A donation instead of flowers at a funeral is common but I had never heard of someone saying at Christmas to skip the gift and instead give to a charity. Until this year, when I know 3 people who have done it and many more considering it especially once their children are older. And a few clever charities are promoting the idea as well. Its great. Its better than great. And surely this concept will only increase as people do worry about consumption. Plus people acknowledge they own everything they really want. But then the doubts; the products will still be made and on shelves for sale, even if one person does not receive a gift? Personal consumption levels is actually not about giving a donation to a charity of choice; just as ‘offseting’ carbon produced by saving someone’s forest that you should not even destroy in the first place is not really a positive.
Climate change needs to be made personal. I wish I could do it. I wish we all could reduce consumption in a way that worked; but what would that look like?
I don’t do it, but I wish everything I bought was truly environmentally friendly. I looked at all my purchases of this past month, after reading of an artist who has made clever art out of her consumption over past 5 years; http://www.obsessiveconsumption.typepad.com
Sure I buy the enviro’ friendly washing detergent and I recycle containers and look for items with minimal food packaging. But …..
I try to imagine a world without the purple coloured writing pens I adore. Or the fun coloured manila folders or the glitter pen or the notebook with fabulous arty 3D effect picture on it, to name just a few minor items I bought in this month. All these things and more have chemicals in them. And all could be stopped so that the manufacturing of basic plain environmentally friendly items for the same tasks, was possible.
Demand will always be there. Thus a stationery factory filled with synthetic chemicals to make all these items will always exist. Or will it?
How can we change demand?
Can I just turn off the wish to buy the 50cent notebook with green spiral bound plastic doover over it? I should I know. I should do better. Yet it seems so futile because my not buying one or two items is not going to stop the factory right now. How to get critical mass? And what about the job losses, if production did reduce? Unemployment is already a critical issue in developing countries as well as so called modern societies … would enviro’ consumption mean further hardship for individuals out of work ….??
Eventually next generations I guess, will be attending addiction meetings for those who still crave for colourful pens; after the globe is destroyed because we all loved our colours in all our items we buy, whether minor or substantial purchases
Yet it pleases me that someone has taken a stand and asked for no gift. Its all about the individual gestures. And in a group setting having a donation to a charity of choice instead of a gift is a profound statement, to all who are there.
Now about my purple pens, what is the environmentally sound decision for me to make and can I do it?
For more clever art go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kateconsumption/sets/72157622729694162/
- 14 new pens, wonder if they were coloured….
