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psitrend · 4 years

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Interview with Sissi Chao, passionate and inspirational entrepreneur, founder of REmakeHub

New Post has been published on https://china-underground.com/2020/03/19/interview-with-sissi-chao-passionate-and-inspirational-entrepreneur-founder-of-remakehub/

Interview with Sissi Chao, passionate and inspirational entrepreneur, founder of REmakeHub

Sissi Chao founder of REmakeHub, a social enterprise that provides a circular solution for waste pollution in the fashion and design industry.

Sissi Chao has master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science, St Andrews University, and Duke University. She has worked in a consulting firm Accenture as well as in the tourism industry at Mouzenidis Group in Greece. She decided that her life mission is to clean up the waste, turn them into renewable resources, and recover the planet ecosystem. She has used her voice to share her story in more than 50 events and try to inspire others to make positive changes in the world, and she has also been known as the “Princess of Waste” and “The Waste Innovator”. She has been honored as Forbes 30U30, SDG activist, Gen.T “Asia Tatler》Top 100 Asian Shaper, PwC NextGen Club member, Ocean Activist, and inspirational speaker at Fashion Summit (HK). Her projects “Made for Saving Our Ocean” & “Fashion from Waste” is now on view as part of the socially responsible startup called “REmakeHub”. It has won the 2018 UNDP Asia-Pacific youth SDG innovation award, the top winner of 2019 YOUTH entrepreneurship for the south (YES), Official 2019 R.A.W Prize recipient and has also been featured in BBC, CNA, CNC, ICS, Phoenix News, Forbes, etc.

Official site

When did you first realize you wanted to pursue a career in circular waste management solutions?

We established at the beginning of 2018, in February. So until now, it’s almost two years.

Sissi Chao is a passionate entrepreneur that has traveled the globe to advocate for the limitless potential of waste and promote a circular economy in which “remake the waste so that both human and nature can thrive.”

What initially drew you personally to becoming engaged in this theme?

First of all, my family business is related to textiles. They have been in the fashion business for more than 20 years. I came back to China around the end of 2017. I did some internships in my parents’ factory. I saw a lot of waste in the fashion industry. Not only about fabric, but also in the production chain as well. Then I decided to tell my parents that I would not continue to work on the pollution side, but on the solution side. I saw an old man who came to our factory to collect all the waste. This event inspired me to see how everything works in the fashion industry. That’s why I decided to do something related to sustainable fashion and to deal with the waste. After that, this idea remained inside my brain for many months. In the very beginning, my parents were against me. They didn’t want me to do something related to waste, because they thought it was not a very decent job. So I left my parents for Shanghai to do my own startup. One day I saw in my dream that I was holding the planet on my hand. It was like a hint. I had this sign in my dream. So I thought it was like a message sent by the planet telling me that I should be the guardian or a messenger of Earth. This helps me to continue to do my job as a mission-driven job. So that’s why we started and why we continue doing it to save the planet.

“Only humans can help solve the problems that other humans have created, I don’t see Remake Hub as a business, I see it as a mission. and I’ve made it my mission to clean up as much waste as possible.” – Sissi Chao

So this is how did you come to create REmakeHub?

In the very beginning, we were working for charities and different brands. We tried to clean up the wastes, starting from upcycling and minimalism, using a lot of different methods of going sustainable. Then, in the end, we decided to use technology and creative design as the main DNA of RemakeHub. Because we think that technology and creativity are going to drive us in the long term. We tried minimalism, especially for fashionable ladies. They cannot wear the same T-shirt, for more than two months. Then they start shopping more up, after the campaigning finish. We can see that this it’s not really sustainable.

REMAKEHUB is a social enterprise, which provides a circular solution for waste pollution. The aim is to create multi circular materials to push the industry GO GREEN.

“I wanted to find a solution that would allow me to recycle all the waste and turn them into renewable resources, for the sake of future generations.” – Sissi Chao

Did the people you were surrounded by always been receptive to the message you’re sharing? Or did you find some problems in the beginning?

I think everything is hard in the very beginning. You don’t know which way you’re going to go. And you don’t know which way the right way. It’s like you’re in a maze and you have to go through all different kinds of way. With all the experience you have accumulated and the challenges you had to overcome during this time, you will find a more clear way to go. But for me, I thought it was always something that I wanted to do. Other people’s opinion does not really change much what I wanted to do. So I think that’s the kind of character that lead me to who I am today and what is REmakeHub now today.

REmakeHub Sissi Chao’s startup REmakeHub a social enterprise that turns fishing net into renewable materials and products through highly innovative technology and creative design. Established in 2018, the business was built on a big ambition to support a “PLANET SCALE” solution for eradicating waste and embracing the circular economy, supported by the top leading manufactories and science-based experts in China. The team is formed by “Planet Guardians” which includes scientists, engineers, artists, architects, entrepreneurs, superstar, fashion designers. REmakeHub has involved Asian companies that are leaders from waste management, technological centers, and recyclers, to thread and fabric manufacturers. All these companies collaborate and share their experience in recycling different types of debris and innovative upcycling ideas through their international alliances with design specialists.

Thanks to the innovative recycling technology, REmakeYarn can now recycle cotton and polyester materials in both pre/post consumed textiles. The aim is to stop textile being discarded into landfills and remake them into fully traceable and renewable yarn to save the land.

REmakeHubs follows the “Cradle to Cradle” design concept, promote resource reuse to extend the product life circle, thereby achieving zero-to-landfill.

Can you tell us more about REmakeHub and what this means for social and environmental impact worldwide?

REmakeHub is a social enterprise. We focus on recycling waste into more valuable material products. We have different categories of waste. We have a sub-brand called REmake-Ocean, that works to tackle the submarine plastic issue. The material comes from fishing nets. We reuse fishing nets into a few different applications. We make them into sunglasses, which we had a pilot case with WWF Australia. And we also make it into office chairs. And more recently, we’re trying to develop it into fashion, apparel, yarns. We also have another sub-brand call REmake-Yarn and we are using chemical programs, recycling processes and also physical recycling process to turn polyester and cotton into recycled material again. The last one is called Fashion from waste, which is a part of all of those things. What else can we do from all the rest of the material? We can make them into tabletops. We use an eco-friendly technology called Eco Hot blocking. With Eco Hot blocking technology we can make tabletops, chair tops, buttons used for fashion. With those kinds of material, we can try to leverage or embrace the value of waste. We use different materials and a few different technologies for recycling. Since we are a hub, we don’t have many limitations. There are different companies asking solutions. Sometimes we will use our waste into a different industry, for example, as the cosmetics industry, and jewelry industries as well. It depends on who is the client looking for a solution and also the solution that we can provide them. Not just on making the fashion, we also in furniture, electronics, and also cosmetics.

Sissi Chao is raising awareness of the impact of fast-fashion on the environment. She is trying to make a fashion revolution

Ok. So you are making a solution to fit every kind of different demands?

Yeah, but we cannot fit everyone. We fit as many as possible. If exist the supply chain, we could do modification and some adjustment, to customize a solution for them, that’s what we can do the best.

The sub-brand “REmake-Ocean” aims to impact 50 million individuals in the world and raise public awareness on ocean pollutions. They have worked with three main NGOs in the world to help collecting fishing net, and prevent further pollution, and has educated more than 5000 fishermen in Asia – Pacific. Trying to finally save Turtles, sharks, dolphins, dugongs, and sawfish which will be caught by discarded fishing nets, enhance biodiversity, recover ecosystem.

Can trash be more than trash? Can all types of waste be turned into new recycled fashion or there are some limits or difficulties?

Not all. As I said, we can do things with marine plastics, textile waste, and some of the food waste. Food for example like chocolate beans. The bad chocolate beans. If they are over-roasted. They don’t know what to do. With fruits, the leftovers of the apple juice. If you don’t know what to do with the scraps of the apples, we can make them into buttons used for fashion. So we can have a different way to play different matches things.

Fashion waste is one of the largest contributors to pollution globally and global wastewater. FASHION FROM WASTE collection was made to create value for the waste found during the production in the supply chain. Eco hot blocking technology is used to produce fashion accessories and furniture materials from waste, such as fabric left over, wood scraps, coffee grounds, and food wastes.

What were some of the biggest challenges for you personally and for REmakeHub?

The important thing is how we can push the fashion brands to actually use the materials. To use them in the supply chain. And also we are looking for big fundings that they can help to scale it up.

Sissi Chao is an environmental activist, that works with different industries to strive towards a green, worldwide circular system. Her company uses high-tech recycled material and inventive upcycling to reduce fashion waste.

An important challenge is to save planet Earth from further harm. What is the biggest misconception you’ve seen, and how did you work for breaking it?

Well, I think maybe not in terms of misconception, but more in terms of challenges. How they can give up a certain portion of profit and invest back into their own factories in the long term. They would never know if one day the brand will no longer meet the requirements. Some of the big factories are understanding this, and they are either transforming themselves into a more sustainable factory. While some of them are investing in a new factory to build, with more sustainable facilities. This requires a big amount of reinvestment. This is going to be a big challenge for big suppliers to transform themselves in a very quick time. It takes time for them to realize this and it takes a longer time for them to decide if they want to do it or not. Because it’s not a must. If they can still make money, maybe they’ll wait five or ten years, and then they will just close their factory. But some of them while looking for a long term, they will struggle to generate a profit and invest it back into a more winning factory. That’s the challenge for them.

To grow REmakeHub what are the skills that are more important for you? Are there new skills that you found out and discovered you have?

I think for us, at REmakeHub, since it’s a Hub, we are more like a platform that promotes this idea into fashion and furniture industries, etc. We can connect everyone who is in the supply chain to work together to the world circular economy. We need to connect each of them and make a circle that you can work with. You need also to make very nice branding, a very nice story to tell the end consumers with the latest technology. So, for example, blockchain is a very hot topic and how we can use blockchain in the fashion industry. RemakeHub is providing blockchain technology as a QR code into the final product. In this way, everyone scanning a QR code will receive a landing page describing what is the product, where it comes from, the whole journey of the product. And then you can also add the campaign to educate consumers about the planet issues or the marine plastic pollution and stuff like this. So we are more about helping the supply chain to be connected, how to help the end consumers to understand more about the real meaning behind a single product.

Most of fishing nets are made by nylon, which can be remade into renewable nylon polymers. The REmake-Ocean aim is to stop fishing net being discarded into the ocean and remake them into fully traceable and renewable polymers to save the ocean.

Raising awareness among potential customers and educate them about planet Earth’s pressing issues. Do you think manufacturers and consumers bear more responsibility for creating a fairer global economy? What role do you think social media plays in this cause today?

We are all connected on the planet. There is no escape. As you can see, the butterfly effect explains everything. So when we talk about media power, I would say that it’s the most important thing in the whole supply chain, because that’s where the information would flow. If nobody knows that the turtles are saved from the fishing nets, nobody will understand it. Nobody thinks that is a problem. Thanks to the media, through the information, the people and the consumers can understand the situation and the challenges we are facing on the planet. In this way, consumers can ask and demand sustainable products. Then manufacturing will definitely catch up on producing them.

How has REmakeHub grown since its start? What are the goals you have achieved so far?

We have cleaned up around 260 thousand plastic bottles and recycled around 26 thousand pieces of old clothes. Now the target is to recycle fishing nets in the sea. The ocean covers 70 percent of the surface of the planet. If the ocean system goes wrong, then the land system will no longer live. We cannot escape this situation. Everyone’s talking about the plastic issue that goes back to our food supply chain. I think it’s a big problem. I don’t want my future generations to drink something which contains toxic microplastics. In 2020 we are trying to find partners, brands, and NGOs that can help us to promote sustainability in marine plastic recycling products. They can produce sunglasses, which are made from ocean fishing nets, or they can produce types of furniture made from fishing nets. Our goal for this year is to let at least one million people understand this concept. We will also clean up at least 20 tons of fishnets and recycle them in 2020.

More than 50 new sustainable materials, all recycled from the trash (plastic bottles, coffee grounds, cloth, fishnets, waste milk, etc) are involved in the creation of sustainable products to use in fashion and furniture.

Has something in your life changed since you started RemakeHub?

Yes, definitely! Before I was a shopaholic, I was one of the polluters for the planet and I didn’t realize this. But later on, as I started having information, I started thinking about my shopping habits. I reduced purchases and I began to take care more about recycling my clothes after I no longer needed them. Before we usually just threw them away in the bin. And now we recycle them, in this way, we are sure that they can be recycled into yarns again. This is waste value.

Photos courtesy of Sissi Chao and REmakeHub

#Environment, #Recycling

#environment #recycling

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connorrenwick · 3 years

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Anti Turns Discarded and Broken Umbrellas Into Desk and Table Lamps

We’ve all experienced that frustrating moment when an umbrella gets blown inside out, the force of the movement breaking the spindles and rendering it useless. The thing is that the majority of umbrellas are simply not designed to last, with an average lifespan of just six months. In order to turn this frustration into something positive, Anti takes discarded and broken umbrellas, disassembles them, and upcycles them into desk and table lamps. We spoke to UK-based founder and CEO Mark Howells to find out more.

Tell me a little bit about your childhood, education and background in terms of how you first became interested in creativity, design and sustainability.

I grew up In Hertfordshire in a working class family. My mother can draw and paint and my father is very musical; writing and performing electric and acoustic guitar-based music to this day at 70 years of age. My first exposure to design was via a foundation course in art and design at Watford in the 1990s. I was drawn towards the traditional arts as opposed to design, until I was asked by a tutor, who ran a 3D Design class, to select an object from a series of waste objects she had scavenged from a beach and produce a new product. I chose a section of a washed-up bicycle tire and made a watch strap that buttoned over the tire tread. I loved the process of learning to unsee the original utility of an object and unlocking a new purpose unseen by anyone else before. This led to an explosion of designs using waste. At the time I had a cleaning job in the evenings at a very large office and I would collect items of interest that had been discarded in bins – in particular, computer components – and repurpose them. It was these designs that secured me a place on an Industrial Design degree at Cardiff University. Although I learned a huge amount, I really had no real interest in becoming an Industrial Designer – the assembly line approach of the time was a far cry from the work I had been doing to secure my position on the degree course in the first place. This was the ’90s and sustainability wasn’t a mainstay of the curriculum. I decided to take the drafting skills I had developed and head towards engineering. I worked for various environmental consultancies, which led me to building and land surveying, eventually as a board-level director of a successful surveying practice. In this role, I gained exposure to starting new business units and small businesses – which inspired me to fulfill a long-harbored desire to return to sustainable design.

How would you describe your project/product?

Anti’s first collection is upcycled lamps made of discarded umbrellas that were otherwise destined for landfill. The collected umbrellas are disassembled into their separate materials groups (e.g. plastics, metals, nylon) and are made into desk and table lamps. Over 1 billion umbrellas are made each year but are not designed to last, with an average lifespan of just six months. Anti addresses a waste issue by designing with waste, not creating it – and the new products are easier to disassemble at end-of-life than the umbrella was in its original state. This is the first waste stream we are concentrating on, but there will be others. One of our key focuses is to design repeatable upcycled products that can be made/manufactured at scale. The more we sell, the more waste we reuse, and the more good we can do.

What inspired this project/product?

After living in London and Tokyo, I became very aware of the wastage around umbrellas. In Tokyo, umbrellas are everywhere, you see endless rows of broken umbrellas at railway stations and outside shops. On a typical rainy day in Tokyo over 3,000 umbrellas are handed in to lost property, London underground deals with a similar problem. Our research suggests as many as one billion umbrellas are broken, lost or discarded each year worldwide. Umbrellas are just one example of an everyday product that has an important utility and value, but is flawed. It solves one problem but causes another. In the case of umbrellas it keeps us dry, and is portable, cheap and available on every street corner, but is made of different material types and so it’s difficult to disassemble at the end of its life, which makes recycling at scale difficult.

What waste (and other) materials are you using, how did you select those particular materials and how do you source them?

Both lamps are made from discarded umbrellas. We have collected these over the last few years primarily from lost properties and from city streets, bins and train stations. We also use a 3D-printed recycled plastic filament for two components and several metal components that are made from recycled materials.

When did you first become interested in using waste as raw material and what motivated this decision?

The design potential of using waste has interested me since higher education, however, the first real exposure I had to the environmental impact of how we were dealing (or not dealing) with waste was when I was a junior technician at an environmental engineering consultancy. I saw how landfills were designed firsthand and even had the opportunity to see one being built. Landfills were recognized even by the landfill designers at the time to be a poor solution with many issues e.g., the plastic membranes often split or ripped leaking the toxic water (leachate) that had percolated through the waste over time and into the soil and worryingly possibly into the groundwater. To see these vast cavernous sites being built, often in areas of countryside, just felt wrong and you could really see the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality we have associated with waste. The new items we purchase are made of the exact same materials we were throwing away; I have always believed that it’s our perception of what we deem as waste that needs to change. If you view any perceived waste item by its material type and form as opposed to its original utility and the stigma associated with something old or used, then it’s free to take on a new role. It’s down to us as designers to unlock this potential.

What processes do the materials have to undergo to become the finished product?

The umbrellas have to be disassembled into their individual component types and, in some cases, cleaned and repaired. The 3D-printed parts also need to be cleaned and finished. Then both lamps are primarily made through a process of assembly as opposed to manufacturing. This is also more energy-efficient.

What happens to your products at the end of their life – can they go back into the circular economy?

I encourage each customer to return our products at end of life via our Take Back scheme. We will happily take back any of the products produced at our workshop. These will be disassembled and reused as the basis for new designs or as a last resort disassembled for recycling. Having these products returned really is of great value to us. Both lamp designs are easy to disassemble, which allows us to recapture their material value very quickly.

How did you feel the first time you saw the transformation from waste material to product/prototype?

It really does feel like a kind of alchemy when you get it right. My objective Is to produce beautiful products from waste streams that at first, or even second, sight have no reference to their original purpose and utility. I know my work is done when someone suddenly realizes that what they are looking at is not what they thought, and yet it was there in front of them the whole time. To provide that surprise and joy is the best feeling.

How have people reacted to this project?

It’s been really positive so far. I think people are genuinely surprised that you can create something that looks beautiful from something that is not considered so. I’ve been particularly pleased with receiving great responses from fellow designers and sustainable designers.

How do you feel opinions towards waste as a raw material are changing?

I believe people are now more accepting of recycling and products made from recycled materials and in many cases, there’s now a demand for these. Upcycled products, however, are sometimes devalued in what people might pay for them due to the monetary tag associated with their previous life. That’s interesting because, in my opinion, the creative innovation to successfully develop an upcycled product (particularly at volume) is far more challenging, and ultimately more impressive, from both the point of view of the creative process and the end product point.

What do you think the future holds for waste as a raw material?

Ultimately, we should get to a stage where we do not see waste as rubbish. I believe circular economy principles will be the panacea to the fear and hurt we are feeling more strongly than ever towards the damage to the planet. Politicians, businesses, designers, and individuals will genuinely want to change the way we live, you can see the younger generation are already asking all the right questions and have the hunger to find the answers. Upcycling, in the sense of taking a linear lifecycle product and transforming it into a circular lifecycle product, can be a stop-gap to buy us more time until we are designing with circular principles ingrained into everything we manufacture from the outset. Developing biomimicry and biological fabrication where we can grow our products and they can safely return to the earth without the need for retrieval systems is a really exciting future. Although there is incredible progress in this area, we are, realistically, many decades from this becoming mainstream, and therefore the role of upcycling is critical to providing the time to achieve that transition.

via http://design-milk.com/

from WordPress https://connorrenwickblog.wordpress.com/2021/08/10/anti-turns-discarded-and-broken-umbrellas-into-desk-and-table-lamps/

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trupthi123 · 3 years

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How can ISO 14001 implementation contribute to sustainability?

ISO 14001 Certification in Uganda is generally perceived as the essential ISO standard to help associations run a viable EMS (Environmental Management System), and along these lines limit the business' ecological effect. Arranging, evaluating, and improving an organization's exercises through a successful EMS can surely relieve ecological effects. Terry A'Hearn, top of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, said in his 2017 that is, mankind is burning-through so numerous regular assets that it must be maintainable in the event that we had three planets, not only one. Given this, maintainability and insurance of regular assets is an undeniable issue; all in all, how could ISO 14001 and its related exercises help to improve supportability? an effective EMS, and the resultant great natural practices and moderation of ecological danger, can be critical supporters of diminishing natural effect. Anyway, what steps can be taken – utilizing ISO 14001 standards inside the EMS –?

In the article How to quantify the adequacy of your EMS as per ISO 14001, we saw how to gauge your EMS. Essentially, why not guarantee that you measure every one of your utilities and carbon impression, and make upgrades? Regardless of whether power, oil, gas, or water, if each person and business could diminish utilization by 10%, the world's normal assets and their future accessibility could be broadened altogether. Diminishing carbon impression can hugely affect expanding maintainability and guaranteeing that assets last, and it is a movement that ought to be inside the extent of your EMS. The job of danger the executives in the ISO 14001 Registration in Uganda standard talks about how danger and opportunity are dealt with in the EMS. While considering supportability investment funds for your business, cautiously consider if each danger considered has a possible chance on the opposite side. ISO 14001 Cost in Uganda If the negative part of another task is the utilization of new materials.

Sustainability – Where does the responsibility lie?

Duty regarding manageability lies with us every one of us, associations and as people. ISO 14001-agreeable EMS, Ensure that your chiefs embrace manageability, that your arranging and danger measures can foresee it, and that your hierarchical information and mindfulness are in a state of harmony with the hypothesis, and you are most of the way there. Think about maintainability as both a chance and a duty, and you can be important for the age that reviewed the harmony between the planet's assets and mankind's utilization. The ISO 14001 standard currently has explicit item lifecycle necessities, which we inspected in the article Is there a likelihood to diminish utilization in your item, regardless of whether in assembling or as far as what it devours during its lifecycle? Is there any way your item can be updated or upcycled to furnish the client with fundamentally longer lifecycle? Learn more in the article ISO 14001 Consultants in Ethiopia and the round economy.

How to get ISO 14001 Certification in Uganda

ISO/IEC 14001 affirmation cost for associations relies upon a critical number of factors, so each organization should set up a totally different financial plan. Comprehensively, the fundamental expenses are identified with:

•Training and writing

•Employee's exertion and time

There is a prime region for innovation, food industry, producing industry How to get ISO 14001 Certification in Uganda is a worldwide norm, it will perceive the organization to make a framework to guarantee consumer loyalty and cycle improvement, and all things considered, numerous organizations request this as the base necessity for an association to be known, as ISO 14001 is likewise known for marking reason.

#iso 14001 in uganda

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officefurnituregibraltar · 4 years

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Vegatee - Halloween Leatherface Chucky Don’t try this on this is my Job shirt

Vegatee – Halloween Leatherface Chucky Don’t try this on this is my Job shirt

Buy this shirt: https://vegatee.com/product/halloween-leatherface-chucky-dont-try-this-on-this-is-my-job-shirt/

Every fashion company striving to overhaul itself is now crying out for sustainability officers, consultants, and designers who come with ready-made knowledge about upcycling, zero waste, and making beautiful things out of that which already exists.The fact that those subjects are now…

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dippedanddripped · 5 years

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Don’t call Maurizio Donadi a designer. “I’m very involved with product, but I’m not a designer,” the long-time fashion-industry stalwart says. “I have no intention of being a designer. I’ve always been in the middle—I had business sense and an eye without being obsessed. I’m a studier, an observer, and a manipulator, a hacker.” As a veteran of some of the biggest and most venerated global brands—helping bridge the business and creative arms of names like Armani, Ralph Lauren, Levi’s—he has more than 30 years of experience, studying the ways we interact with clothing.

These days, the primary beneficiary of Donadi’s observation and hacking is his company Atelier & Repairs, which takes deadstock, damaged, or otherwise unused garments and repairs and remakes them into one-of-a-kind pieces. Wearing voluminous patchworked army pants and a threadbare chore coat, Donadi has an unmistakably original look—a mix of Paris flea market and American army-surplus shop. This mix of vintage military and European workwear that makes up his own personal uniform has become Atelier & Repair’s baseline aesthetic.

While it’s definitely a look, it’s not just a look. In 2015, Donadi felt the need to use his talents to help combat what he saw as an obscene amount of waste in the industry. He could no longer just make more “stuff”—so he’s taken his talents to the shocking amount of overproduced garments in the world. His hand-touched, heirloom-like approach has caught the eyes of men like Bruce Pask of Bergdorf Goodman and rapper Playboi Carti.

I spoke with Donadi near his shop in West Hollywood—where a sign out front read: WASTE LESS, REIMAGINE MORE—about his career, Atelier & Repairs, and how he’s built a brand outside of the traditional fashion system that is successful for exactly that reason.

GQ: Were you particular about the way you dressed when you were younger?

Maurizio Donadi: My own style wasn’t a style. I had pants because I needed a pair of pants. I used to buy vintage because I didn’t have money, not because it was cool or trendy. Later on, I looked back to those years and thought, I had so much fun finding things that cost a dollar or two. I was looking more for things that spoke to me than, say, looking for a black T-shirt or a pair of jeans. There was one store called American Rags in my town, and it was the only vintage shop. I remember the smell very clearly.

Your job at Armani was essentially to shop and find cool things to show to the design team. How did you get that job? It sounds like a dream.

I was hired for a very specific job, for Emporio Armani in the U.S. I had already been based in the U.S. for 15 years, and I had knowledge of the market. What I think I had was something extremely important: data—knowing what the customer wants, opening shops, hiring people. So I was bringing all that, but the fact that I was Italian and also that I had a certain knowledge of a certain market that Mr. Armani was interested in. It was the beginning of a time when there was a more casual approach to clothing, moving from something that was very formal—still elegant, but more relaxed. So he said, Go around the world and bring research. I had a budget to buy things, and I pretty much had no meetings. It was a dream job.

Why did you walk away from these big, fancy jobs to start your own thing?

I thought that Levi’s was going to be the company that I’d end my professional life with, but it wasn’t. I loved being at Levi’s because it gave me the strength to do something new. But it was time for me to stop working for other companies and start consulting and doing other projects. Levi’s gave me the strength to move to a new place—Los Angeles—and work on small projects that I can give 100 percent of myself to. So instead of getting into the mechanism of a big company, it’s like being a killer—you go and you do the job. But a killer with an emotional spirit!

Why Los Angeles?

My wife and I were looking at London, going back to New York, maybe Hong Kong. The weather here is good and I was in Amsterdam for three years, which is basically three years in the rain. The lifestyle is healthier. We loved coming here over the years. And there’s a manufacturing base here. It’s easy to go places—it’s far away from everything but easy to go anywhere, if that makes sense.

How did Atelier & Repairs come to be?

Well, at first it was this one-of-a-kind and creative project, and then we started to realize it was something that feels good. Beyond being creative, the repurposing of clothing, the restoration of clothing, the upcycling of clothing, makes you think about how much excess there is. I said, Oh shit, there’s so much stuff here. We don’t need another brand. And since then, we have not produced anything. We have transformed — manipulated. We’ve been hacking someone else’s design, and enhancing, changing, reducing, amplifying, all depending on our creative mood.

So what was the first thing you made?

I basically transformed 200 pairs of cargo pants …

Where did you find them?

You can call around. Anything you want, you can find.

And you have the background to find it.

Oh, yeah. I sourced everything myself in the beginning. You ask around: Who’s selling military jackets? There are always a few people. Here or in Northern California or in Nevada, Florida … anywhere! There is stuff everywhere. America and beyond. There is amazing second-hand American clothing in France, in Japan, in Africa! There is so much stuff. The accumulation that our industry has generated is unreal. You can’t measure it. You cannot measure it. [Ed Note: But Donadi can, and does, measure it:] 150 billion pieces produced per year and we have a population of seven billion. That’s about 22 pieces per person per year, and I’d say one-third of the population can only afford one or two. Another secret is the yards of fabrics that are leftover. If you’re looking for half-a-million yards of denim? I could find that in a half-hour — not producing anything! \

I think of you as part of a new generation — along with Bode, Re/Done, Marine Serre — that are rebelling against the system and making clothing with an artisanal feel.

Deep down we wanted to show that you can be relevant, interesting, with an artistic approach, without falling into the calendar of the industry and not falling into this system that’s clearly broken. Like, I may not be able to give you a product in red that’s trendy right now — according to some person — but we can give you green. And with green you will still survive. There’s no such thing as “have to have it,” you know? That’s the power of marketing.

Also, today anyone can get something from a luxury designer — that’s not special. To me, something that feels one-of-a-kind, like someone made it with their hands, that’s special.

That’s the most important element of Atelier & Repairs. Our job is not to be the biggest company or to dress everybody. It’s to offer an element with which you will feel comfortable. And making one-of-a-kind things, in production, is a nightmare. But the satisfaction of you going to the store and saying, I found this pair of pants and there’s only one made and it’s the one that speaks to me—that, I like. That enhances my personality.

There’s an artistic point-of-view, too — an artist rarely paints two of the exact same things. A sculptor doesn’t make two identical sculptures. And with a commitment like that you immediately reduce your commercial potential. I’ll never be a billion-dollar company, but I don’t care. I’d rather be a smaller company but more relevant.

You have many programs: custom pieces, ready-to-wear, collaborations with Gap and Dockers. Tell me about your approach to building a multi-tiered business.

We’re an ad hoc-racy, which is, in our case, an initiative, a project, a company, that changes according to the moment. So if I see that something isn’t working, I’m not obliged to follow it. Maybe it’s my disruptive nature, because I don’t want to belong. I don’t feel comfortable when I’m obliged to do certain things. I’m small enough to be able to change according to opportunities and emotions. That’s extremely relevant to me. I’m not a prisoner of the system. Many brands are very creative, very innovative but they’re part of that system — seasons, trends, fabrics and colors — but that’s not what I’m all about, for good and bad.

Having started in 2015, did you think that sustainability was going to be a big movement in the future?

We have abolished the word sustainability at Atelier & Repairs, in favor of responsibility. Let’s work responsibly. Sustainability entails that you’re doing many, many different things perfectly. Instead, we’re starting a process of looking at things responsibly. We think we can solve a lot of our problems that way.

What stops companies from doing the right thing is that their system is set. The supply chain alone — it would require change with their suppliers, the factories they work with, the way of purchasing things. Everything. That system was built over decades, and they would have to demolish that and start anew.

So what is your process of making a garment — since you don’t “make” anything?

We source about twenty items, things, like a white shirt or a Levi’s 501, military cargos, sweatshirts. We’ll get 15 to 20 items that we source. Some of them have cigarette holes. There’s inconsistency in fit, condition, color, and so on. Some are deadstock, they’ve never been worn before. So first you give them a sanitation wash. Then we grade them and sort them — some are so bad we can only use them as fabric while others are nearly perfect. When we have an idea about our inventory, then we start to create “stories.” Like, we have sweatshirts with bad graphics, so we’ll cover them. Or US army jackets, we’ll almost always use Japanese fabrics. Why? Because at one point the two countries were fighting each other. So now we want them to coexist. Each piece of military clothing we make, it’s not meant to be used in combat, [so] we’ll make the camouflage less aggressive, make it for weekends or gardening, not for fighting.

What I like about what you do is that it’s such an old tradition. This is what people did before the Industrial Revolution!

Repairing has been a natural part of any country’s history. This is an activity that has been minimized in favor of consumption. People ask, why spend three hours mending your socks when you can just buy a new pair? I remember when I was really young, my mother and grandmother repairing socks. That was a normal thing. Of course we live differently now, but I think there are ways to prolong the life of clothes. Don’t buy shit, buy less and maybe spend more. It’s OK to spend more if the item is going to last you 20 years. Instead of buying something that will make you happy right now, buy something that you know will make you happy for the next 10 years.

Do you remember when you first knew something had to change with the way you wanted to work in the fashion industry?

When I left Benetton in 1992, I thought we had sold everything we could sell and there’s no more growth, that we had reached saturation. And then I had this sense of nausea every time they’d talked about global domination. That was my first eureka moment.

What do you want Atelier & Repairs be in five years, or ten years?

I want to be in retail and I definitely want to be doing more than just clothing. Everything you can think of — paper, bicycles, houses, electronics. There is so much, so much. We could open, in theory, a department store: a cool, very unique proposition of a department store where you could come and look and purchase things with responsibility and creativity involved. Where you could buy a bicycle made from the parts of ten other bicycles. That’s not going backwards, it’s looking forward. I’m not saying for people to stop shopping, I’m saying to shop responsibly

#Maurizio Donadi #ateliers and repairs #fashion blog

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ohsoethical · 7 years

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The Shy Activist- Beware of the Plastics

The world is in love with plastics for many reasons. Not the Mean Girls plastics, everyone hates them.

But the water bottles, shavers, cutlery, toothbrushes etc. It’s lightweight, flexible, durable and versatile. It’s advanced medicine, transport, electronics – and food packaging. It’s great right!

But did you know that the demand for these disposable items mean that plastic is produced at 350m tonnes per years and it’s continuously increasing.

The trouble with this is that plastic never breaks down and every piece of plastic ever made is still living somewhere on our planet. Some of these plastics can be recycled and continue living on earth as a new product. Margarine and ice cream tubs, yogurt pots, fruit punnets and ready meal trays, drink, shampoo and detergent bottles could be reincarnated if you like.

However, there are many different types of plastic and the sorting process is very labor intensive.

“Only 14 per cent of plastic packaging is recycled, with the remainder, worth £60-90 billion worldwide lost as waste.”

There are plastics that can’t be recycled including plastic wrap, cling film, bubble wrap (I know it hurts, I'm sorry), plastic bags, crisp packets, sweet wrappers, polystyrene, soft plastic/metallic packaging, plastic bottle caps TO NAME BUT A FEW.

Simon Ellin the Chief of the Recycling Association singled out Pringles, Lucozade, supermarket black plastic meat trays and cleaning spray bottles to be themes difficult/impossible to recycle.

So one major problem is that we keep producing tonnes and tonnes and tonnes of plastic and were just leaving it around the world. But there are other negative impacts.

Look at this little guy. He shouldn’t be eating plastic. He should be eating plants and insects! But the poor thing and 100,000 other marine creatures like him are eating plastic and 10% of marine life have died from being entangled in plastic bags that we are manufacturing and not taking responsibility for. It’s said that by 2050 there could be more plastic in the sea that fish!

It also pollutes the air, land and water as well as exposing worker to toxic chemicals when it’s being manufactured and incinerated. “Serious accidents have included explosions, chemical fires, chemical spills, and clouds of toxic vapor. These kinds of occurrences have caused deaths, injuries, evacuations and major property damage.”

Plastics used in cooking and food storage is also affecting our health. Chemicals that are typically hormone-mimicking and endocrine disrupters are evidenced to be coming from plastics.

There is a link between these chemicals and health problems “chromosomal and reproductive system abnormalities, impaired brain and neurological functions, cancer, cardiovascular system damage, adult-onset diabetes, early puberty, obesity and resistance to chemotherapy. Exposure to BPA at a young age can cause genetic damage, and BPA has been linked to recurrent miscarriage in women. The health risks of plastic are significantly amplified in children, whose immune and organ systems are developing and are more vulnerable. The evidence of health risks from certain plastics is increasingly appearing in established, peer-reviewed scientific journals.”

We can tackle plastic pollution and we should as soon as possible. In fact there is a prize of £1.5million prize for environmentally friendly packaging design, backed by the conservation charity the Ellen MacArthur Foundation - New Plastics Economy Innovation Prize.

Chris Grantham from the London branch of the global design consultancy Ideo said, designers would need to produce items that could be used again and again as pressure on materials increases from a growing population. Mr Grantham’s ideas about how to tackle the issue include; if products are bought online products do not need branding and complex designs; supermarkets can fit a mini projector to project branding onto blank containers.

Here’s a short list of ways to reduce plastic pollution with your own bare hands from the Natural Resources Defences Council:

1. Wean yourself off disposable plastics. Ninety percent of the plastic items in our daily lives are used once and then chucked: grocery bags, plastic wrap, disposable cutlery, straws, coffee-cup lids. Take note of how often you rely on these products and replace them with reusable versions. It only takes a few times of bringing your own bags to the store, silverware to the office, or travel mug to Starbucks before it becomes habit.

2. Stop buying water. Each year, close to 20 billion plastic bottles are tossed in the trash. Carry a reusable bottle in your bag, and you’ll never be caught having to resort to a Poland Spring or Evian again. If you’re nervous about the quality of your local tap water, look for a model with a built-in filter.

3. Boycott microbeads. Those little plastic scrubbers found in so many beauty products—facial scrubs, toothpaste, body washes—might look harmless, but their tiny size allows them to slip through water-treatment plants. Unfortunately, they also look just like food to some marine animals. Opt for products with natural exfoliants, like oatmeal or salt, instead.

4. Cook more. Not only is it healthier, but making your own meals doesn’t involve takeout containers or doggy bags. For those times when you do order in or eat out, tell the establishment you don’t need any plastic cutlery or, for some serious extra credit, bring your own food-storage containers to restaurants for leftovers.

5. Purchase items secondhand. New toys and electronic gadgets, especially, come with all kinds of plastic packaging—from those frustrating hard-to-crack shells to twisty ties. Search the shelves of thrift stores, neighborhood garage sales, or online postings for items that are just as good when previously used. You’ll save yourself a few bucks, too.

6. Recycle (duh). It seems obvious, but we’re not doing a great job of it. For example, less than 14 percent of plastic packaging is recycled. Confused about what can and can’t go in the bin? Check out the number on the bottom of the container. Most beverage and liquid cleaner bottles will be #1 (PET), which is commonly accepted by most curbside recycling companies. Containers marked #2 (HDPE; typically slightly heavier-duty bottles for milk, juice, and laundry detergent) and #5 (PP; plastic cutlery, yogurt and margarine tubs, ketchup bottles) are also recyclable in some areas. For the specifics on your area, check out Earth911.org’s recycling directory.

7. Support a bag tax or ban. Urge your elected officials to follow the lead of those in San Francisco, Chicago, and close to 150 other cities and counties by introducing or supporting legislation that would make plastic-bag use less desirable.

8. Buy in bulk. Single-serving yogurts, travel-size toiletries, tiny packages of nuts—consider the product-to-packaging ratio of items you tend to buy often and select the bigger container instead of buying several smaller ones over time.

9. Bring your own garment bag to the dry cleaner. Invest in a zippered fabric bag and request that your cleaned items be returned in it instead of sheathed in plastic. (And while you’re at it, make sure you’re frequenting a dry cleaner that skips the perc, a toxic chemical found in some cleaning solvents.)

10. Put pressure on manufacturers. Though we can make a difference through our own habits, corporations obviously have a much bigger footprint. If you believe a company could be smarter about its packaging, make your voice heard. Write a letter, send a tweet, or hit them where it really hurts: Give your money to a more sustainable competitor.

So you know what to do. Go do it. Please.

FAIR FAVOURITES

Mean It fashion- it was hard to stop choosing things I like from here. What a great selection!

“Our mission is to source ethical fashion around the world and offer well-designed, desirable and luxurious pieces in one marketplace. Clothing and accessories designed and produced in a sustainable way, using environment-friendly materials. Vegan pieces. Fair trade and upcycled items. All made by teams that have control over the production process, making sure there is no wrongdoing in any sense. Brands we are very proud to sell.”

Maya Day Dreamer Maxi Dress

Kelly Cotton Chambray Shirt Dress

Queenie Dress

Verushka Denin Skirt

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/16/toxic-timebomb-why-we-must-fight-back-against-the-worlds-plague-of-plastic

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39953209

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4519380/Prince-Charles-Dame-Ellen-MacArthur-tackle-plastics.html

https://www.lifewithoutplastic.com/store/the_plastic_problem#.WSAkiXeZPqQ

http://www.plasticsindustry.com/plastics-environment.asp

http://www.therecyclingassociation.com/latest-news/ceo-simon-ellin-picks-out-worst-packaging-offenders-for-recyclability-for-the-bbc

https://www.nrdc.org

#plastic #pollution #environment #recycling #fashion #ethical #hide #getinspired #inspiration #shy #shy activist

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marienela · 4 years

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Margherita Missoni, Amber Valletta, Amanda Hearst, Hassan Pierre

On February 8, 2020, Margherita Missoni accepted the Innovator Award on behalf of M Missoni, for their use of upcycling materials in their collections at the third annual Sustainable Style Awards, the premiere platform for sustainable fashion.

Held at the Avedaat 1 Hotel West Hollywood, the Sustainable Style Awards is hosted by the Maison de mode, a global platform for sustainable fashion, connecting creators, curators and consumers for a better tomorrow.

Nadja Swarovski presented the Innovator Award toMargherita Missoni. The Innovator Award is given to a brand in fashion, jewelry or accessories for their achievement and excellence in sustainable design and practice. Factors considered are business alignment with positive social and environmental impact in regards corporate responsibility, material’s integrity, production, and supply chain.

Though not yet a fully sustainable brand, M Missoni is constantly striving to improve and move forward toward that direction. Since its inception, the M Missoni mission is to remix, re-use and respect.

The familiar Missoni codes are flipped and turned into a new esthetic, creating unique products with pre-existent materials and deadstocks from Missoni or other suppliers.

M Missoni is constantly experimenting with bits and pieces that are recycled, repurposed and upcycled: scarves turn into dresses, leftover yarns into pullovers, furnishing fabrics into coats.

Three seasons in, M Missoni has repurposed 26 thousand meters of Missoni stock fabric and 12 hundred kilos of stock yarn.

Sustainability is part of the brand’s aesthetic; eco-sustainable materials are key, even when not recycled and geographical dislocation is part of the production process, creating jobs in countries such as Ethiopia, Peru and Ghana.

Being honored with the Innovator Award for sustainability underscores M Missoni’s commitment to its initial mission.

The third annual Sustainable Style Awards was a rare evening celebrating sustainable fashion, where top luxury and independent fashion houses donated sustainable looks for Hollywood’s most talented who are true ambassadors of sustainability and style.

Margherita Missoni wore an M Missoni dress made from eco-sustainable fabric and cardigan made from upcycled Missoni yarns. The pieces worn will be auctioned online from today on maison-de-mode.com with 100% of the proceeds benefiting charity: water.

The awards themselves were bestowed upon leaders in sustainability and recognize their contribution to the field. The honorees are selected by the international MAISON DE MODE committee of leaders, including Livia Firth (Founder EcoAge), Lisa Smilor (Executive Vice President, CFDA), Nadja Swarovski (Executive Board, Swarovski Group), Nina Garcia(Editor-in-Chief, ELLE Magazine), Julie Gilhart (Fashion Consultant) and Rickie de Sole (Head of Fashion Initiatives, Vogue).

Photos courtesy of M Missoni

Margherita Missoni, Amber Valletta, Amanda Hearst, Hassan Pierre

Jennifer Missoni

Margherita Maccapani Missoni

Margherita Missoni accepted the Innovator Award on behalf of M Missoni, for their use of upcycling materials in their collections at the third annual Sustainable Style Awards

Margherita Missoni and Jennifer Missoni

Margherita Missoni and Nadja Swarovski

#TBT M Missoni Honored with the Innovator Award for Sustainability @cmmedia @missoni On February 8, 2020, Margherita Missoni accepted the Innovator Award on behalf of M Missoni, for their use of upcycling materials in their collections at the third annual Sustainable Style Awards, the premiere platform for sustainable fashion.

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biofunmy · 5 years

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They Love Trash – The New York Times

JOSHUA TREE, Calif. — Soph Nielsen was sewing garbage onto her black T-shirt (a chicken wing, a crushed Bud Light can, a plastic fork) and struggling to attach a snarl of crusty pad thai.

“This is to get people to see the trash,” she said, her fingers slick with grease. “We don’t want to be the invisible janitors.” With her distinctive appliqués, that was unlikely.

It was the last day of the Joshua Tree Music Festival, a family-friendly event of didgeridoo sound baths, yoga, crafts, electronica and other familiar fare held at a dusty desert campground for three days in October. Ms. Nielsen, a 25-year-old artist whose medium is trash, was one of 20-odd Trash Pirates working the event.

The Pirates are a loose collective of waste management specialists, to borrow a phrase from Tony Soprano, who make sure events are as sustainable as possible through recycling and composting. They also educate attendees about how to do both properly.

Garbage has long been the uncomfortable fallout of the festival world, and as these gatherings multiply like glow sticks at a Phish concert, stretching the season into a year-round party (hola, Costa Rica), its impact has roused young artists and activists like Ms. Nielsen.

Most Pirates start out as volunteers, helping with trash or performing other tasks so as to attend for free. Then they have their “trash moment,” as the Pirates put it, the epiphany that turns volunteer work into a career, and trash into a calling.

“Your first experience of the mass of it, whether it’s loading dumpsters onto a trailer or driving out to the event grounds when everyone is gone and it’s a sea of trash, is an existential crisis,” Ms. Nielsen said. “You are baptized into compost.”

“You’re either in or you’re out,” she added, echoing the rallying cry of a long-ago counterculture movement that involved a bus, “and it becomes a way of life.”

The events themselves — both community-minded and escapist — are morphing into trash camps: days-long immersions into the politics of waste, with lectures and workshops on developing your garbage-handling skills along with your yoga practice.

Some trash stats are in order. In 2017, according to an environmental impact report, Coachella, in Indio, Calif., was generating over 100 tons of trash each day. Many events are now committed to becoming zero-waste endeavors, or as close to it as possible. High “diversion” rates (the percentage of waste not sent to the landfill) are badges of honor. Last spring, the Trash Pirates brought the Joshua Tree Music Festival’s rate up to 77 percent.

In 2017, Coachella’s diversion rate was just 20 percent, apparently because attendees weren’t using the recycling bins. Veterans of Burning Man and other festivals learn acronyms like MOOP, for “Matter Out of Place,” an umbrella term for trash and anything else that doesn’t occur naturally on a site; cigarette butts, broken tents and human waste are some common examples.

Burning Man has a “Leave No Trace” ethos, but the messy camps of bad Burners are called out each year on the festival’s MOOP Map in the hope that public shaming will be a deterrent next time around.

‘Shepherds of the “Away’’’

While there are many waste organizations dedicated to mitigating the environmental impact of such gatherings, the Trash Pirates are distinguished by their zeal and their punk aplomb.

Take Moon Mandel, 24, a filmmaker and Trash Pirate who was managing the operations that weekend at Joshua Tree. Mx. Mandel is nonbinary, and with their bright orange jumpsuit emblazoned with patches stitched with trash graphics (the recycling whorl and other insignia) they looked like an indie Eagle Scout.

As Oscar the Grouch sang his gruff-voiced hymn “I Love Trash,” one of many trash-friendly songs on the Pirates’ playlist, Mx. Mandel said: “It’s very important for people to see the work we do and understand the human scope of it. We are trying to alter the cultural norms of a throwaway society. We teach them that there’s no ‘away.’ We are the shepherds of the ‘away’ and it’s being buried inside the earth forever.”

And so Mx. Mandel performed trash collections, dancing with colleagues as Oscar warbled under a festive tent with gaily painted bins, and sorting garbage (earning $5 a bag) for those campers too busy or negligent to do it themselves.

To attendees who had dutifully separated their food scraps and recyclables and were tipping them into the appropriate bins, Mx. Mandel called out a hearty, “Yarg!” their preferred Pirate cheer.

“Thank you for composting!” Mx. Mandel praised a young woman scraping scrambled eggs out of a frying pan, and then recited some recycling basics: “You can’t compost paper with too much printing on it, or recycle greasy paper. Single-use bags can be taken to supermarkets in California for recycling, so we are collecting them. Make sure everything is clean. You don’t need to rinse your soda or beer cans. But if your stuff is covered in yogurt, it’s not going to be recycled.”

Mx. Mandel has a policy about not working festivals where organizers are charging for water. “The decommodification of water is one of my core beliefs,” they said.

Mx. Mandel was particularly proud of their cigarette-butt program. For the last two years, they have been collecting butts (200,000 and counting, they said) at festivals and sending them to TerraCycle, a company that teams with manufacturers and retailers to recycle or upcycle all manner of products and materials, including action-figure toys, backpacks and toothbrushes. Cigarette butts are turned into plastic pallets; the tobacco is composted.

Sarah Renner, the operations and site manager for the Joshua Tree Music Festival, wrote in an email that the Trash Pirates are “the down and dirty, real as can be, heroes of the event world.”

The Pirates have handled her festival’s waste for the last four years, sweeping, handing out bags and painting barrels with children. “They don’t just pull trash bags and sort recycling,” she said. “They are on a mission to change the way people think while getting everything to where it needs to go.””

The work is brutal. Heat stroke, sunburn, cuts and bruises are common hazards, as is a dousing with trash juice: the pungent slurry that pours from a trash can and into your armpits when you’re hoisting it over your head.

Close-toed boots are encouraged, but don’t always protect. Mx. Mandel’s foot was sliced open, they said, this past February at a festival in Costa Rica by a severed iguana hand that pierced their boot, but most dangers are what you’d think: nails, screws, shards of glass.

Tools of the trade include MOOP sticks, which are long claws for grabbing trash without having to bend over. These are light and rather delicate, with a nice action, and are precise enough to pick up a grain of rice.

Hand sanitizer and liquid soap are requirements; one Pirate, Moose Martinez, had a Purell bottle clipped to the strap of his over-the-shoulder water bag. Work gloves and thin blue food service gloves are part of the uniform, but many of the Pirates were working in their bare hands.

“We call that raw-dogging,” said Luke Dunn, 33, a musician and preschool teacher, as a colleague with clean hands fed him a chocolate-chip cookie. “You try not to touch your face, you wash a lot.”

On the Pirates’ Facebook page, “Trash Pirates and Waste Naughts,” with over 4,000 followers, they share job tips (a recent post was for waste management at McMurdo Station in Antarctica); inspiration (“It’s Called Garbage Can, Not Garbage Cannot”); and education (news clips on California’s recycling woes and posts reviewing the best trash bags or instructions on how to make compostable confetti out of leaves with a hole puncher).

One long thread discussed cleaning up glitter, a particular scourge of Gay Pride parades.

‘The Lost Boys’

The Trash Pirates formed six years ago when two friends, Caleb Robertson, now 26, and Kirk Kunihiro, 29, then living in the San Francisco Bay Area, wanted to go to festivals for free.

While volunteering for the green teams, as they are called, of these gatherings, Mr. Robertson said, “We came to realize that there was a way to express our zero-waste passions within the event industry.”

They learned their craft at Green Mary, a two-decades-old company dedicated to making events sustainable that was founded by Mary Munat, an environmental activist and former Army reservist.

“They are fast, hard-working, green-hearted people,” she said of the Pirates. “I love their energy and greenness, and I am so glad my age-old eco-passions gave birth to so many little green pirates.”

The Trash Pirates was a nickname they gave each other early on, when festivals were more haphazard, and it stuck. In the beginning, Mr. Robertson, said “It was more seat-of-the-pants. Many of us were living out of our vehicles. That’s the thing: Trash can attract people who don’t feel like they have a place to go, giving people purpose in a space where they had none. Kind of like the Lost Boys. People are interested in the party, but it becomes empty if you don’t have a purpose.”

Next year, they hope to work upward of 30 events. “The work isn’t going to stop, I’m almost scared of it,” Mr. Robertson said, adding that he and many of his colleagues are looking to expand beyond the festivals and tackle community projects in Los Angeles, where he now lives, and beyond.

Mx. Mandel is devoted to filmmaking; Ms. Nielsen to art and activism. “But we are all still united by trash,” Mr. Robertson said. “We recognize that festivals are a stage and a platform to reach people, but we also know that it’s just a Band-Aid and the best thing we can do is to concentrate on government policies and community work.”

Mr. Kunihiro, who also lives in Los Angeles, started his own waste-consulting business, which includes a waste sampling service that analyzes the composition of waste streams — work that makes festival trash seem as clean and fresh, he said, as birthday cake.

He has led tours for fourth graders of recycling plants in the Bay Area; at Joshua Tree, his water bottle was a tiny blue toy recycling bin, a gift from his mother.

Another Pirate, Stephen Chun, talked about the awkward moment when he is asked what he does for a living. “A lot of people are like, ‘Huh, that’s nice. Good for you,” he said. “The feedback over time goes from being, ‘Oh, you’re the trash guy’ to, ‘Oh, you’re a hero.’ Now I say I’m a zero-waste events consultant.”

Ms. Munat said, “People see us going through the recycling and offer us their sandwiches. And we’re like, ‘No, it’s O.K., we’re getting paid.’”

Because trash is ascendant as a problem and a paradigm, it continues to grow as a métier. “In 1995, when I first starting teaching about waste, it was a boutique subject and not considered appropriate for academic study,” said Robin Nagle, a professor of anthropology and environmental studies at New York University who specializes joyfully in garbage.

She has been anthropologist-in-residence at the New York City Department of Sanitation for more than a decade; her book “Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks With the Sanitation Workers of New York City” was published in 2013. Professor Nagle is a founder of what’s known as discard studies, a new interdisciplinary field of research examining waste politically, culturally and economically.

“You can take any piece of trash as an object in the world and track it from its raw materials though its journey into the marketplace as a commodity,” she said. “At any of those points it will connect not just to the proliferation of garbage as a form of pollution but a host of any other environmental crises including the big megillah that is climate change.”

Of the Trash Pirates she said, “They are pushing boundaries in wonderful ways. I would be curious to see what they’re doing in 20 years. Do they bounce from this ebullient, youthful thing to something more settled? And will the planet be even closer to the brink of destruction?”

We shall see, but in the meantime, as is their practice, the Pirates swept the Joshua Tree Music Festival campgrounds clean by forming a MOOP line, as it’s known, with each Pirate three to four feet apart and armed with a MOOP stick and a bucket, and moving from the perimeter to the center.

Mx. Mandel said, “Like one amoeba we slowly devour the MOOP.”

Sahred From Source link Fashion and Style

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#IFTTT #WordPress

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shuying877 · 6 years

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PRODUCTION & BUILDING job at Biji Biji Design Sdn Bhd Malaysia

Biji-biji is a social enterprise that promotes sustainability in Malaysia. We create social and environmental impact in Malaysia by offering both companies and individuals solutions that support their efforts to be more sustainable. We offer accessible, interactive and collaborative approaches to sustainability through art and design, creative building, sustainability consultancy and alternative energy technologies. Biji-biji production is currently operating at our Biji-biji factory in Klang.

Biji-biji has developed Me.reka Makerspace into our main education center which is wholly-owned by Biji Biji Design Sdn Bhd. Me.reka Makerspace is currently operating at Publika in Kuala Lumpur. Me.reka is an innovative and alternative education space, created to challenge the limits of 21st Century designing and making. Me.reka aims to nurture the seeds of creativity; developing talent and entrepreneurs for the industries and businesses that will shape the future of tomorrow.

About the Job:

– Assist our building team (FAB!) to build our signature art installations, furnitures and any other sustainable or upcycled creations

– Ensuring the production of our orders is done in an efficient manner

– Interest in building, preferably with furniture or custom builds / installations. You will be working with wood & metal

– This position requires occasional lifting and some physical fitness (suitable for both men & women)

– Willing to work with power tools and other fabrication methods such as laser cutting, CNC milling and waterjet (training provided)

– All our installations need to be constructed in sound manner in line with local health and safety legislations, so need to be a good team player and follow instruction carefully

Job requirements:

– Candidate must possess background or interest in Engineering of Civil, Mechanical, Metal Fabrication / Tool & Die / Welding, Mechatronic / Electromechanical or equivalent.

– Able to work to deadlines and be under pressure

– Attention to detail and able to communicate with others and work in cross-functional teams

– Be enthusiastic, creative, curious and positive

From http://www.startupjobs.asia/job/38916-production-amp-building-others-job-at-biji-biji-design-sdn-bhd-malaysia

from https://startupjobsasiablog.wordpress.com/2018/06/20/production-building-job-at-biji-biji-design-sdn-bhd-malaysia/

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ameliamike90 · 6 years

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PRODUCTION & BUILDING job at Biji Biji Design Sdn Bhd Malaysia

About the Job:

- Assist our building team (FAB!) to build our signature art installations, furnitures and any other sustainable or upcycled creations

- Ensuring the production of our orders is done in an efficient manner

- Interest in building, preferably with furniture or custom builds / installations. You will be working with wood & metal

- This position requires occasional lifting and some physical fitness (suitable for both men & women)

- Willing to work with power tools and other fabrication methods such as laser cutting, CNC milling and waterjet (training provided)

- All our installations need to be constructed in sound manner in line with local health and safety legislations, so need to be a good team player and follow instruction carefully

Job requirements:

- Candidate must possess background or interest in Engineering of Civil, Mechanical, Metal Fabrication / Tool & Die / Welding, Mechatronic / Electromechanical or equivalent.

- Able to work to deadlines and be under pressure

- Attention to detail and able to communicate with others and work in cross-functional teams

- Be enthusiastic, creative, curious and positive

StartUp Jobs Asia - Startup Jobs in Singapore , Malaysia , HongKong ,Thailand from http://www.startupjobs.asia/job/38916-production-amp-building-others-job-at-biji-biji-design-sdn-bhd-malaysia Startup Jobs Asia https://startupjobsasia.tumblr.com/post/175068819284

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startupjobsasia · 6 years

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PRODUCTION & BUILDING job at Biji Biji Design Sdn Bhd Malaysia

About the Job:

- Assist our building team (FAB!) to build our signature art installations, furnitures and any other sustainable or upcycled creations

- Ensuring the production of our orders is done in an efficient manner

- Interest in building, preferably with furniture or custom builds / installations. You will be working with wood & metal

- This position requires occasional lifting and some physical fitness (suitable for both men & women)

- Willing to work with power tools and other fabrication methods such as laser cutting, CNC milling and waterjet (training provided)

- All our installations need to be constructed in sound manner in line with local health and safety legislations, so need to be a good team player and follow instruction carefully

Job requirements:

- Candidate must possess background or interest in Engineering of Civil, Mechanical, Metal Fabrication / Tool & Die / Welding, Mechatronic / Electromechanical or equivalent.

- Able to work to deadlines and be under pressure

- Attention to detail and able to communicate with others and work in cross-functional teams

- Be enthusiastic, creative, curious and positive

StartUp Jobs Asia - Startup Jobs in Singapore , Malaysia , HongKong ,Thailand from http://www.startupjobs.asia/job/38916-production-amp-building-others-job-at-biji-biji-design-sdn-bhd-malaysia

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mygifaubdiggy-blog · 6 years

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Niche report - Goodone

Goodone was born in 2006. The woman’s wear Brand was created by Nin Castel and Phoebe Emerson and is mainly a ready to wear and knitwear based brand. The Eco friendly orientated fashion brand, has won a few awards for its creative endeavour to help the environment. Goodone ‘specialise in up-cycling and innovatively combining new British and sustainable fabrics with reclaimed textiles. Known for bold, colour-blocked styles, they have developed a design method which is informed by th e use of recycled fabrics, but not restrained by it.’ (goodone.co.uk)

Nin the designer claims that their mission is to:

‘• Instigate positive change within the fashion industry

• Provide a creative alternative for waste reduction

• Exceed people’s expectations of what upcycled garments can be by creating high-end fashion-forward collections’ (goodone facebook page)

Nin Castel grew up on a pig farm near Oxford. In 2001 while doing a Fashion and Business Studies degree at Brighton University she became interested in sustainable design. The business began when she met Pheobe Emerson and the two shared a mutual interest in sustainable fashion "One million tonnes of textile waste goes into landfills every year and around 50 per cent is reusable, so we decided to concentrate on recycled fabrics." (the telegraph) They made a deal with a local charity shop who let them go through all the bags of textiles being sent to the rag factory, and they paid the charity £1 a bag. They then moved into an old car showroom in Brighton. "It was an open space, with two makeshift beds and our studio in the middle. We had no funding, were living on housing benefit and doing part-time jobs to try and get the business Goodone up and running. In 2006 our first customers were local boutiques. We were full of enthusiasm, and rather naïve as we really thought that our tiny business could make an impact on the huge fashion industry." (telegraph interview) When the business had been going for six months they went on a three-day course for start-ups run by the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship, inspired by this course they then moved to London to a new studio in Hackney, and won a £15000 prize which got there business properly started. "I think we won because we put everything we'd got into the business, and had big ambitions rather than wanting to remain a small creative project," (Nin Castel the telegraph)

Goodone truly began in 2006 by Pheobe and Nin the first studio was in a former slipper factory before the brand relocated to London. In 2007 the pair went on to collaborate with Noki an art brand that stand up against mass produced fashion. In the same year they also became international shipping orders to Japan and Tokyo. In 2008 Pheobe Emerson went her own way to become a human rights lawyer leaving the brand in the capable hands of Nin Castel. The same year Phoebe left Nin developed a capsule collection for ASOS and showed in London fashion week and also created a limited edition collection for the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer campaign. In 2009 the brand found their true calling using off cuts and excess fabric from the industry for their summer collection and then showing it in London fashion week again. They designed a limited edition handbag for Puma and Goodone introduced British made fabrics into the Autumn Winter 2010 collection. 2009 was an important year where the brand found this new evolution to their brand. The brand had always been an eco brand but they managed to find a specialism with in the industry. In 2010 Goodone became briefly available at Topshop.com and at the flagship Oxford Street store launching during London Fashion week. They began to start mixing sustainable fibres with the recycled fabrics they were already using. Later becoming part of the SS11 collection. They were sponsored to walk at Greece fashion week. And that year they worked on a sustainable up cycled project with Tesco re working their ends of roll fabric with off cuts from the factory floor. The brand later began to use reclaimed silks and leather and Nin was asked to teach sustainable fashion at central saint martins with her new partner Clare Farrell and the Ethical Fashion Forum asked Goodone to judge the 2011 Innovation Awards. One of the biggest things they did around this time was the one big factory project (later explained) which opened some doors for some massive collaborations. Slovenia Fashion Week invited Nin to speak at the October finale and also have a catwalk show of the SS12 collection.

Presently Good one have begun to change the way they sell their work from going from seasonal collections they decided that it would be better for them to do a tran-seasonal collection called ‘Goodone is’ getting all the best bits of they’re previous designs and selling that. This is because they decided seasonal collections was too time consuming and it didn’t allow them to focus on these big collaborations especially with the ‘one big factory’ project. They decided to slow down so that they could focus on the things that they felt made the most impact. The ‘Goodone is’ collection is available in shops and on the website and is constantly being developed and updated rather than completely renewed. Goodone also began to slow down because Nin started a family and moved to San Sebastian (spain) with her husband. However she does still work with Goodone and teaches sustainable fashion at central saint martins. They are also extremely active over twitter and face book not just marketing their own brand but really preaching the importance of sustainability (urban times interview 2015)

Collaborations with these brands like Tesco are so important not just for the brand but also what the brand stands for. Eco Fashion is something that is notoriously difficult to get people to buy because often it is expensive and can have a stigma attached with it, “The general public, however, still regards clothing made from discards with a gimlet eye, which means to woo them, style must always trump substance. Goodone has that part covered.” (ecouterre)However Goodone create clothes that are good for the environment, that can be produced for the mass market and are something that people want to wear. “The collection of clothing, made entirely from surplus jersey, factory offcuts, and other textile waste. The collection, which includes paneled body-con dresses, leggings, ands skirts, incorporates many of Goodone’s signature color-block styles” (ecouterre)

The clothes that are produced are very intelligently constructed using small panels and big colour blocks may be part of their design aesthetic but it is also a clever way of using smaller pieces of off cut fabric. And is a clever way of upcycling a garment that is just disguised as colour blocking. They want to challenge the throw away culture associated with fast fashion and make it socially acceptable to wear upcycled things. “Two decades ago there were two seasons in fashion. But advances in technology mean there can now be up to 12, explains Phoebe, who handles the more managerial side of Goodone. "It can take as little as 12 days to design an item and get it onto the shop floor," interjects Nin.” (interview with the BBC 2008) This fundamental shift means it can cost less to buy something new than to get it dry-cleaned or repaired,

Goodone have come very far with there forward thinking including some massive collaborations and winning awards for their innovation and creativity like the Trefor Campbell Award, the Small Medium Enterprise award for innovation, Nin was shortlisted for the RE:Fashion New Designer of the Year Award. They have collaborated with major organisations like Amnesty, Liberty, WWF, Greenpeace, Shelter and No Sweat, as part of a project upcycling old campaign t-shirts. In 2010 Goodone worked on a sustainable up cycled project with Tesco re working their ends of roll fabric with off cuts from the factory floor.

Nin said in an interview with the urban times that she is an upcycling brand and other brands like, Henrietta Ludgate, Aiden and Lou Lou st Cruz were all in a group together with her. She didn’t use the word competitor because in the end they all had the same goal and said ‘its all like a “commandership together” and that its extremely rare to get this in other sections of the industry. It would also suggest that with in this niche they are also her main competitors. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctts8bYxwWU)

They began a factory in Bulgaria 2010-11 that was named the ‘One Good Factory Project’, which Nin described as a very exciting project. She decided that she really wanted to step up and begin to really be one of the first designers to start truly mass producing up cycled garments. It was developed whist creating there own collections in Bulgaria and on the back of that success they began to recognise the potential for scaling up and offering similar problem solving and manufacturing support to other brands and retailers.

“For the first time we can offer affordable, mass-produced garments for designers and brands across the UK from boutique to high street. We are really excited to be able to facilitate this kind of sustainable manufacturing, particularly given the current economic and environmental climates and the challenges they represent for our industry.” –Nin Castel

It meant Specialist manufacturing for up-cycled garments that could be affordable. They could process pre and post consumer waste textiles, including washing and grading. This may come in the form of scraps, remnants and whole garments. They could provide specialist pattern cutters. And had the resources to work with a range of fabrics from woven’s to jersey, knits and sportswear. Providing Consultancy, identification of waste streams, product/design/range development. They could start Sourcing waste within current manufacturing practice. Work alongside existing design and production teams, develop products to include textile waste and Design and develop whole new ranges based around available materials. With these capabilities they can produce consistent, standardised, high quality products that in the long run could make a serious impact on not just the way designers could begin to start really considering using up cycled fabrics and designing with sustainability in mind and could be a feasible and easy thing to do but it could also have a massive impact on the environment, which was part of their mission.

What makes Goodone different and niche is their forward thinking and true passion for sustainability with in fashion. Goodones aim is not to stand apart from the mainstream fashion industry, but instead to achieve positive change from within it. “It’s evident that Goodone doesn’t believe in preaching solely to the choir, or restricting its affordability to an elite few.” (ecouterre) they have reasonable prices for anyone that want to buy it. They aim to make their clothes as accessible as possible and as well made as they can so that they are durable and even more sustainable. Researching I found no negative impacts this brand could really have. They only have pure intentions for doing the best for the planet we live on. It’s a truly inspiring brand that should be admired by bigger companies showing that mass producing, cool, wearable, well made, well designed and up cycled clothes can and should be mass produces.

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biofunmy · 5 years

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They Love Trash – The New York Times

JOSHUA TREE, Calif. — Soph Nielsen was sewing garbage onto her black T-shirt (a chicken wing, a crushed Bud Light can, a plastic fork) and struggling to attach a snarl of crusty pad thai.

“This is to get people to see the trash,” she said, her fingers slick with grease. “We don’t want to be the invisible janitors.” With her distinctive appliqués, that was unlikely.

“You’re either in or you’re out,” she added, echoing the rallying cry of a long-ago counterculture movement that involved a bus, “and it becomes a way of life.”

‘Shepherds of the “Away’’’

While there are many waste organizations dedicated to mitigating the environmental impact of such gatherings, the Trash Pirates are distinguished by their zeal and their punk aplomb.

To attendees who had dutifully separated their food scraps and recyclables and were tipping them into the appropriate bins, Mx. Mandel called out a hearty, “Yarg!” their preferred Pirate cheer.

Mx. Mandel has a policy about not working festivals where organizers are charging for water. “The decommodification of water is one of my core beliefs,” they said.

Sarah Renner, the operations and site manager for the Joshua Tree Music Festival, wrote in an email that the Trash Pirates are “the down and dirty, real as can be, heroes of the event world.”

One long thread discussed cleaning up glitter, a particular scourge of Gay Pride parades.

‘The Lost Boys’

The Trash Pirates formed six years ago when two friends, Caleb Robertson, now 26, and Kirk Kunihiro, 29, then living in the San Francisco Bay Area, wanted to go to festivals for free.

They learned their craft at Green Mary, a two-decades-old company dedicated to making events sustainable that was founded by Mary Munat, an environmental activist and former Army reservist.

He has led tours for fourth graders of recycling plants in the Bay Area; at Joshua Tree, his water bottle was a tiny blue toy recycling bin, a gift from his mother.

Ms. Munat said, “People see us going through the recycling and offer us their sandwiches. And we’re like, ‘No, it’s O.K., we’re getting paid.’”

Mx. Mandel said, “Like one amoeba we slowly devour the MOOP.”

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