tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38778144865873660352024-03-18T23:23:41.636-04:00BrandAwareKrystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-85990248720604168712009-12-17T15:51:00.000-05:002009-12-17T15:51:37.958-05:00FREE Shipping Day!
I'm currently visiting my parents for the holidays and they approximately...in the middle of no where. If you drive north until you have no idea where you are anywhere, you've probably found my hometown. And it's not that it isn't a great place to be, but there isn't a huge selection of ethical goods stores. This is why I am extra happy to point out Free Shipping Day.
Buying Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-87435479889719161542009-12-09T14:08:00.000-05:002009-12-09T14:08:37.537-05:00Video Log 2: How to quickly research a companyFor everyone who was eagerly awaiting part 2 of the "How to buy shoes" series, this one goes over how you can quickly research a company's ethical history.
Knowmore.org
Download the Knowmore Firefox extension.Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-34039804660259477112009-12-09T10:13:00.001-05:002009-12-09T12:33:16.886-05:00Toxic Toys
A U.S. Toy study found all kinds of hazardous toxins in children's toys. Almost half the toys tested contained PVC, a plastic which can have adverse effects on people, especially small children who might put things in their mouth.
Some of the products listed as being of "high" concern are:
High School Musical argyle belt: tested to have high levels of lead, cadmium and arsenic.
Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-35318336175003882972009-12-08T11:35:00.002-05:002009-12-09T11:56:47.266-05:00Do you Dialogue?
I happen to notice this defaced bathroom stall the other day. While I don’t support vandalism, especially the kind one finds on a bathroom stall that only serves to inform me, “for a good time, call Maude”.
However, this particular bathroom stall looked more like a conversation than anything else. While a bathroom door is not an appropriate venue, an open public dialogue is important for a Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-65064723107797142542009-12-07T17:18:00.001-05:002009-12-09T11:23:52.634-05:00The Story of StuffThis is a video clip that’s been around the internet for a little. It’s an oldie (in internet time), but a goodie. The Story of Stuff is only about 20 minutes long, and well worth watching. The clip does an amazing job of breaking down the producer to consumer structures and answering the question, ‘Why do we feel the need to buy so much stuff?’
Check it out, and if you liked that one, Annie Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-56232895057474698842009-11-29T15:46:00.002-05:002009-11-30T00:34:28.732-05:00BrandAware Monitor: Walmart wins Supreme Court
It would seem that I spoke too soon last week when I (very reluctantly) gave Walmart credit for turning over a new leaf on the environmental front. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) Walmart continues to slot themselves into the ‘Evil Corporate Giant' category.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) is claiming that Walmart shut down a store in Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-63466288427848393702009-11-28T21:18:00.025-05:002009-11-30T00:51:38.557-05:00How did your Black Friday Go?So now that Buy Nothing Day has passed, and now I'm curious about how everyone spent their Friday. Did you end up buying something? Did the act of not buying anything make you realize anything about your spending habits? Did the day pass without you even noticing?
Whatever the case, let me know in the comments.
(Hit TAB on the comment form if you can't scroll down - Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-48065919878351943932009-11-27T03:21:00.002-05:002009-11-30T00:47:18.853-05:00Buy Nothing DayToday is Buy Nothing Day.
For anyone who hasn't heard of this 'holiday', Buy Nothing Day was created by an artist in Vancouver and has been promoted by Adbusters Magazine for the last 10 years or so. The idea is to 'buy nothing' for the entire day. For American consumers, this is particularly relevant since today is Black Friday - the day where stores provide pre-Christmas deals (Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-73029895215215368392009-11-27T01:32:00.000-05:002009-11-27T01:32:48.018-05:00Video Log 1: Do I Really Need This?This the first video log in a series about how to research, find and buy more ethical products. I am using my old worn out shoes as an example.
This video is Part 1: Do I Really Need This? and it's a little rough, so go easy in the comments guys and enjoy.
Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-63195028188428245662009-11-25T17:31:00.007-05:002009-11-25T20:04:33.325-05:00CBC's The End: Shifting the Way We Read, View and Interact With ContentNote: This is slightly off-topic for BrandAware but it's related to a course I'm doing. At any rate, The End is a pretty interesting documentary so be sure to check it out.
CBC’s The End discusses how new media (i.e. the internet, podcasting, streaming video) are replacing traditional media (i.e. print newspapers, broadcast television and broadcast radio) as our major sources of Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-60504589549586977682009-11-25T15:52:00.002-05:002009-11-25T18:04:15.351-05:00BrandAware Monitor: Walmart Does Something Green (Wait, what...?)In another head scratch inducing move, Walmart released information about their new sustainable deli pizza boxes. The video below shows you the closed loop life cycle the boxes go through and how they are recycled. Pizza boxes are a small factor to consider for a retail giant like Walmart, but this is just the most recent step in Walmart's new seemingly sustainable attitude.
While Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-87297177664877587472009-11-24T16:43:00.003-05:002009-11-24T16:45:51.053-05:00One More Sweatshop BustedUnfortunately, a lot of the stuff that gets talked about on BrandAware is about negative things corporations are doing, so it brings me great pleasure to be able to post about some good news on the social justice front.
The Good News
An agreement was reached between Honduran workers and Russel Athletics (who makes Fruit of the Loom products) to rehire the factory workers that were fired in an Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-22555886009337364972009-11-22T11:05:00.001-05:002009-11-23T11:25:56.006-05:00BrandAware Monitor: Method AdMethod has released a humorous ad on the chemicals in most cleaning products. It's entertaining to watch, and the issue of "what is actually in our cleaning products?" is an important one. Method makes environmentally friendly products that biodegradable, toxicity-free, and not tested on animals. With so many "green" products out there now, it's hard to know what's legitimately Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-86713168926033621182009-11-18T15:53:00.000-05:002009-11-18T17:55:46.481-05:00Apple of the future?Scientists have done it again. And by “it,” I mean something mildly disturbing that results in all kinds of ethical debate. The RS103-130 apple is supposed to stay fresh for four months without rotting and it’s more resistant to bacteria so it doesn’t need as much fungicide or pesticide. On the one hand, the miracle apple sounds pretty good. Less pesticide use means fewer chemicals in the Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-12197187209200101532009-11-17T21:22:00.003-05:002009-11-18T17:40:20.950-05:00BrandAware Monitor: New Coke Bottle, Same Old Coke Attitude?Coca-Cola announced on Monday that they will be using a plastic bottle that made of 30% plant material. The bottles are made out of recyclable PET plastic. Where is the “plant material” from? Apparently Coke is using molasses and sugar-cane by products. While this might mean slightly more environmental packaging for Coca-Cola, plastic is still a much less sustainable Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-88558841048486785492009-11-17T13:18:00.001-05:002009-11-18T17:20:37.744-05:00CorporateCritic.org: Not free, but out thereThe Corporate Critic Research Database is run by the same people who do the Ethical Consumer Magazine. Unfortunately, most of their database is by subscription only and it isn’t at all cheap. For £21.28 (which is about $38 Canadian) you can look at the database for ONE day and the rates go up from there. Obviously this website is targeted towards corporate or large NGO applications.
Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-20489696860168462472009-11-11T18:04:00.002-05:002009-11-11T18:05:21.852-05:00Free DocumentariesLooking for something to watch? Check out freedocumentaries.org. It's chocked full of stuff to watch.
Here's just a few selections that might interest BrandAware readers (but be sure to browse through yourself).
Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
Chomsky and Herman illustrate their propaganda model, the thesis that corporate media, as profit-driven institutions, tend Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-16662787289690899382009-11-11T14:36:00.000-05:002009-11-11T17:49:18.461-05:00Reverend Billy and the ShopocalypseI’ve mentioned the idea that being an ethical buyer means just plain old buying less. Every product has an environmental footprint, and we should probably start asking ourselves, “Do I really need this?” a lot more often.
Reverend Billy and his choir go around different preaching to people that they need to stop shopping, for fear of the “Shopocalypse,” which is shopping-apocalypse. Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-70888440078332428292009-11-10T17:03:00.009-05:002009-11-11T17:08:59.077-05:00Socially Responsible Investing: More Viable on Web 2.0
A few weeks ago I talked about Socially Responsible Investing, which is essentially ethical consumerism for stock investors. I would like to now point out a website called kaChing. In traditional methods of investment, usually one goes through a stock broker or pays for an online service to invest in stocks independently. KaChing works a little differently.
KaChing identifies Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-17859949789732183542009-11-04T17:10:00.002-05:002009-11-06T17:50:37.629-05:00Knowmore.org Firefox ExtensionThe Christmas season is descending upon us, and with that comes a massive increase in consumer shopping. I'm going to be talking a lot more about how to be an ethical shopper this Christmas, but one thing you can do right now is install the Knowmore.org Firefox extension. (If you're not using Firefox, you should be.)
If you haven't checked it out yet, Knowmore.org is a wikipedia Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-90365099336345975592009-11-03T17:49:00.002-05:002009-11-06T17:52:36.638-05:00BrandAware Monitor: Disney Provides Volunteer IncentivesDisney recently launched a new campaign that aims to “inspire volunteerism”. Every person who volunteers for a whole day at one of their approved charities will be given a voucher for one day entry into one of their theme parks.
On the one hand, this is a generous offer from Disney considering entry into one of their tickets can run about $100 per person. On the other hand, is the Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-46683509394855920962009-11-01T17:30:00.003-05:002009-11-06T17:53:22.731-05:00Halloween: What now?Well, hopefully your Halloween was filled with homemade costumes and delicious treats. The last thing I would like to do is offer up some tips for what you can do after all of the Halloween fun has died down.
What to do with your costume:
Keep it for another year. For hardcore Halloween fanatics, reusing your costume might not be an option, but if you think you might just want something Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-53569415555773407772009-10-28T15:32:00.015-04:002009-11-06T17:53:41.236-05:00Halloween Candy that's sure to please
This year, don't hand out the same old candy from companies like Nestle who has been criticized for exploiting farmers, busting unions, and promoting unhealthy baby pabulum to women in developing countries. (More about Nestle here.) Instead, give out organic goods or buy from companies with better track records.
Some examples:
Larabar
Bare Fruit Snacks
Stretch Island Fruit Snacks
Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-3765199869795058502009-10-27T13:02:00.002-04:002009-11-06T17:54:01.276-05:00Halloween: The BrandAware Way
Halloween can be a time of excessive waste. Buying a Halloween costume (probably made in poor labour conditions, then shipped from another continent), and then throwing it away, is not a sustainable way of celebrating All Hallows Eve.
There are a few options for a more sustainable and ethically conscious costume.
Use stuff you already have.
Buy used clothing/costumes.
ValueVillage Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3877814486587366035.post-37269127067177827432009-10-26T17:05:00.001-04:002009-11-06T17:56:25.386-05:00Socially Responsible InvestingDisclaimer: Currently, I am not much of a stock market investor. As a student who is about to graduate from University, the only investing I've been doing for the last few years is "in my future," or so I've been told repeatedly by the bureaucrats who take my tuition cheque every year.
However, I am very interested in the idea of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). The idea behind SRI is Krystlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09555701752215905066noreply@blogger.com0