Shopaholic Reform: New Love

Friday, January 28

New Love

I was recently turned onto a new website by my pal Court, and let me tell you...it's wonderful. It's called Jasmere. While I could tell you how the site works and what they stand for...it's just so much easier to copy and paste it straight from their site. :)

"Jasmere seeks out lesser-known specialty retailers that deserve national attention. Our small team of New York, Los Angeles and Washington, DC- based shopaholics personally tests every product we feature, using jasmere's negotiating power to offer you an exclusive discount. But don't let the low prices fool you. Every merchant we feature on jasmere meets our highest standards of quality. You may not have heard of these websites, but you can be sure their products and services are the best around. We guarantee it."

Excuse me? Lesser known retailers? What now? Sounds perfect for what I'm trying to accomplish here! PLUS so far what I've seen on their site has been very environmentally minded, not to mention fabulous. For example they had reusable shopping bags that packed down to little balls so you could keep them in your purse (I passed b/c I already have two that I carry around with me), and today they had reusable snack/sandwich bags from Semilla, which I am totally obsessed with...so of course I bought the voucher! I implore you to do the same, so we all get a better deal on them!

A friend of mine at Antioch had these little beauties and I loved them. I planned on sewing myself some, but you know how that goes...I never got around to it. So I figure I'll buy myself a set and then hopefully that will prompt me to make some more. Best gift ever for all those new moms out there right (and there seem to be more and more of those in my life).

Side note...I was looking through the frequently asked questions portion of their site and this caught my eye...

I love you guys. You have changed my life. Can I buy you a pizza?

Hey, we're working out of love. No need to send pizza. But we do like pizza. Broccoli happens to be a favorite, but we've been known to indulge in a bit of the 'roni as well.

Our address for pizza delivery purposes is:

2813 Covington Rd
Silver Spring MD

We happen to like this place a lot. Make it a deep dish, and we may just toss some jasmere dollars in your account.

AND they have a sense of humor...SOLD!

1 comment:

Jeremy said...: Hi Jack - My wife and I are co-founders of jasmere and a friend fwd'd your blog. What a great write-up. Thanks for the support and we'll sure do our best to keep searching out great sites to feature. If you have any to suggest, please contact us - jeremy at jasmere dot com. Best wishes! - J; January 28, 2011 at 10:11 PM

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Something to Chew On...

The downside to Globalization

1. “The general complaint about globalization is that it has made the rich richer while making the non-rich poorer. It is wonderful for managers and investors, but hell on workers and nature.”¹

2. Multinational corporations are accused of social injustice, unfair working conditions (including slave labor wages and poor living and working conditions), as well as a lack of concern for the environment, mismanagement of natural resources, and ecological damage.

3. Multinational corporations which were previously restricted to commercial activities are increasingly influencing political decisions. Many think there is a threat of corporations ruling the world because they are gaining power due to globalization.

4. Opponents say globalization makes it easier for rich companies to act with less accountability. They also claim that countries’ individual cultures are becoming overpowered by Americanization.

5. Anti-globalists also claim that globalization is not working for the majority of the world. During the most recent period of rapid growth in global trade and investment, 1960 to 1998, inequality worsened both internationally and within countries. The UN Development Program reports that the richest 20 percent of the world's population consume 86 percent of the world's resources, while the poorest 80 percent consume just 14 percent.

6. Some experts think that globalization is also leading to the incursion of communicable diseases. Deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS are being spread by travelers to the remotest corners of the globe.

7. Globalization has led to exploitation of labor. Prisoners and child workers are used to work in inhumane conditions. Safety standards are ignored to produce cheap goods. There is also an increase in human trafficking.

8. Social welfare schemes or “safety nets” are under great pressure in developed countries because of deficits and other economic ramifications of globalization.

As manufacturing continues to decline, so does our ability to innovate. In the long term, this means fewer well-paid jobs, lower productivity, declining wages, declining living standards and low economic growth. Globalization is a big part of this decline and will affect all jobs and all sectors of the economy. From the point of view of multinational corporations and Wall Street investors, globalization is probably viewed as a wonderful phenomenon with many opportunities. But from the point of view of American manufacturers, manufacturing workers, the middle class, professional service workers and overall economic growth, I think the disadvantages far out weigh the advantages.

-Mike Collins, The Pros and Cons of Globalization (2010)