Whose Idea Was This?

The idea of clean concert grounds and not littering belongs to all of us. The idea for this particular pledge was started by me and the company I co-founded, The Artist Farm.

I came up with the idea because it sits at the intersection of 3 passions: live music, nature, and personal development.

• As an avid concert goer I think the concert environment is as important as the music itself. For me, outdoor concerts are the best.
• As an outdoorsman I am a strong believer in the ethics of Leave No Trace - the idea that anytime you are outside you should leave your area cleaner than when you arrived.
• As an artist of life, I believe that the power for any change in the world comes from within each individual. Taking responsibility and ownership of your impact on this earth is a key part of this philosophy.

Going to concerts and seeing fields strewn with trash has always seemed strange to me. For festivals that are supposedly filled with "conscious" attendees, how is it that we haven't learned to care for ourselves and the earth in this simple way?

I thought of how best to change this trash mentality. I considered the work and effort involved in trying to change the mentality from the top down by asking promoters and festivals to push the message. But that seemed too indirect and difficult. One day I saw a pledge form online, then another, and it struck me that this was the perfect forum to initiate change. Ultimately I decided that going directly to the audience was the best especially given my belief in the power of an individual.

I believe strongly that we will never change the world if we don't change ourselves first. I hope you see the wisdom in this and join me in keeping the earth clean and green by taking responsibility for your trash at outdoor concerts.

Thanks!

Ben Coe
The Artist Farm

Why Should I?

I think we can all agree that the world would be a better place if we humans could be zero waste. No more trash, and everything used or decomposing in a healthy cycle the way all other animals do it.

The entire ecosystem of packaging, creation, use, disposal, recycling, and all that… it's big- too big for most of us to comprehend. But there is something simple you can understand. You.

What can you do to affect any change here?

The answer starts with a simple task. When you purchase something, the cycle of disposal is yours with that ownership. In other words, if you consumed it, it is your responsibility to dispose of it properly. For bodily waste, we have toilets. For consumer waste, we have bins. Much like you wouldn't put your bodily waste all over the ground, you shouldn't put your trash there either.

Unfortunately, the current thinking goes that if you paid money for a ticket then someone else should clean up after you; that it is your right to litter. There is a better way!

If you want to change the world, you must first change yourself. You can start by not externalizing your responsibility. You can start by embracing sustainable values that apply everywhere (at home or camping in the woods) over situational values (that somehow it is ok to litter at concerts). You can start right now.

This is a pledge to keep concert grounds clean, to take responsibility for your own trash, and therefore to contribute to a cleaner environment for all.

This Clean Concert Pledge is about more than littering. It is about:

• assuming your personal responsibility.
• recognizing that you are the door to change in the world.
• seeing your connection to all those around you.
• not having to worry about sitting on a paper plate covered in mustard... because grass is so much better.

I hope you'll agree, that you see the wisdom in this, that you'll sign the pledge, and spread the word. Let's keep changing the world one person at a time.