By: Corey Clear-Stoner, Allgoods Founder
Tis’ the season of stuff. Sales on stuff. Stocking stuffers. Party stuff. Stuffing our faces. Stuff we gift, stuff we get, stuff we toss. There’s just too much stuff going on. That’s just it. Our world is full of stuff. My stuff and your stuff. Our stuff adds up. Even stuff that we threw away as kids is still out there chillin’ somewhere. Did you know every toothbrush you ever had is still taking up space, breaking down into not so nice chemicals and greenhouse gasses over the next 500 plus years? And I’d say we’d be lucky if that toothbrush was just buried in the ground in some ol’ landfill, not swept out to sea. But one day, all that stuff gets tossed out. Maybe sold, maybe gifted but eventually it’s good riddance and all becomes rubbish. It ends up in our oceans, our landfills, our parks, our streets, our land, our food, our water, even our own bodies.
They say we eat a credit card of plastic a week. I mean, what else are we supposed to do with all those used gift cards? Most often the cost is greater than the purchase and every time we checkout, the planet pays the price. But guess what? We can do better. We can “be more gooder” as we say. We can do more than tote our sticker smacked, stainless steel water bottles around and bring our reusable bags to the checkout counter once in a while. We can improve our purchase before we buy. Our transactions deserve more intention. We can get wise and get good at knowing where our goods come from and where they truly go when we are done with them. After all, waste education is consumer education. But in this distracting and overstimulating modern lifestyle, education has got to be entertaining if we are to stay tuned. These heavy hitting truth pills are easier to swallow when we wash it down with a bit of fun, don’t yah think? That’s where we come in at Allgoods.
Allgoods is an environmental 501c3 located here in San Diego. Allgoods creates digital content and progressive projects meant to break the mainstream mundane and social network norms. Focusing on climate optimism, casual tones and self awareness, Allgoods lowers the barrier of entry to environmentalism by bringing art and entertainment to the world of waste and consumer culture. Since its launch this past Earth Day, Allgoods has been creating projects to help inform consumerism. Founders Lila & Corey Cleary-Stoner created a Japanese inspired performance art project called CleanUp Kitsune. CleanUp Kitsune was designed to generate waste awareness through social contrast, culture and creativity. Equipped with bamboo basket backpacks, trash pickers, period costumes and kitsune masks, CleanUp Kitsune can be found at various events collecting trash and littering kindness. Since its launch in June, CleanUp Kitsune has been to ComicCon, Japanese Fairs, Renaissance Faires, Environmental Events, Farmers Markets, and even became a steward at our beloved Balboa Park. You can find them every resident free Tuesday at the Japanese Friendship Garden. At the time of this article, over 16,000 pieces/140lbs of litter has been responsibly collected, sifted, sorted and disposed of by these two in just a few months.
Even without the costumes, our founders aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. Corey & Lila assist local trash cleanups, many times alongside Ocean Connectors, by leading the waste management process. They personally sift, sort and properly dispose of all trash collected. They found that most cleanups are great about the pickup but the disposal practice is usually an afterthought. Once collected, it takes time and expertise to ensure each piece of litter gets an evaluation and then responsibly sent to either the compost, recycling, landfill, e-waste or hazardous facility.
In the process of learning the intricacies of waste disposal, Allgoods grew weary of the drab and dreary means of current waste education. If those of us interested in saving the planet are struggling to stay awake informing ourselves via countless color coded pdfs, we can’t imagine how uninspired the general public must feel. So, Allgoods dreamt of a way to liven garbage guidance and thus Waste Wise was born. Waste Wise is a candid garbage game show where the host asks people on the street five questions about all things waste. They have a chance to win some moolah and the audience has a chance to get educated. For every incorrect answer, Allgoods donates to an environmental nonprofit of their choice. It’s a win, win, win. Additionally, Allgoods aims to support planet first businesses through advertisement and advocacy. Currently Allgoods is building a program to house these innovative industry leaders and connect conscious consumers and businesses alike. Waste Wise is set to air on popular social platforms in January 2024.
“Be the change you wish to see,” they tell us. That’s exactly what we are doing here at Allgoods. We are creating the very same ways we wish to interact with education and the environment. Like Ocean Connectors, you could say we have some fun in our approach to conservation. Leaning into visual learning, creative immersion and some good ol’ fashion social media entertainment. This way learning becomes passive so that change may grow from within. Unlike policy or pdfs, caring is contagious when it comes easy. If you are interested in learning more about Allgoods, wish to support them or contribute to their journey, visit www.bemoregooder.org
“And in the end, the waste you take is equal to the waste you make.”
