Stand Up for Your Rights

Taking action against wrong mindedness is good for you, according to recent research posted to the Real Age website

Some benefits of being an activist: measuring activism and its role in psychological well-being. Malte, K., Kasser, T., Political Psychology 2009 Jul 24;30(5):755-777.

Well, this makes sense, lockdown and submission have to make the psyche revolt in some manner...probably where the term "it's eating me up inside" stems from. Even if emotionally on hold and consciously unaware, i bet that swallowing anger, pain, anxiety, love, fear or any emo variety will backfire. I suspect an escape will occur when least desired, causing all kinds of drama; so go ahead and "get up,stand up for your rights." (Bob Marley)

Now let us hope the better educated, wisdom seekers, teachers and evolved leaders among us will be standing in the majority....

Parallel Synergy

Railroad Bridge Near Tacoma Dome Bus Station

taken from the bus!

hey, if we work at the 3 (4th is cultural) pillars of sustainable life from the human arrogant perspective...which is only natural; like it's what we know best (however little we really know) will we find those principles to be relevant in healing our personal selves as well?

As we reinterpret the definitions of value and understand how a lot of stuff quickly turns into trash, clutter, useless or worse; it actually impedes our lives with its swell and the taking care of, disposing of or otherwise trying to manage it, are we not in trouble?

Do our own wounded emotions that we fail to confront, sort through and "heal" trigger this trouble and make us easy marketing targets? If we felt better about ourselves and our lives would we want less stuff?

Detroit Dolly

Dolly Rocker Lookfound on Etsy!
part of the Detroit reDux ...the city that is about urban reclaim and soon to be the home of the US Social Forum 2010, is where Cara Lundgren does refashion and vintage upcycles that are on Etsy right now.

I am loving it! i remember the first time i saw Doc Marten meet a nostalgic floral; aah yes! These Grunge heyday re-ups are about looking forward and that Feminine /Masculine mix feels right ...especially now (the integrated self brings forth the connected world view).

Maybe Detroit will be the City of Sustainable Styling?
In Cara's immortal words "More shameless self promotion... a girls got to make a living! http://www.etsy.com/shop/detroitdolly"
damn straight!

Rag Trade in Miami

Stephany does eco clothing and environmental graffitti; making Miami beautiful with help from her friends...
lovin' this part of the Threadbangers video.

Evergreen College Spring Fair

handmade and remade by djb

Tacoma campus next Saturday, May 15th from 1-4.

The Snack Chips bag in the photo was intended to get attention to the factory food/junk fillers Americans are consuming and how it backfires in our national health.

The finished bag ended up being chosen for a free drawing; so come on by and try your luck.

The red upcycle grocery bag will also be given away, just drop by the booth "Whats Up With The Scales? and pledge to try some healthier alternatives.

Blue Jeans

Ultra Touch by Bonded Logic, is a recycled cotton denim insulation. Well that is a nice product lifecycle story from covering bums to whole house warming. It appears to be environmentally friendly and user friendly too.

FAIR Trade

sweatshop in Haiti from No Sweat website

fair to whom? no more carte blanche assumption.

Free trade has proven to be a way to commercially, environmentally and socially rape millions of people and acres, wreaking havoc to the commons of air, sea and over-consciousness (consider the possibility?)

The recent Haitian trauma was a set up; not planned to harm per se, but definitely planned to exploit a nation that is unless a nation is defined by the elitist few who benefit; in which case biz as usual.

A few Haitian clothing sweatshops are back in operation at wages less than before the earthquake.(according to a PBS world news broadcast)

One can always argue both sides -at least they have a job, the companies are hurt by delays & equipment losses vs the environmental, economic and social damage that spins from looking at a bottom line as $$$ only. The full costs are a tally of health, environmental damage, job loss, loss in human dignity and community loss ....hmm what about real parity?

We have the data, the technology, the intellect and we have the heart turn this all around.

However, it has to make sense and it has to be portrayed as do-able; that's the hard part. The examples of the issues are more prevalent then the pictures of solutions.

The ILO looks to be trying for some parity..SGN (some good news)

waterline series

Vintage bedspread, chemise, 1940s Navy laundry bag, silk floral stems..off the stem and a denim pant top for the skirts. The jacket is made from a retro tablecloth with sleeves from a vintage shirt and remnants.

Womens Health and PVC

SWHR sends out quick notes on woman's health every month. This is a great way to keep informed and the e- newsletters are free!

The latest SWHR bulletin released this report from the Mt Sinai Medical Center:

"Phenols, phthalates and phytoestrogens are among chemicals known as endocrine disruptors, which interfere with the body’s endocrine, or hormone, system. They are found in a wide range of consumer products, such as nail polishes, where they increase durability, and in cosmetics, perfumes, lotions, and shampoos, where they carry fragrance. Some are used to increase the flexibility and durability of plastics such as PVC, or are included as coatings on medications or nutritional supplements to make them timed-release."

The PVC industry supports this with:

"The functional qualities of PVC make it a great material for protective clothing outdoors. It has long been the material of choice for children's rainwear, but is also put through more demanding tests through its use in protective work-wear. At the other end of the clothing industry, PVC has played an important role in fashion design for many years. From its early applications in the 1960s, PVC has grown into one of the most fashionable materials to make a regular appearance at major fashion shows around the world."

However "....phenols, phthalates and phytoestrogens—in young girls may disrupt the timing of pubertal development, and put girls at risk for health complications later in life. The study, the first to examine the effects of these chemicals on pubertal development, is currently published online in the journal of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice

Isn't it time we think before we buy and hold industries accountable , like put the burden of proof on them? We are all paying the consequences of a few bad ideas...that isn't fair, just or tolerable and we needn't continue being amiable, naive pawns.

Take One Vintage Bedspread

Rainshedder front

Clean Water Act..get serious! Skirt

Rainshedder - back

Water or Rain Gypsy? or Sea Witch ...Yes
Sea Witch!!

& make 3 skirts. These are elements of the Waterline chapter of fashionRIP Project and also recent submissions to the Seattle Magazine design contest. Whatever works...they are ready to "perform"

Women Care and Act

healthy is necessary for happy.
.so what's that about pursuit of happiness and USA sub par health care policies?

Montana is full of surprises; one of them is that it is the home of:

Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) is a national organization that engages women to advocate for the right to live in a healthy environment. mission: “WVE seeks to reduce and ultimately eliminate environmental pollutants that cause health problems for women, their families and communities. To this end, WVE creates opportunities for women to influence environmental decision-making.”

Eco feminism is new to me. i learned about it by taking Environmental Law ( now at Evergreen state)

OMG! the abuse we tolerate in the name of $ is shameful and unwarranted...there are other ways, evolved lifestyles that will be better. Habituating to this old world view has us in a smelly rut and we need more WVE partnering to leap out and see new horizons.

dress for success

3-27-10

About 15 years ago a friend asked me if i was trying to be like a Joan of Arc. i have been questioning our collective social/cultural blinders a long time and she like others before and after, have tried to get me to play along and not rock the little boats of denial.

ok; so that is a guess- but what else could it be?

In doing the Alice in Wonderland entry for fashionRIP i used extra paint to cover a small re-used canvas and came up with the portrait above.

When attempting to remain heroic in spirit, it is good to add a nice visual .