Who Made Your Clothes?

The moment that started a revolution in my own life, something that convicted me of things that I knew and believed in but had yet to put into practice, was last November. One comment from someone important in my life led me to recognize that if I wanted to truly live out my desire for social justice, equality, sustainability, and love for people around the world in every nation and circumstance, I needed to stop taking things for granted and make a stand. Specifically when it comes to clothing.

I've been a fashion enthusiast for as long as I can remember, subscribed to vogue for years, started following fashion blogs back in 2006 and have tried quite a few different "trends" in my day. The past couple years I stopped following the trends and began to focus on developing my personal style. I've been trying to prioritize quality over quantity in my budget and purchasing decisions, though sometimes I just needed a quick fix to take care of a hole in my wardrobe. The one aspect I had never truly given any thought to was the sustainability and social responsibility of the companies I was purchasing from.

So in November I immediately put myself on a shopping hiatus and began researching intensely. I discovered that there really is not that much information out there, hardly any comprehensive databases, very few companies put their ethical beliefs on their website, much less in an easy, intuitive-to-find location. And I've been striving to prove that quality/sustainability/social responsibility does NOT have to equal bankruptcy. My strategy basically consisted of googling "company name+social responsibility". Oh, and social responsibility and sustainability are not interchangeable. Additionally social responsibility has several layers when you take total supply chain into account - not just manufacturing.

I did not make my first purchase until nearly March. No Black Friday shopping, nor holiday deals nor after Christmas sales for me last year. (Consumerism and modern advertising is a whole different topic for another day...). I'm still collecting data and researching. I have a haphazard list of brands and products and links to databases, online stores, news articles and blog posts saved in Evernote at the moment. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to organize and consolidate and disperse my findings. I'm sure there's still great resources out there that I haven't discovered yet. There are brands that I used to shop all the time that left me surprisingly disappointed, and haven't stepped foot in since, and others that found me pleasantly surprised and have earned a spot in my budget. Some of my "blacklist" locations have left a hole that I'm still trying to fill.

I plan to begin a series on my findings, and try to keep things positive and encouraging. Brands will be featured and resources shared. It's hard to be perfect on something like this, it requires making some concessions and prioritizing (Is organic cotton worth it if the people aren't paid a fair wage? Or how about American-made vs international fair wages?). There will be mistakes (just because a brand puts something on their website doesn't mean they actually believe in it/follow through with it) and moments of weakness (Why are well-fitting jeans so expensive and rare without even adding the ethics requirement?). But this is one step toward living the life I'd like to live in a way that can meaningfully contribute back to the world around me.

Do you know who made your clothes?

Extra Credit: Fashion Revolution. #InsideOut. April marked the one year anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. Fashion Revolution started a campaign encouraging people to wear their clothing inside out (to feature the "made in" label) on April 24. Photos were posted across Social Media as a statement that things need to change. And that change starts with simply being aware of where your clothes are made, and by whom. When consumers are aware of this and begin to demand this information from brands, then supply chain transparency will be a natural part of every business model.

Peace and the Environment

My absolute favorite college courses, which I did not take until winter and spring of my senior year (I would have changed my major had I discovered these sooner!), was a two-part Sustainability Studies series. And it was taught by the most interesting professor of my college career, a man named Richard Matthew. Among many things, he is works with the UN on peacebuilding missions providing environmental assessments  in post-conflict areas. He helps provide recommendations on what natural resources and environmental concerns are a priority to aid the country/area get back on its feet. If the water has been contaminated, helping people and governments is difficult if they can't get and stay healthy. If previous mining/logging/etc operations have caused environmental damage and erosion, then investment in restoring the land to enable crops to survive - and therefore food security/self-sufficiency - will be crucial. The environmental assessments provide a complete and well-rounded solution to areas like the Congo, Northern Pakistan and Sierra Leone - showing just how interconnected the environment is to both economic and social recovery. Each class during the first quarter covered a different country he'd visited and all the specific environmental issues that contributed to a lot of their issues and how fixing these would help move them to a better place.

What struck me most, I think, about listening to him speak in each class was the incredible hope and passion he had. He conveyed a complete lack of cynicism despite the terrible situations he's witnessed and is so driven toward finding lasting solutions.

 (via TEDxOrangeCoast)

Who inspires you in a positive way?

What are your thoughts about a holistic solution process, and where do you see this playing out in other areas?

Extra Credit:

Read Collapse by Jared Diamond - how the downfall of ancient empires can be directly attributed to environmental destruction. So fascinating for a history nut like myself. Hey Easter Islanders, maybe it wasn't a good idea to cut down EVERY tree on your island in order to support your giant statue rituals...

Thursday Thoughts

(via instagram from my October visit to Sacramento)

Nearly 6 years after starting this little blog, with the smallest of intentions (to document my summer abroad), I feel like my experiences and knowledge and interests and passions are all finally converging upon a single point.

In light of Cassie's post today about actually having an opinion and putting it out there, it's time to start unpacking and connecting all these different things that get me fired up. It can pretty much be summed up into a single word: Sustainability.

As I was taught in school, specifically a college course titled Sustainability (much much more on that to come), the most comprehensive definition comes from the March 20, 1987 United Nations Bruntland Commission. "Sustainable development is development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

Seems simple right? Sustainability is essentially the center of a Venn diagram of economics, environment/ecology, and social justice. It's an idea that seems like a win-win-win yet people still reject the entire concept. I'm a big picture person, so sustainability instantly made sense to my brain and I was 100% behind it. It's an expansion on the environmentalist movement, which many people disdain as it appeared to put the earth and animals AHEAD of humans (and of course there are those who couldn't see how that would help their bottom line). The UN definition more accurately captures the fact that all is interconnected and if we can find the balance between the three, then all three aspects will benefit.

Sustainability has a role in everything: food, consumer products, construction, transportation, business models, etc. I've been on board with this for awhile, constantly researching and trying to share with friends and the occasional family member. My problem is that I lack the tools to communicate effectively to strangers and to actually defend my position in the instance of differing opinions and backlash. What does any of this have to do with travel? I think it starts with the perspective that comes with traveling; experiencing another culture, another ecosystem and place. Traveling provides depth for the idea of globalization, while I think technology, which has allowed globalization to happen and has benefited immensely, actually narrows and obscures what globalization truly means. Traveling exposes me to other people, putting faces to the compassionate social justice reasons for sustainability. The incredible sights I've seen reinforce the desire to preserve both the natural and built environment for future generations (and in doing so - also ensuring that there ARE future generations that are healthy and happy).

There's a lot that I want to say and I'm going to do my best to sort and organize it all. My plans for this little corner of the web will also include lots of travel, past trips as well as future (Africa!).

Swaziland

 via my instagram

I started this blog as an outlet to satiate my desire for travel. I studied abroad in 2008 and have been itching for more travel ever since. The opportunity hadn’t come up and life got in the way for a bit. I’m so excited to say I’ll finally be dusting off my passport for this summer. In June I’ll be on a plane to Swaziland!

Why Swaziland? I’m heading there with my husband and group of 7 other people to work with the most amazing organization: Advocates for Africa’s Children. I highly encourage you to explore the website to learn about all the amazing work they are doing in Swaziland; their mission statement, purpose and core values are so powerful.

AFAC’s Mission Statement:
To empower the African People to care for orphans and fight the spread of HIV/AIDS.
AFAC’s Purpose:
To express the love of Christ to widows and orphans.
AFAC’s Core Values:
Empowerment, Christ-centered, sustainability, and food security.

Over the span of 10 days we’ll be helping care for orphans, tend to crops, feed dairy goats, and build a new church. I’m so so excited. I’ll definitely be taking lots of photos and doing lots of journaling, it will be so overwhelming and exhausting but absolutely life changing.

 

www.AFAChildren.org

If you have any questions, comments or want to help support our team and the organization please message me!

i feel most alive when...

so maybe I'm crazy but I'd like to lean on my passions instead for my excuse, between finishing finals yesterday and graduation tomorrow, I spent today digging trenches on a Habitat for Humanity jobsite. I'm tired and sore but it was amazing. I spent the majority of the day working alongside a couple future homeowners. There's nothing like volunteer work in the form of physical labor. Helping make someone else's world just a little more beautiful.

Here's a couple photos from a Habitat build I helped out on a couple years ago

(that's me in the back holding down the wall)

(myself (left) and a couple other ladies taking a breather)

jammy time!

Speaking of India, I wanted to tell you about a really cool organization, the International Princess Project. They have an after care facility in India for women that have been rescued from prostitution. They created a little business called Punjammies where the women make pajamas for fair trade wages. They have beautiful pj pants made of colorful and patterned fabric from India as well as soft organic cotton t shirts. One of my friends did some modeling for them, it's a really awesome cause!

Yay!

So it looks like I'm not going to get the NOLA bug out of my system anytime soon. I just keep coming across more awesomeness.

United Way has begun a partnership to Rebuild NOLA because there are still 971 families living in FEMA trailers. And after 5 years, that is unacceptable.

Okay, I'm becoming an old lady about technology. I feel like I hit my peak with facebook and I'm barely keeping up with each time they redo the website. Twitter is beyond me. At the moment I definitely don't have the time or interest to narrate my life minute by minute. But there are a couple uses that I appreciate it for. One being my favorite non profits and organizations. I just discovered St. Bernard Project's feed and it has me super pumped to hear good things coming out (276 homes completed so far!).

Fun fact: apparently actor Kellan Lutz volunteered with them and tweeted about it and raised lots of support and awareness for the project! yay! Useful & good twitter results! (all his tweets basically support charities and humanitarian organizations, it's really cool to know that a big time actor cares about the world).

NOLA

Have you seen HBO's "The Wire"? It's a show about Baltimore cops, written by Baltimore cops. Fiance watched it, because his dad watched it (his dad is a sheriff) and now is making me watch it. And it is quite good. very real.

Anyways, the creators have made a new show. It's called "Treme" and it's about musicians in New Orleans. The show begins three months after Hurricane Katrina hit. It has a few of the same actors from the wire, plus other likes steve zahn and john goodman. I'm so excited to watch it.
a) I love Jazz Music
b) I worked with St. Bernard Project this past summer, helping send volunteer groups to NOLA to rebuild homes
c) NOLA has been creeping up my must-see travel list. It's roughly top five. (one of these days I will actually create a list, for now it is in my busy, forgetful, stressed out brain)
d) I also love john goodman

The show will definitely break my heart a bit. I feel, deeply, about stuff like this. But it's a topic that definitely needs some light, because it's been almost 5 years since the hurricane and from what I heard from people who went out there, progress is minimal. A few people have been going back every year since the hurricane and they say that there are still entire blocks with abandoned homes marked up by rescue workers (searching for dead bodies). There are still big areas with no functioning street lights. abandoned businesses. And a lot of people are still living in miserable FEMA trailers. They feel like the rest of the country/world has forgotten about them and moved onto other issues.

The show starts Sunday, April 11. 10 pm. Since I live in the stone age and don't have HBO I'll have to stream it later. But this is one TV show that will not be a waste of your life.

what a wonderful world

"For seventeen days, they are roommates.
For seventeen days, they are soulmates.
And for twenty-two seconds, they are competitors.
Seventeen days as equals. Twenty-two seconds as adversaries.
What a wonderful world that would be.
That's the hope I see in the Olympic Games."

i ♥ Nelson Mandela

kimberly process

I saw Blood Diamond last weekend. I've been wanting to see it for awhile and then more recently it was recommended by my sustainability professor. He works for the UN and has traveled to Sierra Leone. He spent most of a lecture talking about the history and war and diamonds of Sierra Leone. He said Blood Diamond is pretty accurate in its portrayal of the late 90s early 2000s during the civil war.

The movie is absolutely devastating. So violent. It was hard to watch because I can't just reconcile it by saying its just a movie, when the movie is based on actual events and rebel groups. The brainwashed child soldiers. Corrupt government and military. Yet there was still a kind of beauty. Beautiful african landscapes. Joyous children in refugee camps. A hopeful man running a home for rescued child soldiers. family. change of heart.

It was incredibly long and probably could have ended in a few different spots. But I'm glad it didn't, the story was able to come full circle. To tell the viewer it's purpose, that all those deaths were not completely in vain. The Kimberly Process was instituted in Kimberly, South Africa in 2003. It was to regulate and prevent conflict diamonds from entering the marketplace, to provide certification to the consumer that the diamond they are purchasing was ethically and responsibly mined.

the movie uses a fictional british diamond jeweler called van de kaap, which is probably based on a real company, De Beers. De Beers had a monopoly on diamonds for decades. The movie hints that they actually owned more diamonds than they sold. They would buy them up and store them in vaults so they could present the few remaining as rare, and thus control the market value. Recently diamonds have been discovered other places, like canada, and De Beers let go of their monopoly hold on the market during the Sierra Leone civil war. Although unfortunately now about 60% belongs to a heroin trafficker.

Africa has continued to be exploited for it's rich natural resources. Which are extracted in an extremely unsustainable manner and cause immense violence. and then once the resource is gone and the people are left alone again, they must deal with the environmental and social destruction. I don't even know where to start.

for what it's worth

Umm...hi. did you miss me?
There was a general lack of travel in my life for the past 6 months though still plenty of dreaming.

While I spent my summer sitting in front of a computer as a volunteer for my church, I DID help other people travel! As an admin intern for global outreach, I had the opportunity to help organize and coordinate house build mission trips to New Orleans. If it weren't for summer school I would have been out there in that sticky humid heat hanging drywall along with the rest of them. But instead I settled for hearing the stories of over 100 people over 7 different trips that took 5 days out of their summer/off of work to travel to the New Orleans area and rebuild people's homes that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

The most surprising things to hear is that even though it has been four years, the community is still ravaged and very much in need. We worked with a non-profit called St. Bernard's Project. The amazing thing about St. Bernard's is that these families' homes are being rebuilt on their actual property in their same neighborhoods, at their same addresses. Our church got involved in disaster relief immediately, then moving on to tear down of homes that were destroyed, having to get rid of the the moldy and mildewed structures down to the foundation. Now finally we have been able to assist in the hopeful rebuilding process. As of August, St. Bernard had completed building 230 homes, each fully finished and painted for about $12,000 each thanks to donations and support. The lowest cost for a quality home when compared with Harry Connick Jr's work with Habitat for Humanity in that area or Brad Pitt's homes (only nine have been finished, they cost $250,000 each and do not fit with the aesthetics of new orleans architecturally).

Those New Orleans trips touched every single person who went in immeasurable ways. We have a few people who are actually moving to New Orleans to work in the community full time. Volunteering with St. Bernard project is on my life to-do list, they accept individual volunteers anytime and you are responsible for only paying for your transportation/lodging/food while there!

P.S. even Obama has something to say about St. Bernard Project! "The St. Bernard Project has drawn together volunteers to rebuild hundreds of homes, where people can live with dignity and security," :D