I've been putting off writing about day 6...
The No Impact Project has a list of registered partners you can volunteer with in the States, and probably other places in the world. It is with zero pride that I say that we didn't manage to complete this part of the project. We tried to Google some places to volunteer but one-day opportunities were not plentiful...and I wasn't even sure what to Google. I hope to find a solution for this before we do the second segment of NIW in the Spring.
In the meantime, I had written to a company to complain about some pretty new shoes I'd bought which were already falling apart. They wrote me back and offered to send me a new pair for winter. I struggled with the idea because a) they would be new and b) it was still no impact week even if I'd receive them after. I finally reasoned that if I didn't get this pair, I'd have to get another pair eventually and the chances of me finding a pair of really great shoes second-hand was slim to none...and I'd still have to pay for them.
I guess there are still some solutions I do not see possible, like only buying shoes second-hand since the shoes mold to your feet after awhile and if you're not the first to wear them, they mold to someone else's feet.
I do, however, plan on buying more high quality shoes (though the tough part is figuring out the quality ahead of time since price isn't the best indicator anymore... as was the case this time) and having them fixed. I think we should support our local shoemakers since they have a unique type of knowledge that is worth having around. And when you buy shoes, when you can, buy for life. Obviously this is a lot easier to do with a pair of boots rather than running shoes but it's a good concept to think about and research. If you know companies like this, please let me know!
So no, today's post may not be inspirational but at least it's realistic. Sometimes things don't work out the way you intent and you can draw lessons from them, share ideas with others and see what comes up. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions for what you would've done!
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Friday, December 14, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Dyes, Colours and Spring!
It's been awhile since my last post but those of you who know me know that I have not abandoned green endevours.
I recently came across this video posted by a high school friend of mine on Facebook (Thank you @Kali Carys for posting!) and I thought it would be a great way to ease back into blogging. Click here for the video: DIY dyes from your kitchen & garden: magic of living colo(u)r.
It doesn't have all the details you might need for actually dying your own fabrics but it's a great source of inspiration to get you thinking about dyes and natural colours in a different way.
This peaked my interest because I took part in organizing and chairing a panel discussion about Corporate Social Responsibility in the textile industry back in December 2011. We invited panelists from the industry, from the academic community, from the consumer association of Finland, etc. After turning over all the metaphorical rocks there were to be turned on the issue, paniking about all the environmental and human rights issues, as well as other externalities, I wonder if any of the class' participants felt that the panel had really answered their questions or calmed their fears. I, for one, felt more overwhelmed than ever, albeit grateful for the chance to learn more about the indutry and perhaps conduct some of my own research.
One of the most memorable questions I remember asking the panelists, and which was answered by the representative of the textile and fashion industry went a little something like this:
"Generally speaking, the textile industry is chemically intensive. The chemicals are used in the process of dyeing fabrics, printing and finishing the clothes, which pollutes bodies of water around the factories. The latest Greenpeace report states that as much as 70% of the rivers, lakes and reservoirs in China are affected by water pollution and hormone disrupting chemicals were found, discharged from factories and which can be hazardous at low levels. One devastating effect of these chemicals can be that they accumulate up in the food chain.
This may sound like a naïve question but is there a possibility to remove all the hazardous chemicals from the production?
Can you comment on how H&M plans to remove 80% or all of chemicals by 2020?"
Funny enough, I don't recall an answer to the question but just the beginning of the answer: "Practically speaking, the clothing industry is a chemical industry..."
Granted, I was standing on a stage trying to listen and plan how the next question would go but for me to remember exactly what was said, I would have to watch the video. Overall, and as you can probably tell by my memory, the answer was disheartening and not necessarily what I had wished to hear. That being said, and if you've already watched the video above, you might be smiling because I did eventually get an answer to the question. Yes it is possible and yes, some companies are doing it! Not just in less damaging way, by not dumping the waste straight into rivers and dying light colours first then adding darker colours to the same water but instead by just using plants and natural dyes.
In any case, I was exciting to have found such an informative and inspiring video. Not necessarily because I'm going to start dying my own clothes in the 4m2 bathroom of my apartment building (well why not!?) but because it gives you an appreciation for people who are doing it and who are sharing their passion through their own businesses. If anything, I get the feeling that if we all play a small role in conserving the world's natural resources and helping one another do it, we'd start to feel more interconnected than ever before.
For more about the label mentioned in the video, check out Adie+George.
I recently came across this video posted by a high school friend of mine on Facebook (Thank you @Kali Carys for posting!) and I thought it would be a great way to ease back into blogging. Click here for the video: DIY dyes from your kitchen & garden: magic of living colo(u)r.
It doesn't have all the details you might need for actually dying your own fabrics but it's a great source of inspiration to get you thinking about dyes and natural colours in a different way.
This peaked my interest because I took part in organizing and chairing a panel discussion about Corporate Social Responsibility in the textile industry back in December 2011. We invited panelists from the industry, from the academic community, from the consumer association of Finland, etc. After turning over all the metaphorical rocks there were to be turned on the issue, paniking about all the environmental and human rights issues, as well as other externalities, I wonder if any of the class' participants felt that the panel had really answered their questions or calmed their fears. I, for one, felt more overwhelmed than ever, albeit grateful for the chance to learn more about the indutry and perhaps conduct some of my own research.
One of the most memorable questions I remember asking the panelists, and which was answered by the representative of the textile and fashion industry went a little something like this:
"Generally speaking, the textile industry is chemically intensive. The chemicals are used in the process of dyeing fabrics, printing and finishing the clothes, which pollutes bodies of water around the factories. The latest Greenpeace report states that as much as 70% of the rivers, lakes and reservoirs in China are affected by water pollution and hormone disrupting chemicals were found, discharged from factories and which can be hazardous at low levels. One devastating effect of these chemicals can be that they accumulate up in the food chain.
This may sound like a naïve question but is there a possibility to remove all the hazardous chemicals from the production?
Can you comment on how H&M plans to remove 80% or all of chemicals by 2020?"
Funny enough, I don't recall an answer to the question but just the beginning of the answer: "Practically speaking, the clothing industry is a chemical industry..."
Granted, I was standing on a stage trying to listen and plan how the next question would go but for me to remember exactly what was said, I would have to watch the video. Overall, and as you can probably tell by my memory, the answer was disheartening and not necessarily what I had wished to hear. That being said, and if you've already watched the video above, you might be smiling because I did eventually get an answer to the question. Yes it is possible and yes, some companies are doing it! Not just in less damaging way, by not dumping the waste straight into rivers and dying light colours first then adding darker colours to the same water but instead by just using plants and natural dyes.
In any case, I was exciting to have found such an informative and inspiring video. Not necessarily because I'm going to start dying my own clothes in the 4m2 bathroom of my apartment building (well why not!?) but because it gives you an appreciation for people who are doing it and who are sharing their passion through their own businesses. If anything, I get the feeling that if we all play a small role in conserving the world's natural resources and helping one another do it, we'd start to feel more interconnected than ever before.
For more about the label mentioned in the video, check out Adie+George.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Quick tip: A piece of garbage a day.
Does this ever happen to you? Someone tells you something that you think is a great idea and then completely forget about until a few days/weeks/months (why not years?) later and then suddenly, after all that time has passed, everything falls into place and you remember it for good and it makes most sense to you? Maybe not, but this happened to me yesterday.
I had just arrived in Tampere from Helsinki and was walking home from the train station. My thoughts wandered aimlessly as I walked by piles of garbage in a ditch that runs along the railroad tracks.
"I could clean this all up, but come next week, this place would look the same."
I had some circular thoughts for awhile, until my thoughts came around to the masses:
what if everyone picked up one piece of garbage a day?
So instead of raising awareness one event at a time (like our very successful garbage pick-up event which has made me super aware of the issue), we'd be working towards a cleaner city bit-by-bit everyday. Then no one would feel like they were the only ones worried about it, and you could relax knowing that you'd made a small difference (and would continue to do so.)
I thought for a bit about where this idea had come from, and I give the credit entirely to my friend's son Moo, who had this idea a few years ago and was so passionate about it, that he emailed it to George W. Bush (who was still president at the time). So it's my hope that Moo's idea can get passed around to more people in Tampere and in every other city around the world!
A list to convince you further:
- you can choose what to pick up (especially if it's near a garbage already),
- if people are looking at you while you do this it's because they're just curious and happily surprised,
- if people see you doing this, they are more likely to do it too,
- people who litter will encounter an increasing number of people who will say something to them when they do,
- there will be one less piece of garbage being blow around by the wind,
- you'll feel really great on a day when you'll be looking for that one piece and you won't see any.
Check out: http://www.roskapaivassa.net/littermovement.htm (as recommended by Anne)
I had just arrived in Tampere from Helsinki and was walking home from the train station. My thoughts wandered aimlessly as I walked by piles of garbage in a ditch that runs along the railroad tracks.
"I could clean this all up, but come next week, this place would look the same."
I had some circular thoughts for awhile, until my thoughts came around to the masses:
what if everyone picked up one piece of garbage a day?
So instead of raising awareness one event at a time (like our very successful garbage pick-up event which has made me super aware of the issue), we'd be working towards a cleaner city bit-by-bit everyday. Then no one would feel like they were the only ones worried about it, and you could relax knowing that you'd made a small difference (and would continue to do so.)
I thought for a bit about where this idea had come from, and I give the credit entirely to my friend's son Moo, who had this idea a few years ago and was so passionate about it, that he emailed it to George W. Bush (who was still president at the time). So it's my hope that Moo's idea can get passed around to more people in Tampere and in every other city around the world!
A list to convince you further:
- you can choose what to pick up (especially if it's near a garbage already),
- if people are looking at you while you do this it's because they're just curious and happily surprised,
- if people see you doing this, they are more likely to do it too,
- people who litter will encounter an increasing number of people who will say something to them when they do,
- there will be one less piece of garbage being blow around by the wind,
- you'll feel really great on a day when you'll be looking for that one piece and you won't see any.
Check out: http://www.roskapaivassa.net/littermovement.htm (as recommended by Anne)
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Life motto: Be the change you want to see in the world.
Do you ever happen upon a really dirty area in your neighbourhood? Is there a bench in a park you love that always seems to pile up a lot of garbage?
I've been spending a lot of time wondering about this lately and asking myself how people can care so little for their surroundings. It just so happens that I think many people care, but sometimes they're waiting for someone to come along and ask them to help. This is why today, I want to talk about a motto that a friend of mine cites as her inspiration.
Life motto: Be the change you want to see in the world.
Last night, I got home late and noticed that outside a neighbour's balcony, the ground was covered in cigarette butts. I found this repulsive last night, and woke up this morning with the urge to go clean it up. I toyed with the idea of leaving it there for a bit so the negligent neighbour could see the harm he'd done but I worried that the wind would blow everything around. So instead, I wrote the person a letter, asking him to use an ashtray next time. Then, I went outside and picked up 207 cigarette butts off the street. (Yes, you read that right.) I used a thicker plastic bag I had as a glove and a little bread bag to hold the garbage. I've also decided that when I deliver my letter, I'll also return the bag to its rightful owner.
Before:
After:
All 207 of them, plus a few packets of snuff, a ball of paper towel and 2-3 empty packs of cigarettes.
To be honest, I noticed people staring at me this morning while I was doing this and that made me happy (though I also felt slightly awkward!) I don't think it looked like I'd been out partying the night before so I hope they didn't think that was my mess. But if you see someone doing a clean-up like that, you're more likely to go out and do one yourself. Which is actually how I ended up out there in the first place...
I've been having a lot of ideas lately. Some of them are good, like this blog (I hope!) and some of them not so much. I'm sure I'm not the only person with ideas and that's why I think when you have a good one, you should go with it. Try it out, see if it can work, and when it takes off, you'll be all the more grateful for trying.
For example, my friend Donna has been taking the bus to and from the city for the past 2 years. Through the changing seasons, she's noticed that the bus stops can sometimes be really filthy places. To remedy this, she spoke to a friend about going out there and cleaning them up herself (even though there's a company who owns them and therefore should look after them properly.) The friend she spoke with offered to help and said she's sure other people would come help too!
So here we are, a few weeks later, organizing an event to gather the community together and show people we can make a difference. Tampere has been getting increasingly dirtier, especially during the weekends after long nights of partying (and sadly, littering). Over 60 people are expected to come help out and the local newspaper Aamulehti will be there to take pictures, talk to people and write about the event so more people can hear about it.
It hasn't been all smooth sailing though. It can be quite discouraging to walk around and see lots of trash sitting there or blowing in the wind, but we have to believe that people didn't realize what harm they were causing when they threw that trash there. Some people don't see a point in picking it up, while others think it's a great idea and are bringing the kids to teach them about it too. But what I take away from this, is that many ideas can turn into something really positive and that even making a small difference, for example, in terms of garbage picked up, can end up inspiring people to do the same, or at least, think twice about throwing garbage on the ground.
I'll post more about the event on Sunday, after it takes place!
Update: I just went over to the building and spoke with the guy who had the party. I rang his bell, handed him the note (no mailbox) and gave him the bag of butts. I really don't feel any anger and he seemed like a nice guy, just embarrassed. I think that keeping an open mind and being friendly always goes a long way too.
I've been spending a lot of time wondering about this lately and asking myself how people can care so little for their surroundings. It just so happens that I think many people care, but sometimes they're waiting for someone to come along and ask them to help. This is why today, I want to talk about a motto that a friend of mine cites as her inspiration.
Life motto: Be the change you want to see in the world.
Last night, I got home late and noticed that outside a neighbour's balcony, the ground was covered in cigarette butts. I found this repulsive last night, and woke up this morning with the urge to go clean it up. I toyed with the idea of leaving it there for a bit so the negligent neighbour could see the harm he'd done but I worried that the wind would blow everything around. So instead, I wrote the person a letter, asking him to use an ashtray next time. Then, I went outside and picked up 207 cigarette butts off the street. (Yes, you read that right.) I used a thicker plastic bag I had as a glove and a little bread bag to hold the garbage. I've also decided that when I deliver my letter, I'll also return the bag to its rightful owner.
Before:
After:
All 207 of them, plus a few packets of snuff, a ball of paper towel and 2-3 empty packs of cigarettes.
To be honest, I noticed people staring at me this morning while I was doing this and that made me happy (though I also felt slightly awkward!) I don't think it looked like I'd been out partying the night before so I hope they didn't think that was my mess. But if you see someone doing a clean-up like that, you're more likely to go out and do one yourself. Which is actually how I ended up out there in the first place...
I've been having a lot of ideas lately. Some of them are good, like this blog (I hope!) and some of them not so much. I'm sure I'm not the only person with ideas and that's why I think when you have a good one, you should go with it. Try it out, see if it can work, and when it takes off, you'll be all the more grateful for trying.
For example, my friend Donna has been taking the bus to and from the city for the past 2 years. Through the changing seasons, she's noticed that the bus stops can sometimes be really filthy places. To remedy this, she spoke to a friend about going out there and cleaning them up herself (even though there's a company who owns them and therefore should look after them properly.) The friend she spoke with offered to help and said she's sure other people would come help too!
So here we are, a few weeks later, organizing an event to gather the community together and show people we can make a difference. Tampere has been getting increasingly dirtier, especially during the weekends after long nights of partying (and sadly, littering). Over 60 people are expected to come help out and the local newspaper Aamulehti will be there to take pictures, talk to people and write about the event so more people can hear about it.
It hasn't been all smooth sailing though. It can be quite discouraging to walk around and see lots of trash sitting there or blowing in the wind, but we have to believe that people didn't realize what harm they were causing when they threw that trash there. Some people don't see a point in picking it up, while others think it's a great idea and are bringing the kids to teach them about it too. But what I take away from this, is that many ideas can turn into something really positive and that even making a small difference, for example, in terms of garbage picked up, can end up inspiring people to do the same, or at least, think twice about throwing garbage on the ground.
I'll post more about the event on Sunday, after it takes place!
Update: I just went over to the building and spoke with the guy who had the party. I rang his bell, handed him the note (no mailbox) and gave him the bag of butts. I really don't feel any anger and he seemed like a nice guy, just embarrassed. I think that keeping an open mind and being friendly always goes a long way too.
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