Home & Garden Home Frugal Green Living: Posters for the Movement By Lloyd Alter Design Editor University of Toronto Lloyd Alter is Design Editor for Treehugger and teaches Sustainable Design at Ryerson University in Toronto. our editorial process Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Lloyd Alter Updated October 12, 2011 credit: Migrated Image Share Twitter Pinterest Email Home Thrift & Minimalism Pest Control Natural Cleaning DIY Family Green Living Sustainable Eating Treehugger has often used illustrations of WWII posters, noting how the issues that were so important then, like food production, waste and travel, have come around again. While cruising around looking for an image, I discovered a post on another site, Underconsideration, that linked to terrific sources in Canada and the USA. In Canada, McGill University in Montreal has a collection of war posters that is the source of this plea for frugality. Credit: Canadian War Poster Collection 1 of 19 Fish & Vegetables credit: Migrated Image Eating lower on the food chain lets the troops eat the high density stuff, but studies showed after the war that people at home were never healthier. Credit: McGill War Poster Collection 2 of 19 Waste Not Want Not credit: Migrated Image We do go on about the virtues of canning, and of course, listening to mom. Credit:Canadian War Poster Collection 3 of 19 Planting a Garden credit: Migrated Image And don't forget about listening to the kids about planting a garden! Credit:Canadian War Poster Collection 4 of 19 Waste No Food credit: Migrated Image The Americans were late to the party and their first attempts were, shall we say, a bit lame on the inspiration and graphic design, but they did have content down pat! Credit:unknown 5 of 19 Car Sharing credit: Migrated Image But they soon got the hang of it and were turning out great stuff, like this poster promoting car sharing. National Archives 6 of 19 Save Gas credit: Migrated Image Seriously. Could you drive alone after seeing this? Fortunately they didn't have inflatables then. National Archives 7 of 19 Gardens and Canning credit: Migrated Image The Minneapolis public library has a great collection of posters promoting one of our favorite subjects: gardens and canning. Grow your own had a different connotation when I was younger, but is back to its original meaning. Credit: Minneapolis Public Library 8 of 19 Fighting Famine credit: Migrated Image 9 of 19 Canning credit: Migrated Image After you grow it, of course you have to can it. Credit: Minneapolis Public Library 10 of 19 Green Your Home credit: Migrated Image It isn't just about food; they had some pretty good advice on how to green your home for winter. Credit: Minneapolis Public Library 11 of 19 Enough credit: Migrated Image Living with less is not a new idea either. Credit: Minneapolis Public Library 12 of 19 Travel Less credit: Migrated Image George Monbiot was not the first to suggest that we should travel a bit less. Credit: Minneapolis Public Library 13 of 19 Stay at Home credit: Migrated Image My favourite stay-at-home image. Credit: Minneapolis Public Library 14 of 19 I'll Carry Mine too credit: Migrated Image When you do shop, be sure that you walk home, it saves a lot of fuel and rubber. It's not a wacky idea. Credit: Minneapolis Public Library 15 of 19 For Victory credit: Migrated Image Nobody slouched about recycling Credit: Minneapolis Public Library 16 of 19 Save Waste Fats credit: Migrated Image And where they collected grease for explosives, we now do it for biodiesel. Credit: Minneapolis Public Library 17 of 19 Car Pooling credit: Migrated Image Fortunately the art of the great propaganda poster has not been lost to history. Micah Wright has remixed or reinvented dozens of them, some appropriate for TreeHugger and others perhaps too political. Credit: Micah Wright 18 of 19 Cheap Oil credit: Migrated Image But it is great to see that the medium is alive and well. Credit: Micah Wright 19 of 19 Keep Calm credit: Migrated Image And remember, no matter what, keep calm and carry on. Credit: Keep Calm Gallery