Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness. — Seneca
Monday, June 2, 2008
Random Pre-Vacation Updates
Success! In November I posted about Burger King’s refusal to increase its tomato pickers’ pay by a measly 1¢/bucket (Is Burger King Penny Foolish?). After months of activism, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers finally won a 1.5¢/bucket increase. (Can you believe that amounts to a 71% increase in their pay?) Thank you to everyone who sent a letter! The wage agreement was signed at the U.S. Capitol, with pictures here. Random update #2: At the risk of sounding Twittery: I bought a new backpack! And it's almost 100% recycled — which I didn’t even realize at first. My old backpack (which I love) is disintegrating to the point where I’m nervous about carrying the laptop in it. I went to REI (I ♥ REI) and narrowed the choices down to two: one by North Face and an intriguing blue pack by Osprey, a company I’d never heard of. As I was trying to make up my mind and reading the little card, I saw that the Osprey React is made mostly of recycled PET — essentially plastic water/ soda bottles. I was impressed because the recycled bottle-made stuff I’ve seen in the past had a yicky feel. This might be just a tad shinier than other packs, but mostly it just looks like the usual waterproof fabric. I wouldn’t have guessed this was recycled if the card attached to he pack hadn’t mentioned it. The ReSource recycled series has several daypacks and courier bags here.
Hi, Hops! The backpack is for schooling (although it would work for short hikes, too). I used to use a messenger bag, which was sportier. But with a laptop and lots of books -- and no car -- I was starting to list to one side from lugging everything around all day. So back to the pack :-)
Success! In November I posted about Burger King’s refusal to increase its tomato pickers’ pay by a measly 1¢/bucket (Is Burger King Penny Foolish?). After months of activism, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers finally won a 1.5¢/bucket increase. (Can you believe that amounts to a 71% increase in their pay?) Thank you to everyone who sent a letter! The wage agreement was signed at the U.S. Capitol, with pictures here. 
Random update #2: At the risk of sounding Twittery: I bought a new backpack! And it's almost 100% recycled — which I didn’t even realize at first. My old backpack (which I love) is disintegrating to the point where I’m nervous about carrying the laptop in it. I went to REI (I ♥ REI) and narrowed the choices down to two: one by North Face and an intriguing blue pack by Osprey, a company I’d never heard of. As I was trying to make up my mind and reading the little card, I saw that the Osprey React is made mostly of recycled PET — essentially plastic water/ soda bottles. I was impressed because the recycled bottle-made stuff I’ve seen in the past had a yicky feel. This might be just a tad shinier than other packs, but mostly it just looks like the usual waterproof fabric. I wouldn’t have guessed this was recycled if the card attached to he pack hadn’t mentioned it. The ReSource recycled series has several daypacks and courier bags here.
2 comments:
The backpack, is it for hiking or schooling?
Hi, Hops! The backpack is for schooling (although it would work for short hikes, too). I used to use a messenger bag, which was sportier. But with a laptop and lots of books -- and no car -- I was starting to list to one side from lugging everything around all day. So back to the pack :-)
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