Why I believe in sustainability--All things connect
Monday, September 7, 2009 at 4:03PM Autumn is in the air here in New England and I am ready to see the leaves changing color and gently falling onto hiking trails under my feet. Ah! I love the Fall. The brisk mornings, the site of plump pumpkins at the doorsteps of neighbors' houses, the smell of wood-burning fireplaces, the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze...
Illustration by Julie of "What Would Julie Draw?"With every change of season, I am reminded of the amazing power of Mother Nature and how lucky we are all to experience her many wonders. We are living in a very interesting era--it seems more and more people understand that the things we do, the way we live our lives, impacts the Earth in both positive and negative ways. We have been living in a increasingly disposable society for the past sixty years. Manufactures have concentrated on developing products that are cheap, used a few times and then carried off to a landfill. The manufactures assume that consumers will just return to the store, buy a replacement, and make them even more money. But what do we do with all that trash?! What do we do with all that trash that is made up of disposable products that could have easily been replaced by products that last much longer? (Did you know that there is a "garbage patch" 1,000 miles off the coast of California consisting mostly of plastic? Researchers think it is the size of Texas!) Couple this disposable mentality with the fact that executives of many manufacturing companies have made it a priority to construct their goods using the cheapest supplies, the cheapest labor, and any sort of loop-hole they can find to avoid environmental standards set by our government and global institutions in order to save money. That makes sense, I guess, as far as a business goes, right? Make the most possible money by cutting costs as much as possible and selling a high volume of product. But there are devastating consequences. We have seen proof through the years that these cost-cutting maneuvers often equate to things like dangerous working conditions, unfair work practises, poisons knowingly released into our environment, toxins in the very products being manufactured causing disease and even death in humans and animals, disruption of the natural habitats of various types of fauna...I could go on and on. There has to be a more humane, SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE way to run a profitable business.
Just as my knowledge of how to run a business has grown exponentially over the course of 2009, so has my knowledge of how to run a sustainable business. It is important to me to keep my costs as low as I can but not at the cost of indignity to humans, animals, or our natural world. I'd like to take this opportunity to illustrate the steps I have taken to make sure Pansy Maiden is on a socially responsible path.
1) Sustainability: Both my organic and conventional cotton fabrics are made at a mill that is GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified by the International Working Group. The entire production process is taken into account. This means that every processing step must meet certain criteria. The criteria for the production process are laid out by GOTS. This criteria encompass every step of textile production (spinning, weaving, washing, etc) and for every step it is detailed which processing aids may (not) be used, in order to gain as much environmental profit as possible. The International Working Group inspects each mill annually to make sure that working conditions are safe for employees and that they are paid a fair wage (fair trade standards). In order to be GOTS cerified, the mill must use fiber reactive dyes that do not harm the water supply nor put any chemicals into the earth--no heavy metal dyes or sulphur based dyes are used in the coloring process. In addition the organic fabrics must be grown free of pesticides. There are many other standards the mill must abide by. To learn more, visit the Global Standard website.
2) Vegan: Pansy Maiden will never use leather, wool, silk or any other supplies derived from animals. The dyes used on my fabrics do not contain animal by-products and are not tested on animals. In addition, I wash the fabric using Method brand laundry detergent and fabric softener. Method's cleaning formulas contain biodegradable ingredients derived from natural materials like soy, coconut and palm oils (no animal products). Furthermore, their packaging is made from the most readily recyclable materials.
I hope I did not come off as being on a soap box or pulpit or anything like that. Sustainability is just that important to me. I want to do all I can to make sure our great, great, grandchildren will be able to enjoy the shade of an old elm tree in the summertime while drinking a fresh glass of pure lemonade or engage in a barefoot jaunt through the woods on a brisk Fall morning. They deserve that. And we can make it happen if we make wise choices that are based on value/s rather than convenience.
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Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. ~Chief Seattle, 1855
Reader Comments (2)
Such a great post! I am glad that you took the time to share your passion for the planet with everyone :)
Thanks for reading, Victoria. It was a "cleansing" activity.