A guy I used to “see” gave me this book, Green Capitalism–well, to be fair, he lent the book to me and I never gave it back–discussing the ways in which environmentalist practices could actually be profitable, etc. It was an interesting read–well, to be fair, the first half was kinda interesting and I didn’t read the later half–but, despite predicting how “greenness” would influence consumer culture, it did not find the piece terribly insightful. On the surface, it sounds kinda nice (and safe) that our society could transition towards environmental sustainability without disrupting the economic order. However, the more we learn about recycling, organic agriculture, hybrid cars, or so-called environmentally friendly consumer products, the more obvious it becomes that Green Capitalism is still Capitalism. And Capitalism is what got us into this mess to begin with. When it really comes down to it, our excessive consumption and the associated material waste has wrecked death, disease and destruction upon our natural world and human societies. Better than consuming green is consuming less.

However, consuming green is better than nothing. We’re not all just gonna drop out of the market economy;

there is a place for reuse and reconstruction within the realm of business and consumption. Last weekend, while visiting the Bay in search of textile arts co*ops, I learned of several interesting, and commercial, projects based on the philosophy of re-use. Check them out:

Rock! Paper! Scissors! Collective: Is an Oakland work space and resource center for art, crafts and, to some degree, bicycles. Print making and sewing seems to be the focus of this project with silk screen materials and sewing machines available for public use; classes and skill shares are an important component as well. The shop also functions as a gallery and participates in the Oakland art scene’s monthly Art Murmur. The project is run by volunteers and it seems that this is proving difficult: when I showed up to visit (right in the middle of open hours) no one was home. Usually, I’d jump in and start volunteering, but I’m not ready to commute for crafts at this point in my life.

The East Bay Depot for Creative ReUse: Stuff! This places strikes me as a Bargain Barn that is organized and higher quality. Perhaps one is less likely to buy lots of stuff they don’t need with ill-fated ambitions to fix and repurpose that stuff. Perhaps one is more likely to buy lots fo stuff they don’t need because it requires less fixing before it is usable. At any rate, the Depot offers arts, crafts and office supplies, home wears, furniture, and various other odds and ends that are ostensibly salvaged from, if nothing else, the threat of being thrown out. Urban Ore is a similar project for building materials and furniture.

And one that’s not about reuse, but cool nonetheless. More like a fancied up info shop, really:

Needles and Pens: Kinda like the RPS Collective, but without the classes and work space. Zines, clothing and crafty stuff for sale. All hand- or homemade. And a tiny gallery space. They sell stuff on consignment and they recently celebrated their fifth birthday. I’ve actually been in this space and it’s cute. The clothing is unimpressive for the most part. Some of the hand-bound books were pretty neat.