Sweatshop Disasters

Fashion -what you see is only the tip of a vast machine!

The recent tragedy in Bangladesh reminds me of another sweatshop disaster.

The one I am referencing was in New York City, 1911 and claimed the lives of 146 women. That Triangle Shirtwaist fire was so horrifying to the people of the city that they demanded changes in regulations and policies.

“Three months after the fire, Governor John A. Dix signed a law creating the Factory Investigating Commission. Following the findings of the commission, the New York State Legislature enacted 36 statutes to regulate workplace fire safety and ventilation, and to set minimum standards for working women and children.”

( Cooper, C, Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, 100 Years Later)  

This helped the Unions gather the strength they needed to push for fair wages and decent working conditions.

Like the garment workers in Bangladesh, the women were locked into the building with little heed paid to their well being as whole human beings.

Back to NYC back in the day- workers were considered  by some people as "things" to be used and tossed aside when their usefulness was over.  As many of the women were immigrants (insourced workers)  this parallels outsource capitalism in a weird way.

Cheap transportation (subsidized oil) allows stuff to be shipped to consumers at rates that undermine local goods and labor. This is a matter of relativity that the Free Trade dogma ignores in pursuit of market advantage. Considered "good for the economy" aka good for the people who take 'advantage" of  the resources around them while giving back as little as possible; it in fact depletes the economic "soil" similar to the chem subsidy our food crops have endured. And like the story of the food crops, depleted soils become dead soils aka deserts.

So outsource is akin to the tactics employed by the Industrialists as they "designed" immigration policy. But now instead of importing labor, companies can just import the products. This minimizes their responsibility for the conditions that the worker's endure and many other possible risks and problems..

However the backbone of this story that revolves around wealth, power, entitlement and dominion over others includes the right to lord it over the Earth, animals and plants as well. This story is older than nations and yet it continues..

So despite it's age, the story is still honed, redressed and passed forward. It continues to protect hierarchy and reward wealth as it's own raison d'etre. It isn't.

 Stopping abuse in sweatshops is just one facet of this many layered mess. However it is something we can take on.

.Stop buying clothing unless it is totally needed. Ask stores where the Fair Trade goods are kept. Ask who and how the items were made. Try to discuss product lifecycles.

You will be cajoled, laughed at, ignored or you just might strike up a conversation that will make your day.

I know this. I do it and have seen more good energy than else , so I recommend this action.

Want more: See if there is a sewing group in your area or start one. Discuss cool things to make out of other things that are no longer useful. Search the refashion and recycouture blogs and websites for ideas, inspiration.  Practice what you believe.

As for Bangladesh, my heart goes out to all those who are suffering, all those who have been harmed by product madness. I am sending out healing energy thoughts, sending out love.

So now I wonder, if this time, as in after the Triangle Fire, policies and regulations will be changed to support the human beings who trade their time and energy in hope of fair and adequate compensation. I hope that this time we will turn from the pushy profiteering model and design an economic platform that honors life.

I wonder if this time we will start the evolution towards a super conscious reality. I wonder and I am believing we will. So get out there and make some righteous noise!!

Lifecycle of Tee Shirt

Tee shirt reFashion skirt 2010 

for fashionRIP Project samples

Product Life Cycles are part of the unified field viewpoint.

When we learn to see total pictures and therefore full costs, we will learn to weigh the world's valuable collective assets in a better light. When we do, I have great faith that we will reassign the language of wealth and prosperity in ways that align with the principles of life, planet systems and evolution.

I believe we are in a living uni-verse. Our planet is a design of biotic and abiotic systems that support life and we need to understand that this is about symbiotic relationships, as eventually what we do, say, see, feel, think, hear and touch is connected to all else.

Early industrialists saw Nature as bountiful, infinite even, and was there to use, to take advantage of and to capitalize upon. This ideology stems from Judeo/Christian pull quotes and ego inflated man/god constructs that are still alive and kicking today. (see the Takers in Ishmael novel by Daniel Quinn)

Guess what?  The concepts are wrong, killer even, and therefore against the best interests of even those who maintain the main frame. (idea framing as handed down via the culture formally and informally) Is this crazy or what?

Seriously, we are capable of much more than we thought or were taught to think. When we open up to new ideas, more possibilities open up as well. 

We are growing up, maturing as a species and taking on the heart, spirit energies we once were told to diss for having no scientific proof behind them.

Now, thanks to our advanced technology, we have the measuring tools that provide our senses with the opportunity to see the "unseen" and hear the never before heard. We are transitioning from the concrete, machine thinking of Newton physics and shaking off the debris and saying "yes" to the next chapter in the unfolding of who we are, the i am and the becoming.

Build for Life

 

Great talk on design for health and the real world, where "away" is here. Cradle to Cradle on TED, presented by William McDonnough

Works much like the de-abstraction of the word "now" as in the context that now is all we really have and is where change must manifest. Therefore i try to inhabit the vision of that which i wish to manifest as often as possible. .

Framed by a quantum window, sending this TED talk forward makes for a meaningful now and that counts.

Create intentionally, now. 

".... reimagine conventions in design .....create safe objects of long-term value, eliminate waste, and recognize the interdependence of humans and nature as well as the right of each to co-exist. " 

As taken from YES magazine -William McDonough and Michael Braungart.

Clothes are for people

sweet video for ANANDA PASCUAL
http://vimeo.com/49713437

Cotton and Forced Labor

Another reason to question "our way of life" and the cost of maintaining a worn out, violent set of beliefs. Another case of the absurdity and wrong mindedness of "market rule" -forcing excess on one hand (update your home, your clothing and be a good consumer) and forced production on the other.

We can and must do better than this.

Levi's Dirty Tags

 

Is the Levi plan to Detox connected to this scandal?

"Levi Strauss may have pioneered the “Water and “Waste lines of denim, but the jean icon is far from a paragon of sustainability, according to a new report from Greenpeace. In its first investigation of textile manufacturers in Mexico, one of the largest producers of denim in the world, the environmental nonprofit discovered a wide range of hazardous chemicals in the wastewater of two of the nation’s biggest factories" (Ecouterre)

Now it's time for the next conversation. How many jeans does anyone need? How much water can we afford to contaminate? How much longer are we going to play this idiots game of russian roulette?  We can just stop.

This culture of violence against nature, other people against our own spiritual and emotional selves needs to be seen for the monster it is.  When Bradley Manning is tortured for letting the truth of nations speak for themselves -"we" are condoning violence. When a young man opens up and fires killing 28, most of them children, "we" want to find something to blame, "we" want to scapegoat the victims of our own creation.

The USA has aligned with monetary power to systemically rape and pillage around the world (Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Africa, USA, more) Headlines now proclaim the violence at home. Sandy, suicides, dead "food" and killing sprees - Karma?

This old story is beyond sad, beyond disgusting and ignorant. Lets get real. We can create a world of meaning and well being. We have the tools, the technology, the information we need to stop the pillager and focus on that which is our greater possibility.

Piles of material wealth just scream narcissism and that says ego on steroids aka personality development on hold. In this age of resource insanity it just says "wrong." We are no longer impressed, the cover is blown. (PS Hiding under a Foundation won't heal the heart it only pacifies the wounds)

We can be heroes, for more than one day,
Though nothing can drive them away We can beat them forever and ever, yes we can be heroes, (if only) just for one day.

Levis Detox

Graphic from WaterRIP the Flow

now until Jan 1 2013 at the Kerf International Gallery

 

Greenpeace met Levi's and Levis said yes to detoxifying their production lines.

This is a good step forwards not only as enevironmental issue but is a large plus for social and human health meausures.

There is no over there, no other, we are one planet. This is a sign of a maturing species, moviong from its all about me to wow, others matter!

"But rather than use hazardous chemicals in the first place, Levi's will look for non-hazardous alternatives. This is a bold move away from its previous position, which was focused on managing rather than eliminating hazardous chemicals."

Levi's shapes up to become a Detox leader

Feature story - December 13, 2012

Levi's shapes up to become a Detox leader.

Recycling Chemicals





 Baby cotton flannel pj topper, early 50s.

 I bought vintage for my son because i like the little prints, now i am grateful for exposing him to less toxins. Following the heart can have intersting rewards.

Lets play fool the public!

You are a business. You make chemicals. You are doing great; selling flame retardants to clothing and fabric manufacturers. You are raking in profits because back in the 50s you helped frame the stories about kids being burned because their pajamas caught on fire. You put this ad on TV and asked America to protect their kids.

It worked, America got up and voted to protect children from space heaters and cigarettes.  This problem was magnified to sell more chemicals to a public already hyped with ads like the one i found in a 1940s National Geographic "Living Better Through Chemistry." 

This emotional hype was needed because of the growth story. To grow you needed to sell more. How better to sell things than to make the public believe they needed them. You became a great storyteller.

To be fair, there is good chemistry but a lot of bad applications. Like synthetic vitamins are not a replacement for real food, household cleaners can harm your lungs, scents are full of endocrine disruptors..ai yi yi ...we have a mess on our hands.

So the we try to make amends and the we cleaned up this pj problem back in 1977 when Tris was banned from children's clothing. That was when it was found out to be an agent of cancer and perhaps not that great a fire retardant.

So now you start freaking out about lost sales and investors pulling out and your stock prices diving. This is bad ju ju, how will you live? How will your employees fare if you fail? CEO knows to get that bottom line straightened out or off with "the head." Loss of title, failure, spouse is alarmed, bills pile up- no this cannot happen.

So in survival mode the you pull together and find another way to sell Tris. You succeed by forming an alliance with cigarette companies who want to blame sofas and pillows for burns. You brilliantly change the story.

You succeed!!
& now :

85% of U.S. couches tested contained toxic or untested flame retardant chemicals.

• The newer the couch, the more likely it is to contain toxic chemicals.

• 41% of the couches contained cancer-causing chlorinated Tris, which was removed from children’s pajamas back in 1977!  (thank you Women's Voices for the Earth, WVE)

So when i say it is time to write the new stories...i mean it..enough of this nonsense.
(and i am working on it, please see the WaterRIP stories posted to FashionRIP blog)

The above story is not alone, our economic system enables, supports even protects this battle of the tall tales.

 I am embarassed by this lack of understanding, angry at this lack of foresight and insight, and amused that the enablers do not see that they too are being exposed to ever higher risk of disease. Are they suicidal?

Well anyway, now you know.

Safe Chemicals Act information is on the WVE site. Together we will change the stories.

Toxic Threads

 

graphics fro Toxic Threads PDF, download it from Greenpeace site and spread a story we need to know, thnx

 

The "Toxic Threads"report from Greenpeace is a downloadable pdf that you can get on their website.

This report has visual appeal and a lot of information . This is the stuff that can help us make those better choices and is an easy one to point out to others. (Some people just won't wade through data and peer reviewed reseach papers)

What we all contribute to the world comes in many forms. Good deeds and helping others makes us feel good, healthy living makes us feel good, putting it together makes good sense. The emotional, spiritual and physical well being of organisms are interrelated. This is whole systems thinking.

There is such a simple truth in life. Too bad our economic construct is built from thousands of years of false beliefs. We let it roll along, going along with the notion that  a few wealthy, privileged humans had the right to extract what they wanted from this planet. Really, isn't it time to move along. We are witnessing the effects of their delusions.


As we help each other learn, we help understand the alliances that really impact our well being. Relationships matter, between persons, animals, ecosystems, everything. Together we will overcome the ignorant patterns of the past.

Bonk: Creative Financing

photo courtesy of

http://qanmag.blogspot.com/2010/05/suited-and-booted.html?showComment=1352117046110#c1967121993766133110

Bonk is the name for an investment plan that Pants to Poverty is establishing as a means to expand it's operation . They say it will "impact"  farmers and factory workers and provide a return on the investment.
http://www.mswandas.co.uk/2012/10/09/bonk-of-pants-investing-in-ethical/

I am leery of the word " impact" being used rather than the word help or will stabilize, improve, add to the farmer's and worker's plus columns...something that explains the impact.

In fact this bonk thing seems just another crowdfunding raise the capital drive. The difference is the return on investment rather than a weeks worth of britches and the like. Interesting idea.

Financial regulations (bankers making their own rules) create the restrictions that keep just "anyone" from opening a bank. This "in crowd" thinking in the banking industry has created a monster and as it fails to reign it in, then bonks might be new generative banking entity that can help it return to reason.

Bonks might be forerunners of currency flow where systems support local economics that jive with quantum reality, connections, people over profit and a slew of other bennies that support the rainbow of human potentials, not just that bankers grey.

Beautiful Soul and the English Rose

This video is a delightful stroll in ethical, sustainable, beautiful garments designed by Beautiful Soul. Enjoy!!

Letter to "Coach"

 

 

Sacred Economics is a real re-think of resource distribution and relationships. Imagine the possibility!

Hello,
"Making Life Work in Tough Financial Times: Fully Understanding Abundance, Prosperity and Money",

"There Comes a Time When You Must
Realize That You Are the Only Source There Is

And so it bears repeating: NO one is going to give to you what you have not already given yourself."

Neale D Walsch

This set up in "law of attraction' is irksome, as it is a version of "blame the victim" I understand how much of this works, as i practice dancing with the universe. However, if the above doesn't include synchronistic practices that enable local empowerment, pooling resources and decentralizing power; than the "I've got mine" old skool nonsense is still being shoveled.

It is not untrue, it is just not fully true. If family,  society, the whole human species, all life is one, then limiting this to "isolated" self work isn't enough. We are all reflecting each others emotions, therefore helping everyone heal is as much a self interest as it is for an "others" interest.

Moving into new definitions of resources and abundance helps a person manifest that which is in discovery or aligned with one's "gift to the world" - however to not work to change the outward "manmade superimposition" that has been deemed the "real world' is socially, environmentally and emotionally unethical aka unhealthy. Check out "Catastroika" for a little manmade meltdown.

Why is it that this group of Shift , Attraction etc people fail to look into how the money is made and controlled because that is the pimp in the midst of the mess and no matter how we deck the system out; it still has, at its center a wrongminded win/lose construct designed like a game of musical chairs. (The Money Fix, Sacred Economics, Gar Alperovitz  )

You can't fix a problem using the same thinking that created said problem. -loose Einstein....so how do we face this question of built in inequity?

Seems the whole reason we are at this catalytic time is to act with the courage of our faith. To work on all issues at once (acknowledged yet sequentiated), allows one to see the interrelated connections and then understand what is helpful without causing greater harm elsewhere. And as we are emo reflective creatures, to rise in abundance while others do not,  is bad juju. These are two of the  concepts that help form the quantum visibility mesh, i "use" to see multidisciplinary patterns, connections, interrelations. This allows for a fractal , organic sensibility  that welcomes linear trajectories and chaos alike- words are poor messengers here, doing my best..

UPSIDE: We can now utilize all the world's brilliance towards that better good that enhances life, appreciates its creative diversity, and will move us beyond procreation into the amazing possibilites that will open as we evolve. 

DOWNSIDE and UPSIDE The dis-ease at the heart of the old premise, the old construct -must be recognized, dealt with and redesigned for better flow.

Will ignoring the dis-ease make it go away? Yes, some truth there, however accepting the benefits (monetary reward) of the dis-ease isn't ignoring it..or is it?

sincerely deborah j barnes

PS if one can siphon off the flow and recirculate the money into the reconstructive economic cycle...that makes sense.