pollinating …
… was having a nice chat with our distributor / sales rep the other evening, and we started talking about the plight of the bees. did you know that the bees responsible for a very sizeable proportion of our agricultural pollination has been devastated by some unknown cause?
some people think it has to do with mircowaves from cell phones and their towers, others think it could be all the genetically-modified agricultural crops being produced in north america in combination with the residue from pesticides that coat agricultural landscapes, while others think they might just be tired of all the ‘work’ we have been asking them to do … !
anyway, i enjoyed the conversation because 1) who would have figured that people working the fashion industry in 2007 would be contemplating the plight of the pollinators while they should really be getting down to some serious business?! and 2) i really like pollinators!
what a wonderful thing, pollination. i think the reason i enjoy pollination as much as i do is because it isn’t just cool animals, but it’s about relationships ….
yes! i do enjoy talking about relationships!
… but seriously. pollination is pretty much the epitome of what ecology is all about … paying attention to pieces, or elements, and trying to decipher or learn how they fit together, how they communicate, how they relate.
pollination is beautiful because it is all about how different beings come to rely on each other. it’s about how complicated life can become, without anyone really realizing how …
pollinators are typically a pretty great group of animals too: butterflies, of course, are everyone’s favourites … but there are also the bees (which are very important pollinators, and account for a very large amount of the work that farmers depend upon to make a living), beetles, birds (including but not limited to hummingbirds), flies, and in some places fruit-eating bats!
alright … i know i shouldn’t talk about bats here, even vegetarian ones …. not popular. i’ve always had a soft spot for flying foxes, however … the only animal i ‘had’ to see when i was in indonesia.
anyway, i know this is random. i am tired. but, i feel somehow recharged remembering how much i like pollinators. if you are curious about why, or would like to read some beautiful (and easy to read) writing about pollination and all its beauty, check the forgotten pollinators … one of my heros gary paul nabhan co-authored … and if you are interested in learning about nature, he is your best bet.
so that’s it. off to do some more work so we can ship the first of our fall goods tomorrow to our favourite boutiques! the complex relationships between a small, fair-trade company and the progressive boutiques that support it could also be written up in some natural history of socially-responsible business, but i really don’t feel like going into it right now!!
it is probably enough to say that we feel very lucky to have the wonderful support we do, and we are very eager to provide more conscious consumers with the fashion they need …
okay: sleep.
nighty-night.
c.
