Hipsters Have Hearts Too

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Urbandictionary.com provides over 150 definitions for the term “hipster” and at least 75% of them are laden with scorn. Hipsters are “fresh out of college, mid-20′s people who claim to dislike all that is mainstream or popular,” “obsessed with indie music,” “easily found with dyed hair, thick-rimmed glasses, skinny jeans, drinking PBR and smoking Parliaments”, “dress like they’re poor, but live in the most gentrified areas of LA, Chicago, NYC”, and my favorite, hipsters are “a serious problem on the L train.” Hipster Run-Off, Look at this F@#*!*$ Hipster, and Stuff Hipsters Hate are also all popular websites that specialize in hating on this quirky subculture and they receive a fair amount of press coverage. (Admittedly, my homepage is hipsterrunoff.com).

But hey, I’m here to tell you that hipsters have a heart too. It’s not all about bashing the mainstream, dangling your janitor keys from your waist belt, and lounging around in posh art studios. Hipster hearts may not be as fully-developed as that of our beloved social entrepreneurs, but goddamnit, they’re trying. And other people are trying to reach them too. Take this video from our friends at the Social Enterprise Coalition in the UK. It’s use of paper animation, off-beat music, and obscure meaning is easily digestible to the hipster scene. Without even realizing it, these cool cats are learning about social enterprise.

In New York, this form of subliminal indoctrination is clearly already at work. Brookyln’s 3rd Ward held it’s second ever SCORE Pop-Up Swap event on November 21st and over a thousand trendy Brooklynites  were in attendance. The way the event works is that the attendees donate their goods, volunteers (usually expert curators) sort and display these items in themed “departments” and the attendees can then browse and take what they like – for FREE!

“Bring you old Blondie records, impulse sample buys, penny loafers, Jane Fonda workout videos, and harmonica chord progression manuals,” the SCORE website suggests – and this is how you know this event was organized by hipsters. (Seriously, Jane Fonda workout videos?)

Secondly, the swap is just as much a social party as it is a chance to nab used and new goods. SCORE hosts the swap events at indie venues, art lofts, and waterfront parks and in addition to the free shopping, they provide a party atmosphere that includes music, drinks, and photographers that report on who’s who on the Brooklyn social scene. Pretentious? A bit, yes, but I like the core of idea – hosting a swap market. It fosters the right sense of community-building and sustainability and it further promotes the idea that used items are just as valuable as new. The party is just extra fluff to get people in the door.

“We don’t push the altruism factor,” co-founder Leslie Harmelin told the New York Post. “People want to party and have a good time and get some free stuff, what could be better?” Well, actually, there are a lot of things that could be better – like mainly pushing the altruism factor instead of the party – but we have to be patient with hipsters. They’re “brainless” as Urbandictionary.com reports, but definitely not heartless. After the SCORE Pop-Up swap, trash bags of the left over items are taken to local New York charities such as City Harvest and Rock and Wrap it Up. Nothing goes to waste and this is a step in the right direction. Give ‘em a few more years and we might be seeing the spawn of a new subculture: the philanthripsters. Count me in.

SCORE Pop-Up Swap is an event where attendees can exchange new and used goods in a market forum with music, drinks, and more.

• Organization Type: Non-Profit
• Website: http://scoredatscore.com/
• Founder(s): Connie Carmona, Jenny Gottstein, Amy Butterworth, Leslie Hermelin
• Founded: 2009
• Location: New York, New York, USA
• See complete company list here