Blog Power

Figure 1: ‘Themed’ drinks, (Native Appropriations, 2013).

With the progression of internet activism, it is important to acknowledge the various means of protest as powerful forms in their own right.  Blogging has had considerable effects on activist movements globally, either by protesting against events or by actively raising awareness to an issue and therefore being an activist.  A 2006 study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project found 39% of American Internet users read blogs and that 8% of American have blogs of their own: (Lenhart and Fox, 2006) a figure which has sure to have increased 7 years later.

One well renowned example of how blogging can create awareness is that of Paul Frank and their fourth year ‘Fashion Night out’ in September 2012.  What was supposed to be a ‘fun’ and ‘fashionable’ night out for the people of West Hollywood, resulted in gaining attention for all the wrong reasons, (Native Appropriations, 2013).  Titled “Dream Catchin’ with Paul Frank” a “pow wow celebrating Fashion’s Night Out,” the evening featured Julius the monkey motif sporting a feathered headdress.  Amongst the 1000 photographs uploaded onto their Facebook page were snaps of plastic bows and arrows and plastic neon tomahawks.  Not only that, there were 3 themed drinks entitled, ‘Rain Dance Refresher,’ ‘Dream Catcher’ and ‘Neon Teepee.’  Adrienne Keene author of the blog ‘Native Appropriations,’ wrote to Paul Frank after noticing the re-post of photos on Jessica Metcalfe’s Facebook (the author of ‘Beyond Buckskin.’)  Paul Frank didn’t see the letter first through their PR but through the recognition and attention the letter was receiving on the blog itself.

Their response could not have been more unexpected.  Following Paul Frank’s standard apology on Facebook, their president Elie Dekel got in contact with Adrienne giving his sincerest apologies and taking full responsibilities.  They then removed all their Native imagery designs online and from their Style Guide as well as contacting the manufacturers.  But not only this, Paul Frank Industries are collaborating with a Native artist to make new designs, with all the resultant proceeds being donated to a Native cause.

Another similar case with a rather contrasting outcome was in 2011 involving the clothing line Urban Outfitters and their promotion of the line Navajo.  It was brought to attention by Sasha Houston Brown on the blog site ‘Racialicious,’ (2011) describing the line as if “Ke$ha had violently exploded in the store, leaving behind a cheap, vulgar and culturally offensive retail collection.”  The store in Minneapolis featured plastic dreamcatchers wrapped in pleather next to artificial feather jewellery and masses of clothing with inauthentic tribal patterns including the ‘Navajo Hipster Panty.’  The company’s choice to include the term Navajo also violated the Federal Indian Arts and Crafts act of 1990 and the Federal Trade Commission Act.   The lawsuit issued last year sought for monetary compensation and an order permanently permitting Urban Outfitters from using the name “Navajo” or variations.  Company spokesman Ed Looram said “The Native American-inspired trend and specifically the term ‘Navajo’ have been cycling thru fashion, fine art and design for the last few years,” (Guardian, 2012).  The case is still continuing as of April this year, with all of the products now removed of the ‘Navajo’ branding (Indian Nation, 2013).

Though my previous blog questioned the future of the internet in terms of sustainability, above is a prime example of how effective an online community can be in achieving justice.  De Zúñiga et al (2007) encourage the participation of blog users, hoping it will encourage engagement of the public and a greater functioning democracy.  Blogs themselves depict certain viewpoints and are selective of their content, a very ‘subtle’ form of activism.  So when an active, passionate and powerful online group comes together, community mobilisation can achieve great things.

  References

De Zúñiga, H.G., Veenstra, A.S., Vraga, E.K., Wang, M., Deshano, C.L., Perlmutter, D.D. and Shah, D.V. (2007) Online and Offline Activism: Communication Mediation and Political Messaging Among Blog Readers.

Guardian (2012) Navajo Nation sues Urban Outfitters for trademark infringement http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/01/navajo-nation-sues-urban-outfitters (accessed 22nd April 2013).

Indian Nation (2013) Judge: Urban Outfitters Case Can Continue
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/04/03/judge-urban-outfitters-case-can-continue-148520 (accessed 23rd April 2013).

Lenhart, A. and Fox, S. (2006) Bloggers: A portrait of the Internet’s new storytellers. Pew Internet & American Life Project

Native Appropriations (2013) Paul Frank offends every Native person on the planet with Fashion Night Out “Dream Catchin’ Pow wow” http://nativeappropriations.com/2012/09/paul-frank-offends-every-native-person-on-the-planet-with-fashion-night-out-dream-catchin-pow-wow.html (accessed 4th May 2013).

Native Appropriations (2013) Paul Frank Powwow Party Update: Am I dreaming? http://nativeappropriations.com/2012/09/paul-frank-powwow-party-update-am-i-dreaming.html (accessed 2nd May 2013).

Racialicious (2011) An Open Letter to Urban Outfitters on Columbus Day http://www.racialicious.com/2011/10/10/an-open-letter-to-urban-outfitters-on-columbus-day/ (accessed 25^th April 2013).

Technology in sustainable lifestyles – getting the balance right

Leading and fulfilling a sustainable lifestyle is of paramount importance in today’s society, when one is faced with environmental, government and consumption pressures.  It can be argued that some individuals leading a sustainable lifestyle are following ‘lifestyle activism’ by their everyday choices – from organic gardens to hybrid cars.  Lifestyle activism can be criticised for its lack of potential to have a significant effect on the capital economy in creating a new revolution.  Nevertheless, it provides empowerment and personal satisfaction over others who have no involvement at all.

Barr et al. (2011) agree there can be variant forms of what is deemed sustainable ‘lifestyles’ but that also these practices should be extended beyond the home front.  They are concerned that individual efforts do not address consumption through travel and tourism behaviours such as air flights and their resultant carbon footprint.  This does not mean they discount the sustainability of mundane tasks, but acknowledge that the tourism entity is also part of a sustainable lifestyle identity.  The airline KLM Royal Dutch Airlines consider this and offer the CO₂ZERO service: by which you compensate for personal CO2 emissions through the investment in CO₂ reduction projects accepted by the World Wide Fund for Nature, (KLM, 2013).  Taking advantage of the carbon neutral airline scheme by KLM is of course by all means a positive thing, but the act of air travel itself conforms to the mass capital economy that marginalises the poor.

Anarchist activism, where activists are concerned with ‘prefiguration’ and living the life you want can have great effects on society in terms of sustainable lifestyles.  Take the increasing prominence and popularity of eco-communities within the UK, where projects like these aim to be longstanding and influential.  Great persistence and governmental pressure will be required to establish this as a foreseeable, popular option for the future, as it stands it remains confined to small groups.  An example of technological software supporting sustainable homes is the Net Waste Toolkit, developed by the company Waste Resource Action Programme.  It provides individuals as well as clients the opportunity to assess their potential waste and energy efficiency of new builds, refurbishments and infrastructure projects, (WRAP, 2013).

Electronics have also been a major contributing factor to the communication and organisation of activists.  This said the use of carbon Nano-tubes is set to outdate copper.  Though copper industry officials can afford to diversify, Gordon (2008: p125) explains that local communities from Peru or Indonesia are highly dependent on this commerce for income and although not necessarily a sustainable activity in itself, social choice should instead be the driving force of change.  The Independent Media Centre ‘Indymedia,’ often holds web-based meetings and consensus decision-making online. Anarchist activists and writers are well aware of the nineteenth-century working class movement and the displacement of workers by machines, (Gordon, 2008: 112-113).

All activists must assess the impact of their actions prior to the resultant achievement in order to assure goals are met by sustainable methods.  It is the balance and usage of these technological benefits that is so crucially fundamental to the future of sustainability, through ‘lifestyle activism’ significantly ‘anarchist activism’ and many other interpretations.  Sustainability needs to be sustained but not at a detriment to the cause.

References

 Barr, S., Shaw, G. and Gilg, A.W. (2011) The policy and practice of ‘sustainable lifestyles.’ Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 54(10): 1331-1350.

Gordon, U. (2008) Luddites, Hackers and Gardeners Anarchism and the Politics of Technology. Anarchy Alive! Anti-authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theory. London: Pluto Press. 109-139.

KLM (2013) What we can do together http://www.klm.com/travel/gb_en/about/co2/together/index.htm (accessed 2nd May 2013).

WRAP (2013) http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/net-waste-tool-0 (accessed 3rd May 2013).

Can there be a sustainable future for the internet?

With the exponential expansion of the internet as a source and provider of knowledge, it is important to consider how sustainable it actually is.  Reisch (2001) questioned whether the innovation of the internet will help overcome environmental and social quandaries or will it simply fuel the mass consumption system?  The internet brings its own form of wealth and class divisions and desirability to have access.  With this mass ideology it will be incredibly difficult to meet exponential demand, considering also global business’ need to maintenance costs.  There must be a balance of achieving awareness through the internet taking into consideration at times the fundamentalist approach – for the sake of the environment!

Whilst the demand for electricity is a primary concern, a secondary result of the eruption of internet use is that the computer industry’s carbon debt is increasing drastically. From having a relatively small impact just a few years ago; it’s now surpassing other sectors like the airline industry that are notorious for their negative environmental impact, (Johnson, 2009).

Friederiszick et al. (2011) suggest net neutrality regulation has the potential to rearrange resources amongst industry participants, influencing pricing strategies and finally impact investment and innovation incentives.  If implemented this will affect which business models are effective and which will become obsolete.  Friederiszick et al. propose some likely sustainable solutions, an encouraging step towards resolving the demand for increasing bandwidth and congestion of the net.

One company trying to make a positive contribution to the sustainability of the web is the Dutch company Cleanbits, (2006).  From 2006 till October 2012 they sold green energy for servers and sites that were grey hosted through their web shop.  Because of the growth of the green Internet (around January 1, 2013 roughly 17-20% of all sites worldwide are green hosted) it is possible now for almost all site-owners to move their business to a green hoster if they would want to.  By having the Cleanbits logo on a website, it represents digital activities being CO₂ neutral.  Cleanbits also has a search engine that tells you whether the website is carbon neutral. YouTube however is not, and is now the internet’s third biggest website, one that requires a heavy subsidy from Google its owner. Although the site’s financial details are kept under wraps, an analysis in 2009 by Credit Suisse suggested it could lose as much as $470m (£317m) for that year, as it succumbs to the high price of delivering power-intensive videos over the internet.

With more than 1.5 billion people online around the world, scientists estimate that the energy footprint of the net is growing by more than 10% each year. This leaves many internet companies caught in a predicament: energy costs are escalating because of their increasing popularity, whilst at the same time, advertising revenues are under pressure from the recession, (Johnson, 2009).  This problem will have to come to some conclusion soon either through neutrality regulation or other means, at the expense of company finances or everyone’s environment.

References

Cleanbits (2006) http://Cleanbits.net (accessed 18^th March 2013).

Friederiszick, H.W., Kałużny, J., Kohnz, S., Grajek, M. and Röller, L.H. (2011) Assessment of a sustainable Internet model for the near future. ESMT White Paper No. WP–11–01.

Johnson, B. (2009) Web providers must limit carbon footprint, say experts. http://www.guardian.couk/technology/2009/may/03/internet-carbon-footprint (accessed 18th March 2013).

Reisch, L.A. (2001) The Internet and Sustainable Consumption: Perspectives on a Janus Face. Journal of Consumer Policy. 24 (3): 251-286.

The Local Supermarket: a question of sustainability?

 

Figure 1: The People’s Supermarket (What’s on in London, 2013).

Long gone are the days of the prominent Corner shop and local Supermarket, the super chains are now the big winners.  On one small stretch of suburban shops in Sheffield lie a Eurospar, Tesco, Costa Coffee, Starbucks and Sainsbury’s.  What once was an area with individual shops is slowly but surely being commercialised and transformed into a mini city centre itself.  With technological advances in transport and logistics, aided through the internet explicitly, companies can afford to import goods from afar without reflecting on their carbon footprint, something which shouldn’t be dismissed so easily!

With the aim of producing fair prices of quality food to both producers and consumers, restaurant owner Arthur Potts Dawson established The People’s Supermarket, (2013) in Holborn, London May 2010.  The project was documented by Channel 4 as part of a mini-series reaffirming the local whilst retaining sustainable supplier linkages with the community volunteering at the shop – a positive example of technology.  British supermarkets bin over 1,000 tonnes of food a day; Arthur’s aim was to create a zero-waste supermarket, ‘for the people by the people.’ This concept is heavily based on the renowned Park Slope Food Co-op (PSFC) in Brooklyn, New York.  Founded in 1973 it now has over 15,500 members.

Since 2004, the PSFC have been actively involved in sustainability boycotts including Coca-Cola products, Minute Maid and Odwalla; quoting the company’s labour practices and exploitation of natural resources in third-world countries.  In 2008, the PSFC General Meeting resolved that the co-op would discontinue selling bottled water and stop providing plastic shopping bags at checkout.

An article by Ilbery and Maye (2005) focusing on food supply chains and sustainability emphasises the importance of correctly sourced local resources.  It also acknowledges that the EU is encouraging the local food sector via the introduction of the Rural Development Regulation.  The New Economic Foundation showed that for every £1 spent at a local organic box scheme £2.59 was generated for the local economy compared with £1.40 generated by every £1 spent at a supermarket (Boyde, 2001; see also Sacks, 2002).

We must be careful in identifying sustainable foods as the origin of a Short Food Supply Chain (SFSC) is not necessarily the point of production, but a series of upstream suppliers as found in regular food chains.  SFSCs can still sometimes involve considerable distances, causing controversy over food miles and economic leakage.  Ilbery and Maye (2005) support the works of public procurement of cooperatives stating its potential for greater economic, social and environmental sustainability and broadening awareness.  They stress however that reconnection between food producers and consumers won’t progress through the development of speciality and niche market food products alone.  Perhaps technology can help us promote sustainable food consumption and these individual markets, like that of the very successful 100 Mile-Diet.  An experiment conducted by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon in 2005 for a year has inspired 1000s and continues to do so through their website, encouraging the sharing of stories and local foods knowledge (100 Mile-Diet, 2006).  With greater awareness through technology such as the internet, perhaps people will begin to question the true origins of their food and its’ repercussions towards the local sustainable supermarket.

References

Boyde, T., (2001) Cusgarne Organics Local Money Flows. New Economics Foundation, London.

Ilbery, M. and Maye, D. (2005) Food supply chains and sustainability: evidence from specialist food producers in the Scottish/English borders. Land Use Policy. 22:331-344.

Park Slope Food Co-op (1973) http://foodcoop.com (accessed 4^th March 2013).

The People’s Supermarket (2013) http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org (accessed 4^th March 2013).

Sacks, J., (2002) The Money Trail: Measuring your Impact on the Local Economy Using LM3. New Economics Foundation, London.

What’s on in London (2013) http://www.whatsoninlondon.co.uk/attraction/the-peoples-supermarket/ (accessed 4th May 2013).

100 Mile-Diet (2006) http://localdiet.org (accessed 25^th April 2013).