last minute no effort green gifts
if you’re in a jam today with no stores open and relatives on the way, here are a couple suggestions for no waste, no (or very little) effort presents on the fly:
- rebate completer: if you’ve ever had to fill out a rebate form, make copies of receipts, and mail them in, you know how appreciative someone would be if you present them with a homemade (a piece of paper folded in half) card offering your rebate completion services. this gift is great for your older relatives who you’ve spent hours trying to differentiate the “x, the square and the line” on your browser’s window to.
- pre-mixed bottle of their favorite booze: you have booze and you have a bottle. i know you do. if you don’t, there are plenty of liquor stores open on x-mas day in my hood. check out your nabe’s regulations here. gin & tonic, vodka cranberry and bailey’s irish cream are always crowd-pleasers. please drive responsibly.
- labeling services: this is a great one if you have a labelmaker. i relish the time that i spend with mine, so making labels for my friends who desperately need them, but either do not own a p-touch or just don’t like making labels is easy and rewarding. you can either make the labels for them in advance if you know what kind they need, or present them with a “card for 20 labels” which then can then redeem either on the spot (fun holiday activity), or in the future.
- recycling or compost setup: a lot of people out there want to recycle or compost, but are just too lazy/busy to set things up. present them with the necessary objects if you have any around the house, or a card offering your services at their own home.
- charity/event marketing or public relations: if you’re a marketing guru, public relations expert, or just someone that a lot of people listen to, give a friend the gift of free promotion for their next charity cause or event! don’t forget to remind them how much you usually charge for your services by giving them a giftcard for $1000 worth of marketing, and running out after a one-hour consultation (just kiddin’).
- you know it wouldn’t be christmas if i didn’t give a shoutout to my own charity cause: http://www.charitywater.org/pages/yukayoneda/
please donate if you have a chance! 100% of your money goes to repairing a well in a village where people don’t even have clean water for christmas. thank you and have an awesome holiday!
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i couldn’t have scrawled it better myself
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instead of taking the route that this person chose (perhaps he/she was doing scavengers like me a favor by warning us in advance?), why not check out green screens this saturday and sunday from 8am-2pm?
your neighborhood gigantic bird and tiny tv will thank you!
Click here for a full list of accepted materials.
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a table to talk about
this is what your leftover ikea boxes want to be when they grow up:
check out the designer, leo kempf’s project statement here.
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how to recycle your underwear
we recycle a lot of things, but for many, underwear is a stretch.
am i ashamed of myself for writing that? a little.
but seriously though. it’s a dilemma that has plagued many a green conscience. it’s embarrassing when you try to donate perfectly good, practically new bras to the thrift shop only to be turned away. and don’t even attempt to donate underwear for your lower body. shopkeepers look at me like i’m some kind of perv - even if the undies still have tags on them!
no, there is no simple solution to the social stigma behind the problem, but here are some shame-free ideas on how you can reuse or recycle your intimates:
1. make your briefs into a sports bra
vid courtesy of www.liveleak.com
2. send back your worn out patagonia base layers to be recycled into new ones!
patagonia common threads garment recycling
3. use the trimmings from your old undergarments to pretty up the undies you have now.
cut off bows, trim and lace from your unwanted skivvies and sew them onto your new undies that could use a little sprucing up, or even onto sweaters or jeans. i’ve seen so many girls wearing cardigans with pretty pieces of lace or ruffles on them. instead of paying for these ornaments, why not just use your old bras?
strumpet & pink has an awesome collection if you’re in need of inspiration:
pics courtesy of www.trendoriginal.com
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how to get people to recycle their beer cans without resorting to violence
intriguing, i say. i don’t think there is any need to explain, because a picture = 1000 words.
idea by brenda osorio / rodrigo ambriz
via idealist
seems like there is some contention about the fact that the concept might fail because partygoers love to leave floaters. what happens if a half-full can is inserted into one of the slots in the cardboard? things would be so much easier if people would just drink their whole drink!
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reversible: how advertising is helping to save the planet
johnny strategy of spoon-tamago.com was kind enough to send us intel about these one-of a-kind bags from our french brothers from another mother and sisters from another mister:
the company that makes them, reversible, selects advertising tarpaulins with the best graphics that are about to be discarded. instead of being incinerated, the tarpaulins are made into useful and durable bags. a return envelope is included with each purchase so that the customer can send back the bag when they feel it has reached the end of its life-cycle, and the bag is then made into more tarpaulins or other plastic products.
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make it…literally
words are our friends and they deserve to be showcased! mimicking these identity elements from westwood hotel is a very clever way to use your old folders, cardstock and heavy paper:
door hangers
coasters
these would make a nifty housewarming gift too! just draw your design on whatever material you want to reuse and cut it out.
this one is a big more difficult to replicate, but oh so sweet:
images courtesy of www.fubiz.net
i wonder if the designer took his inspiration from the cartoon wordworld?
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egg carton meatball spacer
it’s pretty self-explanatory:
i like to pack 10 meatballs and use the two extra spots for colorful toothpicks and a plastic tomato (you can find them at most banzai stores) filled with sweet and spicy tonkatsu sauce.
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why is this a site?
swyyne has always been an experiment for me. with all of the other super eco sites out there, i've been feeling like i want to contribute something just a bit different. so for now, here are my random musings.
look for stuff
feed yourself