and older!) write and read
and draw because they have the opportunity… I think
our generation has a chance to discontinue the ideas that
older generations have of us as young people…”
Kids these days!
To subscribe to Bookworm, send a letter and $8 to:
Sophie McKibben
Bookworm Magazine
P.O Box 167
Ripton,VT 05766
If you know someone 15 or under who’d be interested in submitting prose, poetry, or artwork for publication in Bookworm, use the above address or email
[email protected].
– Julia Slocum
More noncommercial reading for kids:
WINTER 2006/2007
v
PROVIDED BY SOPHIE
MCKIBBEN
• The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell (Little, Brown, &
Company, 2005)
• Henry Hikes to Fitchburg by Donald B. Johnson (Houghton
Mifflin, 2000)
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (Random House, 1971)
• Made You Look by Shari Graydon (Annick Press, 2003)
• New Moon, an ad-free magazine edited by and for girls
age 8 to 14 (www.newmoon.org)
• Stone Soup, an ad-free magazine publishing stories, poems,
book reviews, and artwork by children age 8 to 13
(www.stonesoup.com)
PHOTO
K
ids these days… more engrossed
in video games than books, more
interested in the mall than family.
If you’ve ever uttered or thought
these words, we’d like you to meet
Sophie McKibben, a resourceful young
woman who values friends, family, and
community over trips to the mall. Oh,
and Sophie reads. And writes. And publishes the writing of other kids.
Three years ago, at the age of 10, Sophie saw a need:
a place for kids to express themselves creatively through
words and art. While kids’ magazines exist to publish
select examples of children’s artwork, prose, and poetry,
Sophie felt that the big name magazines were too competitive, that the hard work and inspirational efforts of
too many aspiring writers and artists were turned away.
She felt that everyone should have the opportunity to
see their words in print and share their creativity.
Instead of shrugging it off or submitting to the “that’s
just the way it is” messages youth often face when questioning the status quo, Sophie decided to take action. She
founded Bookworm, a quarterly magazine created by and
for kids aged 15 and under as a forum to share their art,
poetry, and prose with other kids around the country
and the world.
She knew of other kids who had tried and abandoned efforts to start literary magazines. However,
Sophie’s parents (authors Sue Halpern and Bill McKibben)
and friends encouraged her by helping to spread the
word and inviting kids her age to submit artwork and
writings.
She didn’t have much in savings to help pay for the
printing. Again, this didn’t deter her. To publish the first
issue of Bookworm, she used $200 received from
Patagonia, the clothing company, for an article she wrote
for them on the Endangered Species Act. She also
applied for and received various grants from local businesses who were inspired by her efforts.
Sophie didn’t (and still doesn’t) have the software for
publication layout design, so she started out doing it the
semi-old-fashioned way. This included typing all the
entries onto her own computer, reviewing, editing, and
finally gluing them to a legal-sized sheet of paper (remember, this is all after school). Magically, when it would
13
New Dream Community News
A
t a small table by the window of the Artist’s Cup
Café, two college students sit
down with the café owner for
coffee, pumpkin pie, and conversation. They’re not longtime friends, nor is this a
chance encounter. Kurt
Hoffmann and Chrissy
Ungaro have dropped in
on dozens of businesses in
Meadville, Pennsylvania.
The meetings are part of
their work to develop
“A Conscious
Consumer’s Guide to
Buying Wisely in
Meadville.”
Kurt and Chrissy aren’t alone.
New Dreamers in New York,
Colorado, New Hampshire, and
Washington, D.C., are surveying businesses and producing guides to buying
wisely in their communities. They’re
all participating in New American
Dream’s Buy Wisely Locally Project.
Launched this summer, the project is
one small step toward refocusing the
American Dream from “more is better” to “more of what matters.”
Over the years, many supporters
have asked for specific local campaigns
to help develop stronger communities. Fans of our Conscious Consumer website (www.newdream.org/
consumer) have also wanted a similar
resource for finding environmentally
and socially responsible products in
their own areas. This project aims to
create that very resource!
Inside the guide
The buy wisely guides are unique
because they both help citizens consume less and they support local
14
v
WINTER 2006/2007
businesses. One might think these
goals are mutually exclusive, but
upon deeper inspection, it makes perfect sense. If more Americans decided to forgo their twentieth pair of
fresh-from-the-sweatshop pants, perhaps more Americans would be able
to buy high-quality local or fair trade
products from businesses that support the local community. (Yes,
there are other factors of economic
justice at play, but it’s one piece of
the puzzle.)
So what does this mean in practical terms for the guide? Our five pilot
communities are following a standard
guide template that is divided into
three sections:
1. Local resources to help people
buy less new stuff —such as thrift
stores, repair shops, and simplicity
groups;
2. A directory of locally-owned
businesses, farmers’ markets, and
locally-made products; and
3. A list of high-impact, regularlyused products and the best local places
to find them.
An additional section will highlight
businesses within specific product categories,
such as books, clothing
and footwear, electronics, groceries, hardware
and home improvement products, investments, office supplies,
restaurants and cafés,
sporting goods, and bicycle shops.
One of the most
exciting aspects of this
pilot will actually begin
after the guides are
printed and distributed.
Organizers will return to each
of the participating businesses and
offer resources on how they can make
positive changes to their product
offerings and operations. This
encouragement and an accompanying
business resource kit are designed to
make it as easy as possible for the
businesses to make tangible changes.
While other resources explain “why,”
but leave the reader to figure out the
“how,” our kit provides all the necessary information to make actual
changes and improvements. Upon
learning the financial and PR benefits
and easy implementation steps, what
business is too successful to say, “No
thanks”?
In Washington, D.C., Outreach
Fellow Julia Slocum has assembled an
impressive team of volunteers to reach
out to the business-dense areas. She’s
known all along that “people really
care and want to help, they just don’t
always know how to contribute or
what to do.”
Similarly, small and medium businesses, because of their size, are not
regularly approached to make
ILLUSTRATION
By Steven Krieger
BY ISABELLE DERVAUX
Taking Conscious Consuming to the Streets (and Grocery Stores, and Clothing Shops…)
Orwell’s Corner
improvements that will create positive change, so
they’re not aware of the impact their actions could have.
Businesses and individuals are engaging in the project, and so are entire towns. In Wolfeboro, New
Hampshire, the Town Planning Board is in the early
stages of a complete Sustainability Assessment. In conjunction, local New Dreamer Josh Arnold is spearheading Wolfeboro’s Buy Wisely guide. His dream is to
create ripples that spawn a buy wisely movement across
New England. Ambitious? Of course. But it’s exactly
the kind of ambition we need to take back the
American Dream and shift our cultural priorities from
“more is better” to “more of what matters.”
Shining a light on the shameless
use of Orwellian doublespeak to
convince Americans to borrow,
spend, overconsume, and pollute.
Chalk One More Up
Back in Meadville, Kurt and Chrissy say goodbye
and leave the Artist’s Cup Café with big smiles and full
bellies. The owner hadn’t just filled out their survey,
she’d proudly told them how she tracked down the
best fair trade organic coffee and developed composting techniques. Today’s experience isn’t unique. Their
team has approached nearly every applicable business in
Meadville and most have responded enthusiastically.
Many businesses immediately get that this is an ideal
opportunity for free promotion to college students and
the broader community.
“I think we make many business owners’ days by
coming in and asking these questions,” Chrissy
explained. “They have found these practices to be
profitable all along, and having a project recognize and
highlight their efforts gives them a real satisfaction for
their work.”
Just imagine how that satisfaction will grow when
citizens of Meadville start using the guides to patronize
local businesses whose goods and services align with
their values. Imagine how it will overflow when communities all across the country develop Buy Wisely
Guides and help citizens everywhere align their consumer decisions to get not just more… but more of
what matters.
Stay tuned to your Act Locally email alerts as this
winter and spring we’ll announce the release of the first
round of guides and invite New Dreamers to join us in
bringing round two to your town. If you’re not signed
up to receive Act Locally alerts, you can do so today at
ww.newdream.org.
I
thought I had everything I needed to get through
the holiday season until a recent ad in the New York
Times reminded me of the most important thing on my
list: happiness. And then, where to buy it: Clinique!
According to the ad copy, an unspecified number
of women decided that Clinique’s “citrus-floral” fragrance best fit the mood “happy.” (I’m not sure what
the other choices were, but anguish and melancholy
probably don’t mix as well with grapefruit and boysenberry aromas.) Thus, the logical conclusion, that the
company had bottled joy, a surefire best-seller this time
of year.
Kidding aside, as cosmetic companies go, Clinique
has a reputation for quality, they no longer test on animals, and they use few animal ingredients. With that
kind of record, they could sell their products on their
own merits, rather than a bunch of holiday hooey!
– Jennifer Errick
Steven Krieger is Grassroots Coordinator & Community
Liaison for the Center for a New American Dream.
WINTER 2006/2007
v
15
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BY
As an added bonus, we’re also sending free holiday tips by email to members
of our online New Dream Community from now until New Year’s Day. Could you use a few
suggestions for reducing stress, simplifying holiday tasks, and enjoying the best of the season?
Sign up for our holiday tips at www.newdream.org.
ILLUSTRATION
Available now at www.newdream.org and absolutely free, our stress-saving kit
includes an updated “Simplify the Holidays” booklet, Gifts of Time certificates, holiday ecards, alternative gift fair locations, and affordable, eco-friendly gift ideas.
GUS D’ANGELO
Need a Dose of Holiday Sanity? Download our Free…