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said on June 5th, 2005 at 6:23 am :
Excellent post, you’ve started me up on something here I think I’ll have to finish by writing a post of my own ;)
said on June 5th, 2005 at 6:35 am :
I love that store! There’s one in this mall that i went to here in Taiwan, and it really is, just simple and beautiful. Some things have pretty good prices, but clothes and stuff like that are kind of expensive. But there’s just this simple elegance and …cleanliness in the store’s atmosphere that makes you feel very comfortable. Hehehe…
anyway, great post queridinho!!!
I’m reading Moby Dick, only on pg. 203… bleh. hehe.
Bjinhusss& God Bless!
said on June 5th, 2005 at 10:07 pm :
Very interesting point you make in this post. I’m all for generic, if the quality is the same (or better) as the brand!
Emma said on June 6th, 2005 at 4:28 pm :
Hi… you posted couple of comments on my blog (I’ll be a freshman at Swarthmore next year). I’ve been reading your journal for a while, but haven’t yet had a chance to comment.
I’m not sure that anything can be truly generic. I mean, is saying “I buy generic” any better than saying “I buy Apple” or “I buy Sony”? By buying brandless items, the consumer is just conforming to another trend (it seems like one can conform to a trend by doing anything these days). Also, since the manufacturers of generic goods don’t put their names on their products, it’s harder for the consumer to know about their labor practices or to hold them accountable for the quality of their goods.
said on June 6th, 2005 at 6:28 pm :
I agree with Emma’s viewpoint that buying generic can fall into a trend, but I understand also what it means to deny the brand name companies by buying generic items. I personally don’t favor buying brand-name items in many situations but there are some circumstances where there is not much of a choice, and others where the brand name product really is better than a generic one and I would prefer to buy quality product even if it does support a large corporation.
I applaud your stance here, and the pages you linked to are pretty interesting - I’ll have to take more time to check out “Are You Generic?”.
Lori said on June 6th, 2005 at 10:22 pm :
well… havent graduated yet but will on jun 28th, and i WILL be at Bryn Mawr, so see you there tri-co buddy =]
said on June 7th, 2005 at 2:30 am :
Excellent post! There is such a thing as being a responsible consumer and I make every effort to ensure I’m not buying from child laborers or companies with other unsavory business practices.
When it comes to brand names I will typically only buy brand if it’s truly an issue of quality. I almost never buy brand name clothing just because I think it’s utterly ludicrous to pay three to even 10 times as much for a shirt just because one of them has a fancy known label on it. I always laugh hysterically at people who pay upwards of 60 to 70 dollars for a sweatshirt with GAP spelled out in giant letters. … I’m about to go on a rant…. again, really great post!
There is one site that defines everything I practically live for in terms of the way I think. is, as the website proclaims,
an organization that seeks to protest, to question, and to disprove. Its nemeses are unethical corporations, censorship, the slanted media, hypocrisy, excessive advertising, and plain stupidity. Its heroes are art, discussion, independent thought, and creation.
In a world where we're force-fed false information through the media, where brand names speak out more than personal identity, where the right to speak is muted by fear of repercussion, this is what we have to ask ourselves. We've come to accept the world as it is, unquestionable and unchangeable. We are the cogwheels of a giant machine, turning round and round for some higher-status being to exploit for another purpose we do not and will never know about. And we will continue thinking that way unless we challenge it. And challenging I am.
The site spits out further relish:
We want basic things: natural, unprocessed foods; ad-free space; trustworthy news sources; a healthy body image; promotion of the independents; and the spread of knowledge.
Idyllic? Not in my opinion. Regarding ad-free space- that's exactly why I've been promoting ad-free space-ism (or hacks to remove ads) and I have no intention whatsoever to display ads here, just like good ole'
And finally, a bit of zen:
Refuse to let corporations dictate what is beautiful, sexy, or cool. Stuff your ears with your fingers and whistle, or sit Indian-style on the bottom of the pool. Communicate silence. Breathe. Empty out. Sanitize your brain. Rebel. Think. Act.
Isn't it about time we took a good look at what defines us in this world? Our standards aren't set by ourselves anymore: we no longer judge what's good or bad by the product itself, but by whether or not it's Sony or Apple or it's some company that relies on child labour to get its labels sewn on properly. I think a lot of us aren't generic- we're plastered all over with labels, logos, stolen ideas harboured as our own, trying to conform to a norm that cannot and should not be conformed to. That's why we ought to applaud Dove's :
For too long, beauty has been defined by narrow, stifling stereotypes.
Ah well, don't buy Dove. Buy generic. In Japan (and in stores worldwide) a very popular store called Mujirushi Ryouhin (roughly translated as Brandless Items) has a vast array of anything from soap, CD players, mattresses, bookcases and pencils to even a prefabricated home that all are essentially generic. In the English speaking world, this store is conveniently named . No bells and whistles... just pure, simple, beautiful, and perhaps most importantly, practical.
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