“Both the government and private corporations created advertisements advocating smarter and more cautious use of resources. The shift to war materials production had already limited the amount of goods available for consumer assumption, and the government imposed rationing program had further curtailed use of specific supplies. However, the government needed Americans to do more than comply with rationing measures, and thus consumers were deluged with government sponsored messages urging them to avoid waste. Food, clothing and a variety of essential items were to be used wisely. Avoiding purchasing items through a black market and acting in the interest of the greater community were strongly encouraged, both to hold down inflation and to ensure that scarce items would be available for everyone.”
View the ad collection here

There was a time when Americans were called to conserve to fulfill their civic duty. What a far cry from G.W. Bush’s call to shop after 911! How times have changed…

Here are a few of my fav:

Original Swap Lady (she appears on our interface)

Not sure what to think about this one!

gotta love propaganda.

As a result of organizations such as Adbusters and the Center for a New American Dream, the Conscious Consuming movement began in Boston in the summer of 2003 when a group of people gathered together and planned an alternative gift fair, “Gift It Up!” In the fall of 2004, another group of Bostonians formed a group named “Conscious Consuming” and began meeting to discuss a broad range of topics, from the environmental impact of consumption to the effect of media and advertising. The memberships quickly overlapped and in 2005, the groups merged into Conscious Consuming.

Conscious consuming has its roots in voluntary simplicity, in which people re-evaluate their work-life balance in order to spend more of their time and money on the things that matter to them. As people work less, there is more time for connecting with family and friends, volunteerism, hobbies, and community service. A natural off-shoot of working less is spending less. Instead of spending time and money shopping, people engaging in voluntary simplicity buy less. They get goods using web sites like craigslist, trade with friends, make do with what they have, or hit yard sales. When they do purchase something new, the decision to buy is made consciously. A would-be shopper asks, “Is this item made in line with my values? Am I supporting the local economy? Are the people who produce this item treated and compensated fairly? Is this item built to last?” As a result of these questions, conscious consumers find themselves supporting organic agriculture, fair-trade and sweat-shop free products, and local and independent businesses. – via Wikipedia

Love this graph of the fulfillment curve: (via: http://www.treehugger.com/culture/conspicuous-consumption-conscious-consumption-and-the-fulfillment-curve.html)

We’ll be following up in the near future with news and updates!

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Currently we are in the process of evaluating the next steps of the project and welcome all of your thoughts.

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If you are in Brooklyn, come to Ample Hills Creamery and check it out yourself!

Buy Nothing Day embodies the spirit of the Swap-o-matic. Take the time to voice your opposition against our consumerist, corporatist culture on the day in which consumption runs rampant, Black Friday.
Let’s reclaim this day, the holidays and every day as active citizens, and not CONSUMERS!

“Dreading the holiday season? The frantic rush and stress? The to-do lists and sales hype? The spiritless hours trapped in malls?

This year, why not gather together your loved ones and decide to do things differently? With the simplest of plans you can create a new rhythm, purpose and meaning for the holidays. Why not take the spirit of Buy Nothing Day and morph it into Buy Nothing Christmas?”

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It looks so pretty! and full!

Live drumming outside!

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