Pinterest pledge.

So now that I'm selling my wares on Etsy (one month tomorrow!), I've become pretty sensitive to the way that people use Pinterest and how it affects the creator of the pinned image and product. I am definitely guilty of doing this in the past, but it's pretty obvious that some Pinteresters hit "repin" without ever checking the links they're posting. Not only is this frustrating for others (like when you find a picture of a delicious looking dessert but the pin doesn't link back to the recipe), it can lead to some pretty questionable ethical practices, especially in the DIY arena.

This post from oh my! handmade and Salt and Ginger (formerly Salt City Spice) is a perfect summary of how thoughtless pinning can be harmful to crafters trying to make a living from their original designs. Though I suspect most people pin far more than they will ever actually attempt in real life (soooo guilty of this!), there's always the chance that one errant pin can lead to a loss of income for someone.

(click the image for Jessika and Katrina's original post and image)

The quick summary:

Visit the original post over on omhg and pin the image to any of your DIY Pinterest boards.

From here on out, never pin anything without checking the link(s) first. If a "DIY" turns out to be someone's original artwork, DON'T POST IT AS A DIY.

Whenever possible, give credit to the image source in the pin description itself.

If you're feeling really saintly, spend some time going back through your old pins to correct them as needed, deleting anything that doesn't meet this ethical benchmark (I've started this process -- it's slow-going, but worth it!)

Okay, off my soapbox. Back to your regularly scheduled programming!