Consumerism

What Makes Chinese Youth Tick?: A Quick Q & A With Mary Bergstrom

Jeffrey Wasserstrom | Posted 05.22.2012

Jeffrey Wasserstrom

"Youth in China are doing more than just buying brands and downloading free entertainment, they are quietly and irreverently changing the future of the world we all live in."

Understanding Millennials: 6 Lessons About the 20-Something Generation

Sandy Thompson | Posted 05.16.2012

Sandy Thompson

When it comes to this generation they are not going to wait. They are not going to settle. They are not going to do 'the right thing'. They are going to do what works for them. Their journey is ongoing, and with it comes their stories.

Photographer Addresses Gender In 'The Pink And Blue Project'

Posted 04.17.2012

South Korean artist JeongMee Yoon first embarked on "The Pink and Blue Project" when her five-year-old daughter couldn't get enough candy-colored poss...

Insane Bar Code Portraits

Posted 04.17.2012

Scott Blake makes incredible interactive portraits out of bar codes, illustrating how black-and-white data can come to resemble a personal connection....

In Defense of Hypocrisy

The Cornell Sun | Posted 04.12.2012

The Cornell Sun

As a white activist, I get this a lot. What does a white liberal weekend revolutionary know about police brutality? What gives me the cultural authority to quote the poetry of Gil Scott-Heron? And who the hell do I think I am?

The iPhone and Consumer Guilt

Annie Leonard | Posted 03.30.2012

Annie Leonard

Next time someone says they feel guilty for owning an iPhone, ask if they were the one who decided to maintain a 73% profit margin while underpaying workers on 18-hour-shifts. To roll out new models at breakneck speed? To use conflict minerals and toxic chemicals?

Breaking the Consumer Addiction

Jamie Anne Richardson | Posted 05.27.2012

Jamie Anne Richardson

The problem is that the ease with which we buy online is now rubbing off on our kids. The era of instant gratification blurs the line between wants and needs.

Digital Fire: Starting Over From Zero

Russell C. Smith | Posted 05.23.2012

Russell C. Smith

In a fragmented, sped-up world, images needed to be broken into their separate parts and pieced back together.

Consumerism Trumps Education In Kony 2012 Campaign

Mikaela Luttrell-Rowland | Posted 05.11.2012

Mikaela Luttrell-Rowland

The poster that the Kony 2012 campaign would like to plaster around the country, and has included in a $30 action kit, juxtaposes Joseph Kony, Osama B...

Can Companies Predict Your Divorce?

Richard Komaiko | Posted 05.02.2012

Richard Komaiko

By catching the consumer at the intersection of a big life change, like having a child or getting divorced, there is an opportunity to change customer shopping habits and brand loyalty forever.

How Big Is Too Big?

Rachel Kane | Posted 05.01.2012

Rachel Kane

Does packing such a large space with so much merchandise serve to tarnish the brand or is Forever 21 just giving shoppers what they want?

Senator Slams Spirit Airlines As New Rules On Airfare Kick In

Posted 03.27.2012

In a letter today to the CEO of low cost carrier Spirit Airlines, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) says the airline is engaged in a "deliberate attempt to...

Senator Slams Spirit Airlines As New Rules On Airfare Kick In

Posted 03.27.2012

Senator Barbara Boxer Slams Spirit Airlines' 'Deliberate Attempt To Deceive' Fliers

Airfarewatchdog Answers Your Questions About Air Travel

George Hobica | Posted 03.26.2012

George Hobica

Answering your burning questions about super-low airfares (is it really a good deal?) and finding good fares in surprising places.

Paul Brady

Fliers May Be Sticker Shocked Thanks To New Pricing Regs

HuffingtonPost.com | Paul Brady | Posted 01.19.2012

Airline customers are in for sticker shock. New Department of Transportation rules will force airlines to advertise higher, all-inclusive prices be...

Does a Trade-off Need to Stay a Trade-off?

Roger Martin | Posted 03.20.2012

Roger Martin

Will there continue to be trade-offs between shareholder value maximization and social good? Absolutely. We live in an imperfect world. Does there have to be a trade-off between the two in all instances? Only if we collectively decide to make it so. Let's not.

Your Flight's Cancelled: Now What?

Kate Hanni | Posted 03.19.2012

Kate Hanni

We all know that air travel is never a sure thing. Many flights are delayed or cancelled, for a variety of reasons. But if your flight is cancelled, what do you do? What are your rights?

Top 10 (Easy) Ways To Preserve Your Frequent Flyer Miles

George Hobica | Posted 03.17.2012

George Hobica

But for most airlines, there's absolutely no excuse to let your miles expire, even if you don't fly or don't have an airline-branded credit card. You probably already do things that you could be earning miles for, as well as protecting the miles you have, but you're not aware of the possibilities.

Why Can't Airlines Get It Right?

Tiffany Hawk | Posted 03.16.2012

Tiffany Hawk

I'm not denying that there are bad flight attendants out there. God knows I've seen them. Hell, on a really bad flight, I've probably been one. But lately, when it comes to high-profile airline "horror stories" the problem is usually the passenger.

From The Mailbag: Airfarewatchdog Answers Your Questions About Flying

George Hobica | Posted 03.11.2012

George Hobica

What happens when airlines cancel not just flights but entire routes? And will a drop in airfare lead to a partial refund? Airfarewatchdog answers these tough questions about flying.

Can You Inherit Frequent Flyer Miles?

George Hobica | Posted 03.07.2012

George Hobica

When Martha Toomey's husband Oscar died, she happened to know the user name and password to his Delta frequent flyer account -- and has been helping herself ever since to his 500,000-plus SkyMiles.

PHOTOS: If Logos Were Honest: Redux

Posted 01.03.2012

By now you should be familiar with Swedish graphic designer Viktor Hertz and his hilarious series of "Honest Logos." Hertz takes familiar brands an...

Experts Answer Your Questions About Flying

George Hobica | Posted 03.04.2012

George Hobica

Have a question about air travel or airfares? We answer as many as we can, including these about cheap destinations and what to do when your bag goes missing.

Occupy Heaven

Rev. G. Jude Geiger | Posted 02.29.2012

Rev. G. Jude Geiger

If it doesn't take too much imagination to conceive of a Hell of our own making, then maybe we can imagine a Heaven that's crafted by human hands as well.

Sustainability, Politics, and Consumerism

Steven Cohen | Posted 02.27.2012

Steven Cohen

There is a paradigm shift underway toward a sustainable, renewable economy. At its core will be a new form of consumerism and new modes of production.