eco-compromise on the front stoop
tone is everything, they say. and they say it all the time, too; it’s weird. too repetitive, if you ask me. me, i prefer saying things once or twice max, but all the time? i don’t think so. i mean, chill out. lighten up.
although, i do agree that tone is important, and that is what i am struggling with here. i want to make sure that the tone is just right for this welcome edition of the ‘front stoop’.
welcome, by the way. welcome here to this space. i know it doesn’t look like much right now, but i think it’ll really be great. i mean, we’re here, right? that ain’t bad for starters…
i don’t know; it’s not like i have it all worked out or anything. i mean, i think that would betray the very space we are trying to create: a free space for meeting, sharing, and if we’re lucky, maybe even finding some direction forward, or at least some sense with which we can justify staying put.
it’s my intention to talk first, and the loudest (since i’m first, and it’s easy to be louder than nobody), but i hope this will become a true meeting place where others will speak out: about the environment, cities, fashion, art, society and the building of a better one…
the subject doesn’t matter, really; it can be heavy or light – it’d just be nice to hear people talking for a change. sometimes i feel like i’m surrounded by so many words that don’t really add up to much, you know?
on a seemingly unrelated subject, but totally relevant in my mind, i received a great email the other day from a wonderful boutique in squamish, british columbia (Agnes Jean) that happens to sell grace & cello. the owner (georgia) was asking about bamboo, and whether we could actually consider this to be an eco-fabric since it requires a considerable amount of chemical input in order to process it (after harvest, that is). georgia is wholeheartedly dedicated to supporting ethical fashion, and has been researching the subject extensively. her questions focused around the bleach that is needed to whiten bamboo, as well as the labour practices employed by the mill that we buy our fabric from.
first of all, i have to admit that i was ecstatic at her questions! i mean, how great that there are actually boutique owners out there that care enough to grill their suppliers about the environmental and labour practices that went into the making of the clothes to be sold in their boutiques! i wish there were more like her! also, we spend so much time worrying about the same kinds of questions here at g&c; it is nice to see that we aren’t the only ones, and that we’re not wasting our time…
what i tried to explain to georgia (and i’m not sure that i succeeded) was that trying to run a business, or just live one’s life for that matter, in an ecologically sensitive manner is no black and white affair. one invariably has to settle for making progress instead of simply having the luxury of choosing the perfect eco-option.
bamboo is a perfect example of this. farmers can grow bamboo without using chemicals on the landscape, since bamboo grows like a weed. growing regular cotton, on the other hand, requires an incredible amount of pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer to grow, and so growing regular cotton results in an enormous amount of environmental degradation. where regular cotton is grown, you can be sure that the soil and water is in poor condition.
so bamboo is better, right?
well yes, and no. like georgia mentioned, in order to process bamboo for use as clothing a significant amount of bleach and softener is needed – what about these chemicals? doesn’t this mean bamboo is definitely NOT eco?
in the better world we are working towards, the eco-option will always require no harmful chemical inputs at any point of its life-course, but in today’s world we know we have to settle for a fabric that leaves a smaller impact on the environment.
and bamboo is easier on the environment than regular cotton for the simple reason that the chemicals used on bamboo are used in a factory (inside), while those used for cotton are used on the landscape (outside), as well as in factories.
although some might be skeptical, it is infinitely more difficult to manage chemicals sprayed across a landscape (and therefore set free to infiltrate and move across the environment) as compared to chemicals used in a closed and controlled environment (such as a factory).
those who tell you we can manage the flow of chemicals on the landscape – in nature – are either confused, silly, or lying, while those who assert that we can manage chemicals responsibly in a closed (factory) system have many examples that will prove their case.
using toxic, harmful substances indoors is not our ideal, but we agree it is much, much better than spraying these substances across our landscapes, where they invariably work their way into our water- and air- ways.
anyway, that’s what we believe, and it’s for this reason that we use bamboo that is mixed with organic cotton for many of our tops. using this bamboo and organic cotton blend means that we have contributed to a movement where responsible agriculturalists are paid fairly for taking better care of our living landscapes.
i wonder what kind of tone that’ll come across as? i meant it in the best possible way, i assure you all.
is anyone out there?
bye,
c.
