STAY VOCAL

If You’re Missing An Order, Check Your Pantry!

Alex — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:14:44 +0000

Yesterday, Mailorder Mom was on the phone with a friend of hers, whose son had pre-ordered one of the Four Birds T-Shirts. She was concerned because the package hadn’t arrived yet and he had already left to go across the country. Now, having known that she had shipped the shirt last week and it was only going to the next town, MM asked, “Did you happen to get a box of cereal addressed to him in the mail?”

“Yeah,” MM’s friend responded. “It was his favorite cereal. I thought he had sent in a coupon for a free box or something.”

Starting to laugh, MM tells her friend to check the pantry and sure enough, on the shelf with the other cereal, was the STAY VOCAL order in a used cereal box. At this point, they both started laughing. So, the moral of the story is, if you’re missing an order from STAY VOCAL, be sure to check your pantry.

In honor of this humorous event, our ReUse Cereal Spill T-Shirt will be on sale for only $13.50 through Sunday.

UPDATE: 40,000 Gallons Of Water Saved

Alex — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:28:10 +0000

Earlier this week, we hit 40,000 gallons of water saved with our Water Saver Series of shirts alone. Woo hoo! To celebrate, all 23 different Water Saver designs are 23% off this weekend. Order your Water Saver and keep the water saving count going! What will YOUR number be?

Paul Rudd

Alex — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:39:07 +0000

Yesterday, my friends and I went to see “They Came Together,” a live screenplay reading in San Francisco. I had never even heard of people doing such an event, let alone gone to one. But it was hilarious, due to the amazing cast of writers and actors including David Wain, Michael Showalter, Amy Poehler, Michael Ian Black, and that guy I’m standing with, Paul Rudd! Too bad Amy Poehler didn’t see my JFK shirt, since she is from Massachusetts and all.

Can’t They Wait A Day?

Alex — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:08:56 +0000

Read our full article about this here.

Where Would We Be Without Martin Luther King, Jr.?

Alex — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:29:59 +0000

Our brand has come a long way since this short video intro was made for our website in 2005, but the inspiration for positive change will ALWAYS be the same. Please take a moment to appreciate the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today, because really, where would we be without him?

Grub With Me In San Francisco

Alex — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:05:15 +0000

This Thursday, Janaury 19th, there’s going to be lots of STAY VOCAL and reuse talk at Source in San Francisco, as I’m hosting a dinner put on by our new friends at Grubwithus! Check out the interview I did for their site, and if you want to “grub with me,” there are only 9 tickets available! Click here to get your seat at the dinner. And be sure to check out the menu. It’s ridiculous! – Alex

How Much Clothing Do YOU Throw Away?

Alex — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:45:52 +0000

New In The Shop: Denise Marks’ “Four Birds”

Alex — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:00:04 +0000

In November 2010, we held the Almost Anything Goes Art contest and our first place winner was Denise Marks, with her “Four Birds” design. Due to some plan changes, our summer vacation and some more plan changes, the release of the T-Shirt featuring Denise’s design kept getting pushed back. Well, it’s available now and it was obviously worth the wait!

Click here to Pre-Order your “Four Birds” T-Shirt now and read more about Denise Marks and her art.

1 New T-Shirt = 1 Big Ol’ Carbon Footprint

Alex — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:59:24 +0000

The Greatest Holiday Blog Post You Will Read… Again

Alex — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 10:40:52 +0000

Last year, I wrote a really in depth piece in December entitled, “The Greatest Holiday Blog Post You Will Read…” Well, as the name suggests, it’s very much worth sharing again. And you know, I do like to reuse any time I can. Ha Ha.

There are some changes to the blog, since shirts sold out and a couple of websites I linked to don’t work any more. I also included some fun video updates to the ones I had last year. Alright, enough with the intro. Here is the greatest holiday blog post you will read… again.

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Now you might be thinking, isn’t this is a little late? Shouldn’t STAY VOCAL have already announced their “Countdown to Christmas Sale” by now? Well, being the creator of a unique apparel brand, I had to create a unique holiday post too.

I understand that not everyone celebrates Christmas, Chanukah, or Kwanzaa. Some people celebrate the end of the year and some people celebrate the start of a new one. We’re all different in so many ways, but the one thing that we all have in common is the one planet that we share and a responsibility to do anything we can to protect it. That’s why we reuse whenever we can at STAY VOCAL and something we encourage everyone else to do too, especially during the holiday season.

GIVE THE GIFT OF LIFE (A SECOND ONE)

In recent years, I’ve started paying more attention to how much new “stuff” is made just for the holiday season, which is one of the many reasons that I’m proud to run a reuse apparel brand. Sure, we offer products just like everyone else, and of course we want to sell as many as we can, but what sets our shirts apart from the rest is that we’re reusing materials that were already here.

If you’re going to buy a gift, why not have it be both a present to the person and the planet? Every STAY VOCAL T-Shirt that sells saves the 400 gallons of water it takes to grow the cotton for one new T-Shirt. So yeah, that’s pretty rad!

Currently, we have a pretty vast selection of unique shirts and other items in the store that would make great gifts for anyone:

STAY VOCAL Theme Song Digital Download – No giftwrap required AND you can name your price!
Bundles & Bulk Gifts Section
Gift Certificates – available from $1 to $250
Individually Numbered Water Saver T-Shirts, For Kids, Men & Women – shirts you can be assured nobody else will have
Reusable Shopping Bags – unique, fun, and even a little educational!
Limited Edition Messenger Bags – makes for great additional Gift “Wrap” of preowned DVDs, CD’s, etc
WeeUsable Wipes & Snot Rags – what kid wouldn’t want a Snot Rag?

REUSE GIFTS ARE EVERYWHERE

Sure, I understand that not everyone needs a STAY VOCAL shirt for a gift. I mean, so many of you already have the complete collection anyway. HA! But when you’re shopping for other gifts, why wouldn’t you seek out reuse options first? Not only are you helping the planet by cutting down on new stuff being made, but you’ll be helping your wallet too. We all know used is almost always less expensive than new.

Buying used is super easy these days, both around town (i.e. thrift stores, antique shops, used music stores) and online too (i.e. ebay, etsy). Be sure to check out our friends at Why Buy New? ReUse!. They specialize in hard to find preowned movies, clothing, music, and collectibles.

Furthermore, you don’t even have to leave your house for a gift. You can just reuse things you already have. One of the coolest gifts I got in recent years was a pasta sauce jar filled with ingredients and a cardboard recipe tag for cookies. Of course I had to add some ingredients myself, but I’m glad my sister chose to leave the milk out!

BUYING SOMETHING ONLY TO THROW IT AWAY

OK, let’s be honest here. How many children (and adults) actually care about how something is wrapped? They say presentation is everything, but if you’re buying an 8 year old a present, the presentation is whatever is in the package. I think the only people that truly care about how the gift is wrapped are the people selling you the gift wrap! That said, maybe the gift doesn’t even need to be wrapped or the gift can be wrapped around other gifts.

For example, a STAY VOCAL T-Shirt could be wrapped around something else. Just tie the sleeves in a knot to secure it. If you do find yourself needing to wrap a present in some sort of gift wrap, please consider one of the many easy unique reuse gift wrap options:

newspaper / magazines
cereal boxes & other food packaging- Turn them inside out and use markers to make your own gift boxes.
reuse gift wrap from years past
STAY VOCAL Gift Wrap – Catalogs from days of yore that can be easily reused as unique gift wrap.

THE INVISIBLE GIFT: TIME

One of the best presents that I’ve contributed to a Yankee Swap was a piece of scrap paper that said, “8 hours of hard labor from Alex.” Let’s just say it went over quite well! So many people are extremely busy with work or school that they just cant find the time to do even the easiest tasks around the house. The gift of your time would be way more important than any DVD or metal tin of flavored popcorn.

On a similar note, why not get a group of friends or family members to help create memories for those less fortunate. Use the USA homeless shelter directory and volunteer at a shelter near you. Or maybe you have an elderly family member or neighbor who can’t get out to do yard work anymore. What are they going to remember more? A lobster shaped oven mitt or the fact that you spent time with them and shoveled their entire driveway?

DON’T GO CRAZY!

A few years ago, when I was living in Pittsburgh, I was running around like crazy, as I was compelled to get a gift for every single person I knew and only had limited time to do it. One day, I went to the chiropractor for an appointment and I asked her to check my heart rate. It turned out to be way beyond normal; almost twice the average. Yikes! That evening, I called my mom in Massachusetts and told her I wouldn’t be coming home for another day as I needed some time to decompress.

Since that holiday season of 2004, I’ve learned a lot about what the holiday season means to me. It’s about having fun, relaxing, and spending time with people I care about. I still enjoy giving gifts to people, but it doesn’t have to be on a certain date or for a certain price.

Another big influence on me was a pamphlet entitled, Simplify the Holidays. “If you sometimes feel trapped by the shopping, spending, crass displays, and frenzied preparations, you aren’t alone.” I encourage you all to check it out. It’s a free download, so why not?

BLOW UP DOLLS ON YOUR FRONT LAWN

People LOVE to decorate during the holiday season and this is one area where reuse should be an obvious solution, between buying or inheriting preowned decorations. But there are countless ways to not spend a dime and get some great decorations.

Every day when I’m searching for reuse topics on Twitter, I see so many great ideas for reuse decorations. Just do a search for “Reuse holiday” and you will see a ton of great links. If you’re not on twitter, you can do a “reuse holiday decoration” image search on Google. There are so many cool things to see and when you click on them, you should be able to easily figure out how to make them. What sounds better: spending some time with your children creating reuse decorations or driving around trying to find a parking space at the mall only to find out all of the motion sensor Santas were sold out?

So while we’re on the topic of decorations, I have to ask, what is the obsession with lights anyway? Sure, lights in the windows look nice, but people go way overboard! There seems to be some unsaid contest to see whose December electrical bill can be the highest. If you do really want lights, at least seek out an eco friendly alternative to save money and natural resources. And let’s face it, you will most likely never, ever even come close to having a light display as amazing as the one in this video, so really, why bother? HAHA. I just hope they ran off solar power!

HOW TO TOP GRANDMA’S LIVING ROOM

How many holiday parties have you been to where it’s the same old situation: food, kids rip open gifts, coffee & snacks, go. There are so many other awesome ways to enjoy the holiday, many of which can easily involve reuse.

Do It Yourself ReUse Gift Yankee Swap – Just like the regular Yankee Swap, but everyone makes a reuse gift
Ugly Sweater Party – Who can find the ugliest sweater at a thrift store?
Holiday themed Scrabble Party – I totally want to do this
Potluck Holiday Food Party
ReUse T-Shirt Decorating Party – Since everyone you know probably does at least one awesome thing to make the world better, you could have a party where everyone decorates their own What Do You Do? ReUse Patch T-Shirt. That would definitely make for an easy gift for a bunch of people too!
Holiday Themed Music Dance Party
Holiday Movie Watching Party – thrift stores are filled with Christmas movies on VHS and surely plenty of VCRs too.

Speaking of movies, I have to share my favorite scene from my favorite holiday movie growing up, “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.” It’s a short clip. Just watch for the “lick” test.

YUM! CAN I EAT THAT?

This can’t be an official holiday blog post without talking about food. But don’t worry, reuse doesn’t come into play here!

I love holiday themed food just like the next guy. I even have a new favorite Nog in 2011: So Delicious’ Coconut Milk Nog. So.So.Good. Unfortunately, my vegan diet does restrict me on a lot of food at get togethers, but then again, so does the egg allergy that my nephew has and the dairy intolerance that many of my friends have. So it seems like a simple solution would be to make as many dishes as possible vegan friendly.

Vegetarian and vegan diets are becoming more and more popular for numerous reasons and at least by making some vegan holiday dishes, you know that everyone coming can at least have more than just the salad. Trust me, we’ve had enough salad! And hey in the spirit of the holidays, you’re giving a gift to the animals too.

MAKE IT HAPPEN

Well, I could go on and on and on about how to involve reuse in your holidays, but now it’s up to you. You just have to get your creative and conscious cap on and think a little beyond the norm. If you have your own ideas, links to share or feedback on anything above, please leave a comment below.

If you’re giving gifts, please think STAY VOCAL. We’ve got a plethora of great shirts in stock and with many new designs coming in early 2012, our Gift Certificates (printed on reused paper of course) are a great idea too. Just remember what I said before, there’s only one planet and the more and more new stuff that gets made, the faster the planet’s resources will be gone. So, reuse, because you truly can’t recycle the planet.

But in the end, whatever you do this holiday season, just relax, have fun and spend time with people you care about. 2011 has been a very trying year throughout the world and we all need to positively regroup before starting the new year. Change isn’t on the horizon. It’s already here.

GOING OUT WITH A HOLIDAY SONG

As I mentioned last year, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and their annual Christmas shows in Boston, the Hometown Throwdown, have been a major part of my holiday season for years. I missed the 2010 Throwdown and I’m missing it again this year, but fortunately there are videos like the one below (of my favorite song mind you) that bring me right up close.

Alright, that’s it from me. Have a great holiday season everybody!

- Alex