Tag Archives: Sustainability

My Battle Against Junk Mail

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I just took steps to reduce the amount of physical junk mail that is sent to my house. Too long have these credit card offers, coupons, and catalogs crowed my small mailbox and filled me with false excitement about recieving mail.

EDIT: A loyal reader has brought it to my attention that I failed to properly attribute my inspiration for this “freedom from junk mail” action. For more than a year my boyfriend has been subtely (and not-so-subtely) suggesting that I opt-out of junk mail. He had already freed himself from the junk mail deluge, yet he continued to haul unwanted mailings on a daily basis because I was too lazy (or busy, or forgetful) to opt-out myself.

Facts about junk mail:

  • Four million tons of junk mail produced a year in the United States alone;
  • 44 percent of all junk mail goes unopened and is put into a landfill, eventually;
  • 250,000 homes could be heated from burning a single day’s worth of junk mail in the United States;
  • Dont fill out warranty cards-that is how marketers get your information;
  • Paper production (general) annually uses 28 billion gallons of water and 100 million trees a year used for paper (Source: How Stuff  Works)

How Stuff Works (a podcast and blog) has a good article about the problems of junk mail and how you can reduce the amount you recieve: How Junk Mail Works. The Today Show webpage also has information about junk mail solutions.

I went to www.optoutprescreen.com and www.dmachoice.org and entered my information to stop credit offer solicitations, magizine offers, unwanted catalogs, and coupons from filling my mailbox. (CAVEAT: Opt Out PreScreen does require a social security number, because most of the credit marketers already have it…that is how they find you. You can choose not to provide your SSN to Opt Out PreScreen, but they can’t guarantee they will be able to find your records to remove them.) 

The online forms are short and easy to fill out. I did this all over breakfast. This opt-out process does not stop mail from groups you have business with. For example, I buy stuff from REI so this opt-out won’t stop their coupons or catalogs. Nor will charities I have donated to stop sending me mail…unless I specifically write to them and request it. So, if you have a lot of catalogs from companies you buy from, you may have to contact them individually. DMA Choice provides contact information for many companies.

It will take at least 30 to 90 days for these “opt-out” requests to take effect. Until the then, if you are feeling creative, why not turn that junk mail into some art? This woman did.

From my grandma's sewing stash to mine

Reuse and Repurpose Discarded Fabrics

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When I started sewing I asked some friends where they shopped for fabric. They gave me the names of a few locally-owned fabric shops, but they also suggested Goodwill, where you can pick up previously owned sheets, curtains, and other linens for a few dollars.

WOW, they were right. I found king sheets for $5, which is more than enough for a dress or costume and a ridiculous deal when you compare a similar woven cotton fabric would be at least $7 per yard. The corset I made for halloween used fabric from one of the king sheets I bought at Goodwill. I hope to use the rest of it for a skirt for either a Renaissance or Steampunk dress. You can be Scarlett O’Hara and dress yourself in old curtains for days.

The deals can be too good sometimes and I forget that I live in a small place, where storage is at a premium. It is so easy to justify a $4 or $6 dollar bundle of fabric.

You can also take discarded clothes and redesign them. I personally have not yet tried turning an old shirt into something new, but I can see from the internet and sewing books that there are a number of options. As a woman, it is easy to take a larger men’s shirt and cut it down for a dress or tunic. Search the internet for ways to use old sweaters or old button up shirts.

By choosing to use previously used fabrics you are reducing the demand for new fabric production, which can involve a lot of unsavory chemicals in the fiber manufacturing and dying processes.

P.S. Outlet Stores: This tip is not specifically about sustainable fabrics. However, the local fabric chain that I often shop at here in Seattle (Pacific Fabrics) has one location in SODO that carries out-of-season fabrics that didn’t sell AND rolls of fabrics from the factories that make clothes for Ann Taylor, or J. Jill, and a few other clothing chains. So…if you always love the fabrics used by Ann Taylor for pants, but just can’t stomach the mass-produced clothing culture, take a look at fabric outlet stores. You might find that same fabric, at a slight discount, to make your own pants or suit.

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O’ Christmas Tree, how sustainable are your branches?

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One of my favorite Christmas sensations is opening the door to the house and being punched in the face by the smell of pine tree. It doesn’t feel like Christmas without that scent. Growing up, my family always opted for a real Christmas tree. Before my brother and I were born, it seems my parents would take the dogs into the woods and cut down a tree. Then we either picked out tree from a lot, or from a U-Cut farm. My perfect tree is a noble fir, with needles of a particular firmness and specific bluish-grayish-green hue. My parents endured many vetoes of otherwise good Christmas trees based solely on my perception of imperfect coloring.

In my current life stage, I am developing new Christmas tree traditions and expectations because my boyfriend already owned a fake Christmas tree at the time I moved in. We don’t venture out to pick a perfect tree (we carry a box from the garage to the living room).

Tree in a box

We don’t have to worry about making sure the tree trunk fits into the tree stand (the three segments consistently fit together year after year). We don’t have to trim away dense branches to make room for ornaments (we just bend the wire branches). We never forget to water the tree. But we are also never punched in the face with Christmas tree scent. I missed the Christmas tree smell so much in 2010 that I bought a centerpiece from a coworker’s kid this year.

Tree tab A goes into Tree slot B

My boyfriend purchased this artificial tree because of its alleged environmental benefits. I appreciate and understand his desire to not contribute to the yearly tree massacres. I was also under the impression artificial trees were good “eco” choices, but in contrast to many other sustainable and eco-friendly movements, the adoption of artificial Christmas trees has not been widely embraced. In fact, there are many who disagree with the environmental claims of the artificial tree industry. In keeping with my sustainable theme of 2011, I wanted to know how artificial trees compared to real trees in terms of sustainability.

Here is the truth: the majority of our artificial tree is plastic. The Nature Conservancy says that most fake trees are made with PVC. The manufacturing  and shipping [to stores] of artificial trees uses oil and energy resources. I might prefer the smell of real trees, but I feel that in order to justify the resources that went into our artificial tree, we need to continue using it for at least ten years.

On the flip side, on a drive through Oregon’s Willamette Valley I saw many large trucks loaded with freshly cut Christmas trees. I do not know their final destination, but I do know that the Rockafeller Center Christmas tree (NYC) consistently comes from Oregon or Washington (or another western forested state). Fuel was required to cut it down and disassemble some of the branches (via chain saws) and then transport it cross-country. But, perhaps that large tree is an exception. Its size requires older forests, which are found in the western states.

A recent Wall Street Journal article, interviewing a Nature Conservancy employee, emphasized that buying a LOCAL tree helps create jobs (on the farms, and in the tree lots). While the trees are growing, they serve as wildlife habitats and oxygen factories, and prevent soil erosion. This article also points out that when the time comes for the EVENTUAL disposal of the fake tree, it will end up in a landfill where the PVC won’t decompose.

A blogger for Etsy.com linked to the same WSJ article, but also noted that her family’s fake tree has been going for 25 years and is still going. I enjoyed reading the comments and seeing the range of thoughts on this topic. Many readers preferred real trees, some had reused the same fake tree for 20+ years, others noted that unfortunately some people use a fake tree for just a couple years and toss it for a newer version (canceling out any environmental benefit); one woman described her tree which they make each year from fallen branches (evergreen and deciduous) that are tied to a “trunk” and decorated. Another commenter’s family owned a tree farm, which they bought before a land developer could purchase it and convert the farm land into condos.

Another article by the Washington Post, the Green Debate on Christmas Trees, covers much of the same territory as the WSJ, but explicitly reminds readers that both sides of the debate are supported by its respective INDUSTRY. The tree farmers and the manufactures of artificial trees each have an interest in convincing buyers their option is more eco-friendly or sustainable. The arguments in this debate hinge on moderation. A real xmas tree isn not environmentally sustainable if it is shipped from Washington to New York, but if you live in Brooklyn and get it from a New York State tree farm, then you are supporting your local farms and using less gas to get it. And if you are just going to throw out that artificial tree after only a couple years because you want a taller (or shorter) one, then you have just canceled out any possible environmental benefit of your reusable tree.

Residents of the Pacific Northwest are fortunate to have large tracts of nearby farmland (and forestland) that produce ample christmas trees. Washington residents can get permits to go onto Forest Service lands and cut down their own tree. If you go to a U-Cut farm (or to the tree lot in town), make sure you are getting your tree from a local farm that uses few pesticides and few harsh fertilizer chemicals. Organic certification is hard to get, it requires time and money, but Washington has region groups like Puget Sound Fresh that offer lists of “responsible” and “sustainable” farms.

If I were in a position to make this choice today, knowing the amount of plastic and energy that went into making and transporting that fake tree from China to our local Home Depot or Target, I would probably opt for a fresh U-Cut Christmas tree, grown by local farmers and decorated with LED lights. But since we already own one, we are going to try to keep it out of the landfill as long as possible.

Artificial or real, our Christmas tree is trimmed with our memories and interests. Our tree tells our stories as individuals and a couple.

Cutesy animals and Disney characters hang side-by-side with Star Trek and Star Wars vessels…

 

 

…interspersed with souvenirs of our adventures together and surprising tokens of our relationship.

(Maybe one day we will be able to recycle our PVC tree.)

in the Galapagos Islands

I’m still haunted by the dead albatross

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This is not a literary reference.

This past weekend, I spent an enlightening day at TEDx Rainier (an independently organized TED Talk) at the University of Washington. The final speaker in the “culture/rethink” section was Chris Jordan, a photographic artist whose work left a deep mark on me. He showcased pieces from this Running the Numbers series and his Midway series.

In “Running the Numbers”, he expresses abstract numbers in real, visual terms:

The number of plastic bags used every ten seconds worldwide? 240,000 (look for the dinosaur image)

The number of tigers left in the world? 3200 (look for the black square with orange boarder)

In “Midway,” he documents the effects of our worldwide consumer (and disposable) culture has had on even the most remote locales in the world. Baby albatross are dying on the beaches of Midway Island, with stomachs filled with plastic garbage. Jordan stated that these young albatross are being fed plastic by their parents, who mistake floating garbage for food and bring it back to the nest. The plastic filled carcasses were surreal. (Even more so, having just seen my first live albatross on a trip to the Galapagos Islands–see the above photo.) Mr. Jordan’s video of a young albatross dying broke my heart. The bird lies there on the shoreline as the waves come in. It shakes a bit, the head slowly drops, curls under until it is resting awkwardly on the sands. Then it just stops moving at all.

Mr. Jordan said it very succinctly: “Earth’s alarm system is going off.” He equated this to the canary in the coal mine; the bird is already dead. It can’t be brought back to life, but the bird gave its life to warn you, so head that warning.

Running the Numbers–> View part 1 here, and part 2 here.

Midway–> View it here.

“A Dream of a Dying Albatross” is available to view here: http://vimeo.com/30915581

In addition, the trailer for the film that the “death scene” is a part of can be viewed at www.midwayfilm.com.

Please take a few moments to watch these. It is heartbreaking, but to quote Chris Jordan once more: “Don’t fear grief. Use it.”

Link

American farmers say they’re selling $4.8 billion a year in fruits and vegetables in their local markets, according to a new analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This includes the produce small farms sell at farmers markets, as well as what larger farms sell to their local grocery stores and restaurants. Go local! Read more at the link here (or click the title of the post).

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I made a knit shirt and no one got hurt

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This week I sewed my first practical article of clothing, which also happened to be my first experience sewing with knit fabric. Last winter, I picked up a yard of organic jersey fabric on a shopping trip with my mom. She offered to make me one of her knit hats and would give me the remaining fabric. (I had bought the fabric with a different shirt in mind, but never got that pattern from my mom and my itch to sew was too intense to pass up.)

It fits!

I used the Simplicity 2261 pattern, View C (minus the lace), and modified it slightly due to a lack of fabric. This pattern instructs that you cut 2 Front pieces (one will act as facing that also stabilizes the front neckline). I only had enough for one Front piece.

At this point in my sewing “career”, I still have trouble understanding ease and pattern sizes. For another pattern (a woven-cotton tunic, Simplicity 2262) I used the pattern size that matched my measurements, but the shirt ended up HUGE. I think was the flowy design of the pattern is partially responsible, but it still was at least 2 inches (on each side) too wide and made me look heavily pregnant. (Alternatively…that may end up being a useful maternity pattern one day in my future.)

For this knit shirt (Simplicity 2261), I held a storebought knit shirt up to the patterns for comparison and decided I would use the smallest pattern size (two sizes smaller than what my measurements indicated (which was STILL larger than my storebought shirt, even when seam allowance and ease  factored in. Thankfully I did not need a larger pattern size, because I had just enough fabric to cover the basics of this pattern. I should note that I also used 1/4 in. seam allowances on the side seams

Because I had no front facing, I improvised a front-neckline stabilizer based on the back-neckline pattern. Based on the pattern, this “stabilizing-trim” is stitched to the outside of the shirt, then folded over itself inside the shirt and topstitched in place. It is meant to be hidden inside the shirt, but when I was folding and pressing it down, I found that I liked how the trim looked “standing up” and it was less bulky.  I topstitched 1/4 in. from the seam to hold the raw edges in place inside the neckline. The neckline gapes and puckers in a few places, but I hope it goes unnoticed to the casual observer on the street.

A view without all the fabric wrinkles

I do not own a serger, though I can see why someone who works with knits ofter would want one. Thank goodness of the internet and sewing blogs which reassured me that I COULD sew knits with a regular sewing machines. I zig-zag stitched the raw edges of each seam allowance, and then top stitched along the side seams and hem to add support. These sewing blogs tell me that some threads are better for knits than others, and there are tricks to keeping one’s stitches from puckering. One day I’ll get there.