STORE QUESTIONS
$ Breakdown: Where does the money go?
Ok, a little something about this small outpost of commerce. For those of pure-heart: my intention is not to get Fabulously Wealthy On The Backs of Endangered Creatures. The prices for most of these Bestiary Items will do three things. 1. Half the price will cover the cost of producing and shipping the item. Oh. And sales tax. 2. A quarter of the price will go to a field study directly engaged with some of the animals in the Bestiary, for instance the Wolf-Moose Study on Isle Royale or the Amboseli Trust for Elephants in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park or Vital Ground and their commitment to preserve grizzly bear habitat. 3. The final quarter of the price will go towards the production of future Bestiary performances, books, DVD’s, research and prints.
Shipping Time: How long will it take to get my stuff?
Let’s go back to the days of sea monkeys. The ad in the comic book would always read “Please allow 3-5 weeks for delivery.” That’s the speed we’re working with here at The Unreliable Bestiary. It’ll probably be faster than that, but, I’m just saying. For the holidays, I’ll ramp it up. Promise. One mentor advised me, “The idea of the store is not for you to be sitting at home surrounded by boxes and tape.” There’s something called “fulfillment centers.” Do you know about this? I didn’t know about this (for specifics listen to this fantastic – as usual – RadioLab story). I’m swimming against advice. I AM sitting at home surrounded by boxes and tape. I’m trying to walk-the-walk with the Bestiary projects – so, uh, packaging and mailing. I’m always a little horrified by how much garbage comes in our mailbox, all of it wrapped and wrapped and wrapped in plastic & vacuum moulded in styrofoam. So, guess what – I’m just going to use all that stuff. The Glorious Items which you will receive from The Unreliable Bestiary’s Store may not be gloriously packaged. The shirts and bags are gorgeous – but the packages they come in are not pristine … because some of the packages have been curing, like fine wine, in our basement.
What’s it made of?
The ink on the shirts and totebags is water-based. The cotton for the shirts and totes is organic. Here’s a statement about how the totes are made. Anvil, the t-shirt manufacturer, used to have something posted about the California Transparency Act – that page is gone. But they have this Corporate Social Responsibility page. Maybe they really do all these things? Weiskamp Screen Printing is local for me, so there’s a little less freight in the air for at least one leg. The ELEPHANT and MONKEY books are printed with recycled paper and water-based, non-toxic ink. But maybe I’m just pissing in the wind. As James Lovelock might say, “It’s too late. All of this is psychological. We might as well just enjoy ourselves while we can.”