Just Learn: Dhaka Factory Collapse

Last week a building that housed a garment factory, among other businesses, collapsed in Bangladesh.  The number of confirmed dead was 359, as of this morning, and though they are still pulling out workers that survived the collapse, rescue efforts are nearing an end as the building is becoming even more dangerous for rescue teams.  There are still hundreds of unaccounted for victims, trapped or dead inside.  The actual death toll may be close to 1,000 workers.

Reports have surfaced that business owners from the building were warned to keep their workers at home after cracks appeared.  Several of these owners have been arrested now for negligence, because they ignored these warnings and forced their employees  to come work in the garment factory.  What has not been as widely reported, is that employees from other businesses (banking and insurance) in the building were not forced to report to work that day.  This is very telling evidence about the type of worker that is exploited in the garment industry and the very little value that is placed on their lives.

While protests erupt in Bangladesh and in the U.S. demanding safer working conditions in the garment industry, it is doubtful any significant changes will be handed down from the government or the industry itself. Garments account for 80% of exports from Bangladesh.  Many executives overseeing this 20 billion dollar business are also involved in local politics. In short, the garment industry is "Big Oil" in this region.

The BBC posted an article online asking, "Can Clothes Industry Change?" The answer is, of course it can, by why would it?  As long as consumers turn a blind eye to the exploitation of the earth's resources and people groups, why would business executives sacrifice their bottom line?  And while Americans are quick to point the finger at obvious targets selling cheap clothes like Walmart or Forever 21, high end labels are actually just as guilty.  Their prices may reflect some higher quality fabrics, embellishments and finishing techniques, but they are typically not paying their workers any higher wages than the ones sewing for Walmart.

This is where the post gets preachy, and most people already know what the solution is:  

1)  Buy less clothing (and fabric!!)  

2)  When you do buy something, looked for it secondhand or as a remnant first 

3)  If you have to buy new, support a company that is verifiably doing things right

4)  Invest in quality pieces of clotihng

5)  Repair/reuse/upcycle what you have

6)  Let companies know you expect change and that they have lost you as a customer

Changing an entire industry often feels like a monumental task, but it truly starts with individuals.  If there can be any good that comes from this tragedy, I hope it is that more people will consider the ramifications of their purchases, and will change their buying habits.

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Just Make: Papercut Window Art

I have long admired papercut art, from the big names like Nikki McClure and Rob Ryan, to the hobbyists selling their work on Etsy.  One of my biggest celebrity thrills was talking to Nikki McClure when she called our little bookstore, concerned we hadn't place our annual calendar order.  (Her concern was warranted because we were, indeed, going out of business).  She was just as gentle and sincere as you would guess she would be from her artwork.  

The appeal of papercutting, I think, is that it is very basic, like drawing.  If you have a piece of paper and an X-acto knife, you can cut.  Just like if you have a piece of paper and a pencil, you can draw.  Similar to drawing, I am sure you can invest in various cutting tools and upgrade, but you really don't have to.  And, the last thing I need to take on is another crafty hobby that requires a lot of tools and supplies!

Our family has a sweet tradition of making paper snowflakes during the holiday season.  The snowflakes are then on display all winter taped to a window.  This year we put them in the window of our front door, and were pretty reluctant to take them down.  (Also, March 21st often still feels like winter in the Pacific Northwest).  But by the beginning of April, the weather took a turn and I felt snowflakes were no longer appropriate.  As a compromise, I said we could put something new and spring-y in the window.  

Over the last year I have done a few small papercut projects, incorporating quotes and lyrics with basic shapes.  I knew we needed to stick to that format for time's sake and to feel successful.  I could not find our large roll of butcher paper anywhere and decided to use newspaper instead.  I may never papercut with anything else!  It is thin enough that it does not take much pressure to cut, but durable enough that it doesn't tear easily (like tissue paper).  It was really a dream to work with and I like what the text and advertisements add to the shapes.  My youngest and I worked together off and on for one morning.  She had fun adding the little animals, while I cut out the quote.  Plus, since the investment of time and materials was so inconsequential, I will have no qualms putting it in recycling when we are ready for a change.

Right now, it still makes me smile every time I look at it, but I am already on the hunt for a good quote for summer and have a hard time imagining our door will ever be blank again!

Just Use: Certified Pre Owned Cell Phones

I have a confession to make.  I jumped on the cell phone band wagon pretty early in the game.  In 1999, we had just begun our little family and were living in Estes Park, Colorado.  Trips down the canyon to Fort Collins for "supplies" were fairly common, and it put everyone more at ease for the new mother/lone driver to have a cell phone in the car.  Then, once we did the math, we realized we could cancel our long distance plan and just use the cell phone to call far away friends and loved ones instead.

However, because I seem to be genetically programmed to not like shopping and not be tempted by new technology and gadgets, I have only owned three phones since then.  Up until last fall, I was still happily using my old flip phone, not as a camera or a mini computer, but as just a phone.  And then I washed it.  In the washing machine.  This particular phone had already survived being dunked in a glass of water repeatedly by a toddler (someone else's) and falling in the toilet (freshly cleaned, thankfully), so I somewhat confidently took it apart and set it in rice, expecting it to dry out and come back to life.  No luck.

As I browsed Verizon's website for my new phone, I just felt sick to my stomach and could not commit to a purchase.  I knew from start to finish the damage a cell phone causes to the environment.  The components of a cell phone read like a Top Ten list of major pollutants:  lead, nickel, beryllium, mercury, cadmium, and plastic treated with brominated flame retardants.  From mining to manufacturing to usage to disposal these devices poison people and places at every stage.  The numbers are staggering.  There are 3.5 billion phones in use world wide.  The average user upgrades every 18 months (U.S. users are closing in on once a year). Only 20% of users get a new phone because their old one isn't working. Tossed cell phones account for 65,000 tons of electronic waste annually.  And yet, my life right now is structured in a way that it would be difficult to go completely without one.

Frustrated, I finally called Verizon to talk to a sales representative about my dilemma.  It turns out they, and all other major carriers, offer Certified Pre-Owned phones.  It takes a little digging to find them on their websites.  Verizon's is listed under "Deals", assuming your motivation is to just save money.  And although I'd love to get to a point where a cell phone is not a necessity in my life, buying a used phone, with the same kind of warranty granted a new one felt like a workable solution for now.

Other solutions to deal with the cell phone crisis:

-treat your phone carefully so it will last, keeping it in a case and not using it precariously where it might fall (no more talking to my sister and cleaning the toilet simultaneously for me!)

-only upgrade because your phone stopped working, not just to get the newest feature or cool kid toy

-recycle your old phone, but be careful it isn't just getting shipped to a third world country, look for a non-profit organization that actually uses them 

Just Make: DIY.org

Source: diy.org via Dave Jenni on Pinterest

Our former neighbor recently filmed some promotional videos for DIY.org.  We have been describing this website as a modern day Boy/Girl Scouts, except your troop is all online.  There are badges to be earned for all kinds of skills ranging from the traditional ones like Camper and Medic, to craftier skills like Stitcher and Potter, and even very 21st Century skills like Web Designer and Front End Developer.  Needless to say, it's become a bit of an obsession around our house.

The whole website is designed for kids and is very safe and user friendly.  Kids choose an animal face avatar and are either assigned or create a Nickname.  As you complete your projects to earn badges, you post a picture or a video documenting it to your profile.  Once it is approved (usually within 24 hours) your profile acts like a mini blog that people can follow, favorite, or comment on.

Yesterday, my youngest spent all day building a cardboard house to earn a Fort Builder badge.  At the end of the day she reflected how this could've been a long, boring Saturday.  Both siblings were gone all day (dance rehearsal/BMX riding), the neighbor buddy was off-island running errands, and attempts to schedule last minute playdates were thwarted by being too last minute.  Instead though, she had completed a project from start to finish and was very proud of the result.

I cannot gush enough about this website.  Every adult I've referred to it wants to join, too!  The community it has created online is so sweet and amazing.  It's very inspiring to see what kids are making and the acknowledgement they receive by posting it to their profile.  Best of all, the whole thing is currently free and isn't plastered with ads.  I'm not sure how they manage that or how long that will last, but it certainly makes me love it even more.

(Sorry for the round-a-bout link to her cute little tutorial video above.  I couldn't figure out how to embed it directly from the site.)

Just Watch: UAL Green Week Film

Our local school district has been gathering students, parents, teachers, administrators, and other members of the community to talk about what skills our students will need in the future.  The lists we have developed are varied, ranging from tech-savvy to satisfaction with what you have.  The discussions are lively and meaningful and reassuring.  I always leave the meetings energized and full of ideas.

This video, which popped up on UAL's Centre for Sustainable Fashion's blog last week, reminds me of these meetings.  It is very heartening to know that educators at this level are also working towards the same goals as they shape students' attitudes towards design and consumption.  I particularly love the Head, Hands, Heart principle and feel it verbalizes what I do and why I do it that way when I make anything.

Just Sew: Signature Look

Well, it is the last week of Project Run and Play and I successfully completed all of the challenges.  Kind of.  The final challenge is always to complete a signature look.  Many of the people sewing along really look forward to this week, but I always find it pretty intimidating.  I feel like I have a long life of sewing ahead of me, and have just barely begun the journey - most likely, I am in the getting a full tank of gas before you really hit the road stage.  I am nowhere near nailing down a "signature" look.

Instead I looked at the elements that characterized this season of Project Run and Play for me.  First and foremost this time, everything  I sewed was in response to requests from my kids.  Previously, I have made whatever I wanted and then just sold the items my kids didn't claim for themselves.  Secondly, I worked with a variety of materials beyond old t-shirts and jersey knits.  Lastly, I have really been into the color grey, and I think at least a little bit showed up in every challenge.

I hadn't made anything for my oldest this season and asked her to pick out a dress she liked so I could try and make it.  She gave me several choices, and after looking at the construction and for tutorials online, we settled on this one from Modcloth.

It is a nice, light grey with a paisley pattern worked into it.  We actually had a white sheet with a similar pattern woven into it that we just didn't use any more (downsized mattresses) that I dyed grey.  As you can see, our grey came out much darker, which was disappointing.  I actually only pinned the crocheted lace to our dress because I want to try bleaching/removing some of the color.  Hence, the "kind of" statement in the first paragraph.  

Other than the color I am mostly satisfied with the dress.  The entire bodice is lined and I made an effort to finish it nicely on the inside.  I also successfully dyed the lace with tea to make it closer to ivory, which is what my daughter wanted (although she is wavering on the lace and might want it plain after all - good thing it's just pinned!).  In the end, we decided to forego the buttons, too.

I did not even attempt to make some sort of tutorial for this, as I was really just making it up as I went along.  Everything was self-drafted, trial and error, with A LOT of fittings.  This really pushed my skills and there were probably just as many mistakes as successes.  Once again, I am glad I gave this season of Project Run and Play a try and have definitely seen my skills improve in a very short time.

Just Wear: Decent Exposures

If you have made some sort of commitment to buying all of your clothing secondhand, you know underwear can be tricky.  Even I get a little squeamish thinking about wearing someone else's underwear.  One solution is to sew underwear (usually out of old t-shirts), but my kids complained they weren't as comfy as storebought, and in the end, they just couldn't hold up to the wash and wear regimen required for them.  When you start hunting for sustainably made underwear, it can get tricky, too.  Although some of the larger companies produce organic cotton underwear, I would still question their labor practices around growing and harvesting the cotton and manufacturing the product.

This is where Decent Exposures, based in Seattle, saves the day.  First of all, it is a one-stop underwear shop, with options for the whole family.  They began in 1986 and have remained committed to the quality of their materials and their manufacturing process.  All of their pieces are made here in Seattle by people receiving decent pay and benefits and flexible schedules.  A friend of mine actually did her internship there and confirmed it is a great environment for a working woman.

They keep a lot of stock on hand, but also do custom orders.  At one point, you could even send them your old t-shirts and they would make them into underwear for you.  Yes, the price for one pair is the same price you might pay for a 3-pack at Target, but the product is of much high quality and will last longer.  Also, I guarantee the people involved in making the 3-pack did not receive a livable wage and benefits.

  

If it is an area of your life that you have considered making a change in, they are definitely worth checking out.  I know I found them because they are local, but I haven't really come across another company like them.  I'd love to hear any other recommendations or suggestions on this topic!