On Nov. 25, Black Friday, Patagonia placed an ad in the New York Times, telling readers, “Don’t Buy This Jacket.” As they said in a blog post on The Cleanest Line, they felt it was time to address the issue of consumerism head-on, and laid out how they were addressing their environmental impact — telling customers, “Don’t buy what you don’t need,” and “Think twice before you buy anything.”
I’m sure many of us stayed home on Black Friday, and didn’t camp out at Wal-Mart to get a $2 waffle iron (or get pepper sprayed). I didn’t buy that Patagonia jacket, because I don’t need it. Maybe you didn’t either. It was pretty easy, wasn’t it? Want to know what else you can do? Here are a few other things that are just as easy as not buying a brand-new jacket — from not flushing your toilet so often, to not buying bottled water — in the vein of that Patagonia ad.
-Brendan
Great article, I agree wholeheartedly with everything written. Nice work!
I approve of this. I’m surprised how few reusable bags I see at the grocery store. They are everywhere to buy, cheap, and hold groceries much better than plastic. Plus most grocery stores give you a discount for using them, which pays for itself in the long run. And they’re great for carrying things other than groceries. When we pack the car for a trip we have several of our reusable grocery bags full of stuff.
Excellent, Brendan. I’m bothered by the fact that many people believe plastic bags, disposable coffee cups, automobiles ect. have always existed and it’s impossible to live without them.
Oh, and peeing outside is amazing.
Excellent! We already do all of these… Except the flush. But we have low flow 🙂
Thanks for sharing these statistics Brendan!
“The more you know…”
Right-fucking-on, Brendan. What further bothers me is that there are quite a few of us who eschew plastic bags, bottled water, coffee cups, etc. and the per capita statistics are still so discouraging…
Well, if you come over to my house, please flush the toilet no matter what you put in there. You’re still a good person if you flush.
Dead on Dude……….as usual!!!
Great post. I might skip Starbucks altogether. I’ve been in a few that insist on using a paper cup to pour into my re-usable mug.
Hope to someday put a clivus compostable toilet on my property or when we buy some land for a camp up north (NH).
I’ve had that happen before at a Starbucks, too, Chris. Seems like it’s always the ones in airports?
Good work…Did not know u were such a liberal!
What a great posting! It reminded me that I haven’t been using my bike like I should be, despite describing myself as a cyclist. So you inspired me to check out a map of my town, draw a little 2-mile circle around my house, and make a promise to myself: that everything within a 1/2 mile I’ll walk (the pub, coffee shop, and a few restaurants), and everything within 2 miles I’ll bike to (even if that means leaving the dog at home).
Right on, Chris!
This is awesome. You are my hero. This is exactly what Patagonia wanted to happen…thank you!
Totally agree with all these…it’s a shame that people even need reminders not to be wasteful. It hardly takes any effort at all to have a major impact.
“If it’s yellow, let it settle. If it’s brown, flush it down.” Advice Ionce received.
That’s why I choose not to wash my hands either, especially before I stick my hand in your trail mix