Singing vaginas is not the answer you might expect, no matter the question. Yet, here we are, and in this case, it’s a good answer because the Whole Foods shopper doesn’t want rancid chemical solvents on, in, or near her body. That’s why OrganiCare CEO and serial entrepreneur, Caroline Goodner, is battling industry juggernauts to […]
Banks are another in a long list of industries going by the wayside, thanks to the unrelenting tide of digital disruption. However, there are always survivors who manage to adapt and thrive. Frost Bank is a Texas financial institution with a century and a half of service under its belt. Can you imagine the number […]
Cadillac chose to feature an arrogant white man with questionable values to promote its new electric vehicle. Thankfully, Ford made a much wiser decision. It’s 2014 Ford C-MAX is introduced in the following video by Pashon Murray, founder of Detroit Dirt, a sustainability consultancy and advocacy group in Detroit.
“We’re crazy entrepreneurs trying to make the world better,” Murray establishes.
According to Detroit Free Press, Ford spokeswoman Sara Tatchio described the video as “lighthearted.” She’s correct about the tone of the ad, but the message is pretty serious.
“The C-MAX is sending a message about where we’re going in the future and caring about conserving resources. This is a movement about changing Detroit and practicing sustainability. That’s why they came at me,” Murray said, explaining how Ford’s agency Team Detroit chose her for the spot.
There is much to like here. I especially appreciate Ford saying that there’s nothing wrong with walking to the market to buy locally produced goods. This is the correct position on sustainability—buy a car from us, because you’re going to need it, but walk when you can.
Speaking honestly about transportation and natural resources takes balls when you’re a car company. It also makes mocking the French for their short work weeks and long vacations seem like some serious douchebaggery.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Those three calls to action are well known throughout the culture thanks to the efforts made by environmental activists since 1970. Now, according to a story in Los Angeles Times, there’s an update for conscious consumers to consider: Reuse. Remake. Refrain.
The article focuses on the “Reuse” and “Remake” aspects of the solution. But I’d like to pull a factoid from the story that helps us consider the need to “Refrain.”
Each year, Americans trash a prodigious portion of their closets: 26 billion pounds of apparel, textiles and footwear, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The amount thrown out by consumers surged 40% in 2009 from 1999 and is expected to zoom up another 40% by 2019, the agency said.
I am having a hard time imaging just how massive that is — 26 billion pounds of clothes in a heap at the dump. However, we look at it, it’s not a pretty picture. And it’s not just the massive mound of waste that’s bothersome, it’s all the needless acts of commerce that lead to it. Sure, Wal-Mart has cheap clothes, but are they any good? Will you be wearing that Made-in-China shirt six months from now?
The newspaper points to Yerdle (why shop when you can share?), a website launched during last year’s Black Friday shopping swarm, as one possible alternative to the dump, or a second hand store.
Members use the platform to offer underutilized goods — clothing, electronics, even pianos — to friends and acquaintances free of charge. The site has 18,000 participants so far, is less anonymous than Craigslist and more eco-minded than Facebook.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
