{eco lifestyle} junkyard planet: accessible + robust resources

“The paradox of life lies exactly in this: its resources are finite, but it itself is endless. Such a contradictory state of affairs is feasible only because the resources accessible to life can be used over and over again.”

— I.I. Gitelson

textiles are a robust resource meant to be used again + again {gently used bedding + towels can be donated, and pre-loved clothes can be sold, traded or donated}. 

in the u.s. consumers recycle or donate only 15% of their unwanted clothing to charities {with the rest ending up in landfills}. the average american tosses 80 pounds {36 kilograms} of textile waste each year. every year.  that's 13 million tons of clothing. 

over the years, i've learned of inventive + thoughtful ways textiles {including shoes} can be transformed: 

paint it black:

following the assassination of president kennedy in 1963, jacqueline kennedy sent bill cunningham, fashion writer, photographer + milliner, her red balenciaga suit which she had previously purchased at chez ninon to dye black. she wore this suit to the funeral. 

art imitates life:

american graffiti artist jean-michel basquiat used his then-girlfriend's newly thrifted gold lame jacket as canvas. she recounts the story of waking up the following day to find her new coat painted over. all is fair in love and art.

a changed man:

a co-worker's grandfather took out his grandmother on their first date, and at the time he only owned one pair of shoes, so he dyed his shoes a different color each time they had a new date, rotating the colors to change the look + style of his outfits. the rest is history. 

eight is enough:

a friend who is one of eight siblings comes from a modest background; her mother recycled her satin, ivory wedding dress by cutting + sewing the white fabric into petite frocks for each of her brothers + sisters to wear in church at their christenings.

hidden treasures:

both in america + europe there are lots of wonderful thrift shops + consignment shops to buy pre-loved clothes + accessories and to sell/donate clothes that are no longer wanted or needed. crossroads + buffalo exchange are good places to start if you're stateside. chine machine + chercheminippes are great places in paris. craiglist is the place to sell household textiles in the usa, and boincoin is the place to do it in france. this is a great way to give pre-loved items a new life.

caring for your clothes extends their life. both new and vintage items sometimes need a little tlc: if you don't sew, find a local tailor {or take a class if you're truly inspired!}. i love to sew, and i enjoy the relationship i have with my clothes which involves simple fixes + mending {cutting loose threads + snipping off pills is also part of keeping clothes in good condition}. simple fixes might also include:

1/ securing + replacing buttons

2/ mending loose hems

3/ sewing small tears + pinholes

4/ replacing stretched-out elastic + bringing in over-sized pieces {i save these tasks for tailors}

before donating apparel, author + slow fashion activist elizabeth cline shares useful tips on how to properly donate clothes. 

the less we purchase, the less to discard + the fewer textiles we need to organize into piles to donate. before you make your next purchase, here's a great video from erin at my green closet, sharing 5 simple factors to consider to reduce consumption + to help you decide whether you truly need to make that purchase.

{don't forget the tip} each and every one of the pieces pictured here today - all are vintage + secondhand piece - have been cared for via alterations + mending. my capsule wardrobe takes summer pieces into the winter months: transition warm-weather apparel to fall + winter by layering! on warm weather days i'll pop summer dresses + skirts on with sandals + a jean jacket, and as autumn settles upon us, i'll layer the same pieces under a jean jacket or faux leather moto jacket {sometimes both} + add black stockings/tights and my animal-friendly kicks including wedges. sneakers and booties.

until next time, stay green dear hearts!

{header image by a. demt}

{eco boutique} the rescued collection: an eco, online thrift shop

the propensity to rescue dates back as far as my mind can reach. and not just defenseless animals. dusty, old books? i want them; i'll read them all. antique furniture left in the alley next to my flat? guess who's coming home with me tonight? clothes that no one else wants? i'll dust them off + wear them or reconstruct them. i see value in almost everything.

there's a little online eco boutique called bead + reel that you may already know about {i wrote about it previously here on finny + dill, singing high praises for this woman-founded + woman-run retail shop: that's right, it's entirely run by one fierce woman}, but did you know that owner sica schmitz has created an online resale shop that sells only vegan + ethically made wares? sica also won the sustainable business council's small business award this year. here's what the animal activist, shrewd eco entrepreneur + one of my fave everyday heroes had to say about acknowledging women's accomplishments + why size doesn't matter:

before we hear words of wisdom from sica, a woman with a powerful will, i wanted to take a moment to introduce you to her fantastic new online second-hand shop that she has incorporated on bead + reel, her fab retail website. this is no ordinary collection of pre-loved clothes. the rescued collection is made up of eco, ethical + vegan wares only. which means you can purchase gently used + like new apparel, footwear + accessories from some of the best sustainable fashion labels for a fraction of the original price. 

“the average american throws out 70 pounds of textiles each year, according to the council for textile recycling.”

and it's so very easy. just drop the free shipping label into your cart, press send; within 24 hours you'll receive the ups label which you can print from home, then ta da! send your package via post, then receive a payment via paypal or keep the credit to purchase a shiny new bauble or that new set of strappy heels you've been eyeing. trust me, this is a great way to save money on eco items you'd like to invest in or to save your garments from the belly of the whale: and my that i mean the landfill. 

and now sica speaketh the truth. sica talks size, and why it doesn't matter: it was very intimidating to enter this competition as a one-person, $100,000 business competing in the same category as $1 million companies with teams of employees. there is a vast difference in resources and capabilities, and i am well aware of that. but for a small sole proprietorship to win means that any individual has the power to build their own business and to start creating their own unique impacts. don't wait until you're "big enough" to change the world; you, yourself, are capable of it right now.

as a woman whose company honors the earth by stocking only products that are made with respect to our natural resources, to people + to animals, i loved what she had to say about the importance of trees:

one of my friends asked how much money came with this award, and i had to laugh. this award offers only recognition, and a tree. a beautiful "giving tree" - a ming aralia, and it was probably the most meaningful award i could have received. my father used to give away thousands of trees every year to my hometown community - little douglas fir seedlings, free to anyone who would love them. his friends and clients and strangers would plant their jace trees - named in his honor - on their properties, and some people had decades worth of jace trees growing at their homes. he died 5 years ago, so he never got to see bead + reel or the tree that i won this week. however, his jace trees live on, a beautiful and constant reminder that our impact on the world doesn't end when we leave this earth. so give trees, and plant trees, and live the kind of life that continues to grow, even after you are gone.

and finally, sica reminds us why female leadership matters: 

bead + reel is an entirely woman-founded, women-owned, woman-run business, and it is only in acknowledging more women's accomplishments that we can start to shift towards a reality where there are as many large companies run by men as by women.

thank you to sica for her work as a pioneering entrepreneur  + a rockin' role model. 

{don't forget the tip} when i first learned that people across the world dispose of used clothing, i was completely discombobulated. the average american throws out 70 pounds of textiles each year, according to the council for textile recycling. that just won't do. there are many options for recycling your gently-worn apparel + footwear. don't send those gently used items to the landfills, instead give them new life by donating them or selling them. now get ready to shop small. want to know what other options exist for redirecting the destiny of those perfectly wearable clothes in your closet? check out this post at litterless. 

{eco apparel: wearing organic cotton top by groceries apparel + fair trade jeans by monkee genes; find your own fair trade treasures at bead + reel}

until next time, stay green dear hearts!

{simple pleasures} shakespeare + co. cafe: afternoon delights

“Thou art alive still while thy book doth live 

and we have wits to read and praise to give.”

— Ben Johnson

shakespeare + co. cafe: this quaint cafe has a substantial vegetarian + vegan menu. i popped in with a friend + we enjoyed fresh smoothies, flavorful chai pudding + lots of sunshine. if you're looking for a perfect little bagel sandwich, this is the place to be. recently restored, with the original stone walls + tile floors, it's a charming place to read + relax, work + happily while away the hours. oh, and all the dusty books your heart could desire are to be found next door at shakespeare + co. indie book shop.

{eco mode: wearing organic cotton tank, made in new york by miakoda, fair trade cotton maxi skirt from kaight with vintage earrings + reading one of my fave magazines laika}