The Environmental Impact of Punk
On election day I opened my phone and read a social media update from a punk record shop, to see new punk releases being touted, releases with extravagant packaging, releases that seemed inaccessible from a cost perspective, releases that seemed extremely frivolous and downright wasteful. Things I’d expect from a major label trying to squeeze a few extra bucks out of the consumer with little regard for anything other than their profit numbers, and things I’ve sadly grown to expect more often in punk. I realized my social media feed is filled with evidence of endless punk products and merchandise, bootleg shirts, and countless things that not one of us truly needs. In the recent past, a rant much more scathing than this would have been fired off in letter form to MRR or any number of regular zines at the sight of an $85 7” boxset that could have been released as a single LP, or a $30 bootleg Totalitar wall hanging printed in an asian sweatshop… but I see little concern over consumption of any kind these days. Already annoyed over the much more important state of the world, and the election which would prove to be a disaster the following day, I felt like putting a punk centric rant out on social media in the face of everything, and the genocide in Gaza, was certainly not of any real importance.
The more I thought about it though, the more I felt like it was important. Our subculture has always sought to present an alternative to what we feel could be improved in the world, and even in small ways, we should be thinking about the impact we have in our communities locally, and the world globally. In the current moment, DIY punk has shifted into the most consumerist phase it has ever had. Instead of a focus on DIY, and a focus on conscientiousness when it comes to our impact on driving demand for resources, things have shifted to consumption that mirrors that of the norm we strive to fight against, and that consumption is typically driving up carbon emissions, demand for petroleum, and other products. Products that create incentive for the west to have an interest in oil reserves in Palestine, intensify other resource conflicts around the globe, and have a still undetermined impact in terms of damages due to increasing global warming, and other environmental destruction which has the potential to overshadow any current issue we face in the world.
I’m not here to critique punk jet setting to fests overseas, bands getting flown across the world for one off shows, or bands putting out physical products and merchandise of their art and music, (though I don’t think they should be immune to critique). And ultimately there’s far bigger things to worry about than what I’m discussing here, but that doesn’t make a conscious effort unimportant. I feel like we could benefit from taking a step back from things and looking at the way we utilize the earth’s limited resources, knowing demand for resources is currently a driving force in global conflict and environmental destruction. Our impact is small, but there’s something about the principle of it that feels important, especially when it comes to the easy, and really obvious things we have immediate control over, including the ways we put out art out into the world. The principle that separates us from that we are fighting against as punks.
Most any of us would be upset if a business were found to be knowingly polluting and wasting resources for reasons driven merely by either profit or obliviousness. It makes questions like “can I accomplish the same goal without wasting as much” something that should be on our minds if we strive for an alternative. If I’m here to critique anything it’s the mindset that it’s OK to just accept everything is the way that it is. It only is because there’s a demand for it. At a certain point we should ask ourselves, do we really need gatefold sleeves? Do we need double and triple LPs padded out with every rehearsal track a band ever recorded? Do we really need a 5x 7” boxset when all the material and artwork could be packaged as a single record? Do we really need to throw so much shade at CDs even though they are the least plastic used on any physical music media item? All of these are things I see on a regular basis running a distro and record label, and the real answer is we don't need any of this stuff at all, especially not when people are murdered every day across the world for reasons that include the oil used to make the plastic of a record, and water used to grow the trees and process the paper, and soy to make the inks used to print on that paper. But if we’re going to have it, let’s be thoughtful about how we make it. And if we consume it, or act as a channel which allows people to consume it, it’s time to start giving feedback vocally, or silently with our choice of patronage on things that feel irresponsible, and not just blindly accepting everything that gets made, just because it falls under the punk or DIY umbrella.
Going forward General Speech will focus on the following, and urge other labels, bands and distros to follow suit:
Press records domestically to reduce carbon emissions and petroleum usage, even if it takes longer for them to come out.
(Currently most records in the world are pressed in the Czech Republic or other European pressing plants even if they are on American labels requiring more petroleum usage to transport them to the USA)
Utilize record packaging and paper options that reduce demand for raw materials and other resources.
No gatefold sleeves, no boxsets, no “tip-on” / pasteboard sleeves, or paperboard upgrades on LP jackets. Everything will be “normal” just like most DIY punk records have looked since the late 70s.
Regular weight paper, and sensible options for inserts and lyric sheets, booklets, etc. (no 30 page booklets, fancy printed inner sleeves, etc.)
No 180g vinyl (to reduce petroleum usage)
No Shrinkwrapping where possible (to reduce petroleum usage - we have 2 late 2024 releases already in progress at the plant that will unfortunately come like this)
Move as much printing as possible in house, or to local printers to reduce carbon emissions and petroleum usage from shipping
(Most of the releases in 2024 have already had covers or inserts printed on site in the General Speech office)
Reduce cardboard usage with mailorder
Start saying no to requests to double box mailorders to prevent cosmetic imperfections like corner dings in order to reduce paper and cardboard usage, and petroleum usage during shipping.
Continue to research mailorder packaging alternatives that reduce cardboard, and petroleum consumption, even if switching to them is at the cost of a few more slightly imperfect records being delivered every once and a while.
Continue to refuse to stock “punk merchandise” typically requiring shipping and higher petroleum usage from overseas (and also typically made in sweatshops)
Enamel / Metal punk pins, printed flags/tapestries, embroidered patches, or anything we feel like is commercially mass manufactured, especially if a DIY alternative exists such as DIY pressed punk badges, domestically screen printed goods, etc.
Start saying no to labels and bands with releases that could accomplish the same artistic goals with more responsible use of resources.
This means we will phase out carrying most releases on FOAD, Prank, D-Takt and Rapunk, Back on Black (UK Reissue label), and other labels that typically overpackage their releases.