Slow Down and Green Up Newsletter--November

Happy November everyone!

We at Conscious Consuming are gearing up for our 5th annual alternative gift fair, Gift it Up! We are excited to be holding the gift fair at a new venue this year, The River of Life Church in Jamaica Plain. We gather about 14 non-profits, including Grassroots International, the African Mission Society, Prison Book, The Network/La Red, and Heifer International (with more groups pending); attendees have the chance to talk to a representative from each of the non-profits, and make an honorary donation in a loved one’s name. We have beautiful cards to announce your gift. If you can’t make it to the fair on Saturday December 1st (12-4pm), you can still purchase alternative gifts securely on-line, via our website http://www.giftitup.com/. Lest you think this is too far “out there” for your family, start a conversation at Thanksgiving and see where it takes you. In my very traditional family, we decided to attend Gift it Up together and each choose our favorite non-profits in lieu of material gifts. Your family just might surprise you! If you can volunteer on the day of the event, please email marty@consciousconsuming.org, and if you can hang flyers in your town about Gift it Up!, please email susan@consciousconsuming.org and we’ll send some along.

Speaking of alternative gifting, we would like to share with you The Center for a New American Dream’s alternative gift registry at http://www.alternativegiftregistry.org/. This is a fabulous resource if you are planning a wedding or baby shower and are interested in nontraditional gifts. The website tool allows you to create your own registry, including gifts such as “bringing us one meal a week after the birth of our baby” or “chipping in for our CSA membership.” You can also provide links to material gifts if you’d like, such as your favorite organic sheets or cloth napkins.

Lastly, Friday November 23 is Buy Nothing Day! According to the Adbusters website, “On November 23, millions of people around the world will go on a 24 hour consumer fast and thousands of activists in 65 countries will engage in credit card cut ups, zombie walks and other pranks and shenanigans in an attempt to catalyze a mind shift towards sustainable lifestyles.” Visit http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd// to print flyers to hang in your community or to join with other activists in building awareness about the need to consume less stuff.

Thanks for all you do,

The team at Conscious Consuming