The idea for StopLittering.com occurred while reminiscing about the N.Y. Cares annual clean up day and how frustrating it is that everyone had to come back the next year to do it again for no good reason. There are lots of complex problems in the world, but, to stop littering, litterers simply need to stop littering.

Some folks, including Tuula-Maria Ahonen, founder of The Litter Movement, say there's something inherently exploitative about profiting from making litter obsolete. And a member of Keep America Beautiful said that he “would not consider StopLittering.com to be a substantial contribution to the litter-prevention world because it doesn't have any PROGRAMS for people to support, just stuff for people to buy.” Our point is that the type of programs he speaks of focus only on one particular place at a time, but neglect to address the rest of the litter strewn about virtually everywhere. If all of the folks who regularly participate in such programs were to also sometimes pick up litter wherever they find it, then the litterers would not be able to not take notice, especially if they saw that, say, every fifth person and car and yard had our logo on display. Then there would indeed be quite a substantial contribution to the litter-prevention world. Call that “exploitation,” if you will, but we're proud to have found an opportunity to expedite the philosophy of Natural Capitalism. And, since we're the capitalists who risked over $30,000 and countless hours over 8 years to bring this site to its full potential, we'll feel no compunction about enjoying the fruits of our labor once this catches on.