mostly
mostly
We’re of the belief that our planet could get by without the manufacture of a single additional paper clip.
And yet, according to The Atlantic, Americans buy 11 billion paper clips each year. At a half a gram each, our combined annual appetite for these tiny bits of metal, alone, generates collective demand to the tune of 5500 metric tons of steel.
The environmental impact of processing 5500 metric tons of steel lands somewhere in the neighborhood of 11,000 to 22,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted into the environment.
In one year.
In the United States.
From paper clips.
We’re on a mission to change that — and in so doing, to raise awareness about the cumulative environmental impact of so many thousands of decisions made each day by each of the USA’s 300 million+ inhabitants.
Greenwashing is an industry problem that makes it more difficult for consumers to know what is and isn’t an environmentally sustainable solution. Being unable to discern choices that are *actually* environmentally sustainable from those that are merely masquerading in brown paper with green labels causes near-paralysis for people legitimately concerned about making better choices.
The Mostly product line sets a new ethical standard for legitimately sustainable commodity products and product packaging.
If we can solve this sustainability problem as relates to paper clips (and our belief that most people want to do the right thing), we’ll also be able to solve it for a whole host of other small commodities.
In designing for scaled-up sustainability, we’re gathering data to reflect the beneficial environmental impact. Our goal: keeping more carbon in the ground with each product we introduce.
Each Mostly product will also include a tiny bit of the unexpected (because we can, and because it’s a great way to remind people that existing products being reprocessed by hand shouldn’t be met with expectations of uniformity). From what we’ve read, fun and surprises are also great ways of encouraging widespread behavior change — so we’re making that part of the approach (rather than marketing scarcity or fear).
Questions about Mostly? Wanna get involved? Great! Check in with us here.
We’ll be updating this content as our work picks up speed. For now, we’re just a small bunch of folks running a vintage shop and aiming to change the world, one paper clip at a time.
Thanks, friends!
Julie & the gang at Junket
PS- you can support us by (what else) buying some paper clips!
PPS- for more about what *else* we’re up to, check out our broader efforts at shopjunket.com