Welcome to the ALR designletter, a semi-regular update on the activities at Another Limited Rebellion design, the world of socially conscious design, and beyond. As always we welcome your comments, suggestions, criticism or praise.
You are on this list because you have worked with, contacted, or have a personal connection to ALR design. The names on this mailing list will never be sold or given away. If you no longer wish to be on this list, just respond with "REMOVE" in the subject section and there will be no hard feelings. Back issues can be found on our web site in the ISSUES section.
ALR news
The September issue of How magazine will feature an article written by myself about the experience of making a self-promo in light of September 11th. Look for it on newsstands soon. (http://www.howdesign.com/editorial/preview/)
activism
Make Trade Fair (http://www.maketradefair.com ) is the new site created by Oxfam dedicated to the issue of Fair vs Free Trade. This in-depth site provides all the information needed to understand this complicated issue in an accessible and succinct manner. See their introductory video (http://www.maketradefair.com/go/graffiti/?s=aw) to learn what you can do to help end world poverty now. (Thanks to list member Sarah for passing this along)
Activists looking to create e-mail lists can avoid the ad filled likes of Yahoo and other free services by utilizing Riseup.net (http://home.riseup.net/). The Red Cursor Collective, a volunteer run organization which uses technology for social change, provides this service as well as web mail access free of charge to social activists of all persuasions.
design
Human Rights Watch the international human rights organization is having a competition for the redesign of its logo. Designers and non-designers alike from around the world are invited to enter. The winning entrant can win a $5,000 honorarium. Details can be found at http://www.hrw.org/logo/ Good luck!
Tens of thousands of corporate logos are available as free high quality vector art downloads from the Russian site Logotype (http://logo.nino.ru/). They are for officially sanctioned use only so don't even think of taking them to make anti-corporate parodies for activist purposes, OK? Thanks.
environment
Used toothbrushes create 50 million pounds of waste in US landfills every year. What's a socially conscious person with good dental habits to do? Recycline offers a solution with their recycled Preserve toothbrush. Made from recycled yogurt cups the toothbrushes can be returned to the manufacturer to be recycled again! Subscriptions for a new brush every 3 months can be ordered through: http://www.recycline.com/ (source Co-op America Updates April/May 2002)
Recycling Facts: In 1999 the US produced 230 million tons of trash. Recyclable materials represents 61.6% of our trash and only 28% ends up being recycled. A ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees, 6,953 gallons of water, 463 gallons of oil, 587 pounds of air pollution, 4,077 kilowatt hours of energy and 3.06 cubic yards of landfill space. Aluminum recycling saves 19 million barrels of oil every year. Making cans out of recycled aluminum uses only 5% as much energy as from virgin ore and it can be reused indefinitely. Recycling one glass bottle saves enough electricity to light a 100 watt bulb for four hours. Motor oil never wears out and can be recycled for reuse again and again. (source: Christian Science Monitor 4/17/02)
nature
The Pacific Biodiverstiy Institute has provided us with a most disturbing image: all of the roads in the US on one map. The density of roads should make even the staunchest conservative question the need for constructing new ones in our shrinking undeveloped areas. See for yourself at http://www.pacificbio.org/roadmap/roadmap.htm (source: Adbusters March/April 2002)
education
Where do activists go to learn how to hang giant banners from buildings and perform political puppet theater? They go to school. Specifically they attend Ruckus Society Action Camps. In existence since 1995 Ruckus camps teach activists all the non-violent skills they need to get their message across. Ready to go? Visit http://www.ruckus.org/
health
My House is Your House is the companion site to the documentary Blue Vinyl which chronicles one woman's experience with vinyl siding and it's toxic secrets. This consumer action site gives the details as to why the PVC used in everything from Vinyl siding to medical equipment should be avoided at all costs and what can be done about it. Learn more at: http://www.myhouseisyourhouse.org/ (Thanks to list member Dan-O for mentioning this to us)
The May/June issue of Adbusters magazine featured a damning account America's mental health industries. Most upsetting is the cover-up of Prozac induced suicides documented in the article "The Lilly Suicides". The article is available in full online at http://prozacspotlight.org/lilly/. More of the issue can be seen at http://prozacspotlight.org along with an in depth forum debating the pros and cons of antidepressant use.
money
One of the benefits of being a corporate shareholder is having a say in how that company does its business. However many people rarely take advantage of this tool. Luckily the Social Investing Forum has created the Shareholder Action Network (http://www.shareholderaction.org/). This useful site should be a regular stop for socially conscious investors interested in the latest advocacy news. (source: Co-op America Updates June/July 2002)
entertainment
Some police officers and security guards in NYC are getting more than a piece of our civil liberties when they look at their security camera monitors. Thanks to the antics of Surveillance Camera Players they're getting a show as well. These 4th amendment activists have performed dozens of skits for both the cameras and passers-by which question the necessity of such observation. Learn more at http://notbored.org/the-scp.html (source: Adbusters March/April 2002)
children
Web sites directed at children are usually thinly disguised marketing ploys. When it's the PBS Kids "Don't Buy It" site (http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/) however, the opposite is true. This site is a collection of tools meant to help children parse the marketing messages that are constantly being thrown at them. While it advocates a variety of consumer activism over boycotts specifically (no surprise considering the plethora of sponsorship PBS allows between their programming) the seeds of true dissent are there. Particularly entertaining are the faux banner ads that appear on every page.
media
Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale is as pertinent now as when it was released in 1986. The story is an absolutely terrifying account of a future in which the Christian Right has had its way with America. Touching on subjects that could've been cut and pasted directly from recent headlines the story is eerily prescient. Will our willingness to forfeit our rights for security lead to the same terrifying ends as Ms. Atwood's book? Read it again or for the first time and let it fuel your activist fires.
nosh
In case you missed the news "Mc Donald's agreed to donate $10 million to Hindus and other groups for mislabeling french fries and hash brown potatoes as vegetarian fare. The fast-food giant also issued an apology for using vegetable oil to cook those items that contained essence of beef flavoring." Christian Science Monitor 6/6/02.
in closing
Thanks for your time and feel free to contact us with suggestions for future issues, web sites to check out, or just to say "Howdy".
Thank you,
Noah Scalin, founder
ALR design
socially conscious graphic design
noah@alrdesign.com
http://www.ALRdesign.com