(and everything else I do)
When I first had the idea to make shirts (and undies) I had
no notion about the amount of time I'd end up spending researching
to how make them. I already knew about screen printing and
a couple of other ways of imprinting shirts. As a general
idea it all seemed pretty simple, but all the hard decisions
were in the details.
At first I considered using digital transfers (like cafepress)
on cheap shirts and selling them inexpensively. The only
reason I thought of doing that was because I looked at some
of the shirts I had bought commercially and found that they
were really only lasting less than a year before looking
like crap. I thought that would be an acceptable standard.
Fortunately I quickly realized that I didn't want to make
crap. Just because the world is filled with such things
doesn't mean that I have to add to them.
The ideal is to make quality apparel that will last
a very long time and not perpetuate 'disposable' clothing.
So that's what I do.
One of the most important lessons I've learned from running
mushycat is that every small decision matters when it's
scaled up. The sort of waste that a weekend crafter can
get away with is not the kind of waste I can get away with
and still respect myself. And I don't want to get
away with it. I used to print out every order on paper to
help me fill it, and in the beginning that didn't seem like
alot of paper, but it quickly ended up being a few trees.
So I stopped doing that and came up with a solution that
didn't create waste. I apply that to everything I do now.
There's a clear socioeconomic and environmental responsibility
in producing and selling (and buying!) things. I think alot
of people don't realize that, or just don't care, but it
became obvious to me that I had to do everything I could
to live up to that responsibility. That involves asking
myself why I'm doing something as much as it involves
how.
- The shirts had to be high-quality and made to last
a loooooong time. I didn't want to make 'throw-away'
shirts. There's a huge amount of labor and resources that
go into just making the blank shirts, and I have to respect
that. Therefore my printing methods had to be first-rate.
- I would not use sweat-shop made products. This
is extremely important to me and it's very much a feminist
issue. Who do you think works in sweatshops? It's very
sad, but most shirt makers uses sweatshop labor. The shirt
you are wearing right now was probably made in a sweatshop.
Doesn't that bother you? You can read
more about sweatshop labor below.
- I had to make sure that the printing process I would
use would not harm the environment or me. This took
the most time to research. Fortunately, I managed to address
all my issues by only using certain materials and by creating
processes that would minimize or do away altogether with
the need for solvents or harmful chemicals while also
minimizing waste. I use a biodegradable detergent to prep
my screens and literally just a drop of low-odor, biodegradable
solvent to clean my squeegee. That's it.
- What I put on the shirts is important as well.
To me, this was already covered because I don't make any
designs that I don't think are worthwhile. Still, it's
important to keep in mind that a shirt represents the
end product of a large manufacturing cycle, and making
dumb shirts is just not respectful of that. I also have
no interest in creating a 'brand'. Brands = marketing
gimmicks = shallowness. There's nothing radical about
creating a brand.
- I wanted to try to use local suppliers as much as
possible. Having things flown over from the other
side of the country or from across the world just for
me is just incredibly wasteful. Creating relationships
with my local suppliers has been kinda fun actually.
I'm basically still just screen printing, but with lots
of twists. I also built my own equipment so that I could
use resources that I already had on hand and so that I could
have exactly what I needed.
It took a long time (more than a year) but I think it's
been worth it. And of course, I apply the same standards
to everything else I make.
sweatshops
What are sweatshops?
Sweatshops of old - When you think of sweatshops
you may think of old factories from the turn of the century,
workers toiling away, mostly women, mostly child laborers,
perhaps chained to their machines, being paid a pittance.
Maybe you remember reading about the 1911
fire in a sweatshop in NYC, where the workers were locked
into the building by their bosses and had no way to excape
the flames.
Maybe you think things like that don't
happen anymore. They do, they just don't happen in the
US very often anymore. Perhaps that's related to the fact
that most apparel
is now made overseas. US labor laws also have something
to do with it, but they don't help anyone outside the US.
Sweatshops still exist. You may come across
the definition of a sweatshop as a workplace that does not
meet minimum labor standards. That's the nice way of saying
it. Too nice, in my opinion. Minimum labor standards can
mean anything and vary from country to country. Then there's
the questionable enforcement of these standards.
Big companies go to poor, developing countries
because they can get away with things they couldn't elsewhere,
cheap labor, relaxed or functionally non-existent labor
standards, and a lack of scrutiny, all in the pursuit of
profit. It's called exploitation. Or again, the 'nice' way
of saying it, economic globalization.
Laborers in sweatshops endure:
- low wages
- unsafe working conditions
- indentured servitude
- filthy living quarters
- physical and mental abuse
- violations of sexual and reproducive rights including
forced abortions
- inadequate diets
- timed and infrequent bathroom breaks
- no healthcare
- no way out
Sometimes when you see "Made in the USA"
it really means, "made in a US territory situated in
a third-world country". Sneaky.
Sweatshops exploit women, people of color,
and the poor. Sexism, racism, and classism. 90% of sweatshop
laborers are women, making sweatshops a distinctly feminist
issue.
Workers in the US are also being exploited.
Undocumented immigrants make up the bulk of them but you
don't have to look any farther than Walmart to see that
no US workers are safe. We do have a legal system in place,
there is recourse for the most part, and generally US labor
conditions do not approach the horrid conditions in developing
countries. But that's not an assurance and for the poor
it means almost nothing at all.
The value of clothes - Clothing is
undervalued. It's seen as disposable because of the nature
of its materials, the fickle cycles of fashion, and pervasiveness
of a consumer culture intent on having the 'latest thing'.
And yet the manufacture of clothing requires highly skilled
manual labor, which *should* be highly valued, but isn't.
That's why there's always a push for cheaper and cheaper
labor overseas, to 'maximize profits' in an industry that
is built on undervalued products. It's a vicious cycle.
Clothing can last and last, it just takes
well made garments, quality embellishment methods (not ones
designed to be convenient for printers and sellers at the
expense of quality), the
proper care, and respect for all that goes into making
the clothing on your back. The people, the materials, the
planet.
Who uses sweatshops?
The usual suspects:
Don't forget that many other brands are just 'private label'
versions of clothing from these mills. And those are just
shirt brands. The list goes on and on for things like sneakers
(nike) and retailers (walmart). It's everywhere. Why? Money.
And I'm enough of a radical left-winger to also see it as
a systematic means of global oppression.
It's better to ask, "Who doesn't use sweatshop labor?".
Unfortunately there aren't many. I spend a lot of time looking
into potential suppliers. As of right now, there are only
two that I will use. For the reasons stated above, I won't
use shirts that are made outside of the US, even if they
claim to be sweatshop free. Using third-world labor to such
ends is still exploitation to my eyes, and there aren't
enough guarantees that the workers are being treated fairly.
Occasional inspections aren't enough in that case. The companies
I consider have to have a certain level of verified transparency
and accountability. Otherwise, I won't trust them.
Unforunately, my main supplier, American Apparel, has me
stressed of late. Their advertising and the mouthpiece and
owner of the the company have taken a downward turn. The
advertising is borderline sexist and the owner has been
accused of inappropriate behaviour. I'm not terribly happy
about it to put it lightly. In fact I'm pretty pissed off.
However I still consider AA as a company to be doing
the best
work out there, and they are doing it sweatshop free,
treating their workers well in an industry that seems determined
to do otherwise. We'll see what happens.
Why should I care?
If you read all that how could you possibly not?
-ken
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