The Naked Truth

So, I make these skirts out of recycled t-shirts. The t-shirts come mostly from free boxes and Goodwill Industries. I used to feel pretty good about this until a heard a woman named LaDonna Redmond, a community food security activist working on Chicago’s west side. I listened to her speak about food and how it all started with her son's food allergies and lead to a profound way of thinking about the actual source of our food in America. She thinks big and sees the system as a whole. She has a task for each of us. Know your food!

I started thinking more about what I already know and realized I didn't know enough. Where do our clothes come from? The material we put on our bodies every day has to have come from somewhere. What about those 100% cotton T's I have been in and around all of my life? I often think about the history of cotton plantations in the U.S. and how close this issue is with Slavery. I think about the labels inside of my clothes telling the brand and where it was made. Thank goodness for labels. Who had the brilliant idea of putting the location of the sewing factory/assembly on the tag? Where did the material come from? How was it colored and with what? Turns out a lot of the cotton we wear contains surprising levels of toxins, including trace amounts of DDT and formaldehyde. (http://activism101.ning.com/profiles/blogs/toxic-textiles-complete-video) Gotta keep the bugs out of the cotton! Who knew it was so yummy. As usual, I'm thinking the illness caused by the DDT and the neurotoxins in the clothing is a trade off for inexpensive clothes. Who suffers? The workers. The land in India's Cotton Belt.

So, here's the question, why does clothing need to be so cheap? Because fashion changes? Because people just have to sell stuff. The selling and buying actually needs to remain constant in order to keep the employment rate up. I don't know about you, but I have been functioning under the impression that the more I spend and where makes a difference on the economy. If I spend money, I have more power. Where my voice in politics feels like a tiny voice calling out in the wilderness, my money can give me an instant "say". My choices make me the individual most prized in American culture. So, my clothing choices show outwardly that I have a "say", that I can change things for the better. The more up to date my clothes are, the more power I have. The more popular I am, the more "say" I have . With this in mind, I am not against throwing out the old and brining in the new. But wait. I just bought new clothes six months ago. What's wrong with my jeans, now?

Is nudity the great equalizer? Hmm. I think not. But simplicity might be. More next time.