I just heard that Bawx hopes to keep going after the winter holiday season, which may be outdated news but hey, it’s too good to pass up. What is Bawx? It’s a statement on our culture’s addictive consumerism, among other things, that offers a well-designed product any young child would love: a 100% recycled, sturdy, 2-ft-cubed, empty cardboard box. They sell four models that range in price from $24.99 to $499.99, but all the boxes are actually the same (different views are pictured for each model, however, and Model 3.0 is “New!”).
Why would people buy an empty cardboard box for $499.99 when they could get the very same wondrous item for $24.99? Why would people buy an empty cardboard box at all when they could find a free box to give their child anytime? All of the money from the purchases goes to either of two children’s charities: Charley Davidson Leukemia Fund in Boston or Blue Sky Bridge in Boulder, helping child abuse victims.
This postconsumerism effort beautifully enacts the legend that exists among early childhood educators like myself that young children often prefer to get creative with an empty box than with its pre-scripted contents. As the designers say, “Kids would much rather spend time with their friends and parents and a Bawx, than the latest technology. Ok, that is a complete lie, but maybe if they did have a Bawx they would spend more time with people, and a bit less time with pixels.” And maybe we would all think a bit more about why we’re buying stuff.
