Are they? I’m guessing that unless you live in China or Indonesia, the majority of your very small wardrobe is not made in your hometown, or home-country.
“In 1965, 95% of our clothes were made in America. Today 97% are made overseas, often by garment workers laboring long hours in terrible conditions for little pay.” – New Urban Habitat
Don’t worry, you aren’t breaking any Project333 fashion rules. I just took a peek in my closet and found clothing from China, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Italy. I didn’t look at every piece, but I can almost guess that there isn’t one piece made in America. I can assure you that nothing I wear today is handmade. That makes me sad.
I think that donating clothing we don’t use, and wearing only 33 pieces makes Project 333 a project in living with less and a project about sustainability. We are spending less, buying less, and truly becoming aware of what we need, and don’t need to live a meaningful life.
Indiviually, and collaboratively, we are making real change in the world.
Rebecca Burgess
Meet another world changer. Rebecca Burgess is the creator of the Fibershed Challenge. “My one year challenge is to live in clothes that are solely farmed, created, treated, and colored all within 150 miles of my front door,”
I know the first two thoughts that just crossed your mind.
- Wow, that’s cool.
- I hope Courtney doesn’t think she should incorporate that into the Project 333 rules.
Let me quickly respond before you panic. Yes it is and no I won’t.
While it wouldn’t even cross my mind to take on the Fibershed Challenge, even though I admire the mission, I do think we can learn from the message and take a step in the right direction. So now, you might be wondering, “How do I change my wardrobe when I’ve already picked my 33 items?” (drumroll please)
Local Love
This is a bonus, bonus rule. I just made it up, inspired by this article, and the great comments. You have been in the first or second phase of Project 333 for almost a month. There might be an item you wish you didn’t include in your collection. If there is, you have my blessing to swap it out for something else. Whoa, come back from your tiny closet, and read the rest of the rules. This bonus is called “Local Love” not “Unconditional Love”.
Here are the 3 conditions…
- The item you add to your collection must come from Etsy Local. (and preferably be made and sold within 150 miles of your front door)
- Share your new item description or image through a comment on this blog, a post on the facebook page or flickr page.
- Donate the item it replaces.
Even if you are not fully committed to dressing with only 33 items, see what’s available on Etsy Local. Living with less is cool. Buying local is smart and supporting artists is an honor.
I can’t wait to hear if you decide to take on the “One Love” bonus bonus rule. In the meantime, check out: A Year of Dressing Locally and Fibershed for additional inspiration. Thank you so much to Dan Goodwin for sharing the original article with me and continuing to inspire my creativity. I wrote a review about Dan’s book. If you want to be more focused creatively, check it out.
What an awesome idea to incorporate into Project 333! I loved that Fibershed project, thanks so much for sharing it.
Thanks Lynn, I think it will be interesting to see what people buy locally to add to their collection. I am looking for a really great green jersey-ish material scarf.
Thanks to your post and a recent post at OneDressProtest, I finally contacted a local yarn manufacturer here and inquired about knitting classes to brush up on my skills. I just signed up for a February class on gauging. I love to knit, but I’m not very good at it.
I just recently discovered (even though I’ve lived here nearly 8 years) that we have a local company that raises sheep and mills its own yarn, apparently they supply to stores all over the country, but they are located less than 15 miles from my home – win!
So excited for my February class and I’d like to improve my skills so that I only wear sweaters/scarves/knit items made by my own hands with local materials.
Katie, I love that. Please stay in touch and let me know how that goes. I can knit a scarf with fat yarn and fat needles but that is it!
A very interesting twist to the challenge. I haven’t felt like my wardrobe is lacking this time, but it’s still a new rule to consider. I never thought of buying clothes on Etsy, I usually use it to find jewelry. We have a fair trade clothing store here in town, called Fair Trade Indigo, and they have beautiful things at reasonable prices. I made it a goal to shop there first when I need something new.
This is such an important topic. A couple of years ago I wanted a new purse, and I made up my mind that I would find one that wasn’t made in China. Suffice to say, I made do with my old purse for a VERY long time. I also tried for a while to only buy new clothing not made in China and it was not easy.
Now I’m just not buying ANYTHING new. Problem solved! 🙂
I think this is a great mini-mission and new rule. I’ll try it, if not for this current season then for the next. I’ve also been thinking it would be grand to have more home-made clothes to incorporate into the wardrobe. Now I only have a scarf, hat, mittens and woolly socks to count for, but those would definitely be counted local 🙂
I was walking around town last week when I came upon an interesting shop. On the bottom were racks of clothes and when I looked up I saw three people sewing. I asked the clerk if the clothes were made there. I was told they were.
Plus if I have a shirt or pants that I love they duplicate them or tailor any thing. Being 5 foot and wearing clothes that generally don’t fit is common. So this shop is a great find. It is a bit pricey but the quality looks and feels great, it will be worth it.