Halfway There

As I near the mid-point to what is intended to be a one year experiment, I’ve found myself re-visiting what it is I’m trying to accomplish and what makes this exercise different than others I’ve been inspired by.

The Localism and Organic movements are really remarkable and I love what they do in support of local economies and entrepreneurs. I’ve found myself along similar tracks with these efforts, and love that it has some of the same effects, but I do need to remember that this is not necessarily my underlying goal. In my attempts to be conscious of the things I would typically buy, and then follow those production lines back, I’ve found myself needing to make substitutions and compromises just to survive. I would be very excited about getting in to a factory that manufactures parts for Apple computers, or Converse sneakers, or furniture for that matter, but international companies like these don’t seem to have the avenues for this type of inquiry. And so I’ve been tracking those that have the infrastructure set up to support it–mainly local and/or socially-sustainable companies whose physical locations and organizing ideologies make them accessible.

American Apparel in Los Angeles is the first international manufacturer of it’s size I’ve made connections with (Makers Mark, Seventh Generation and Toms of Maine have global distribution but on a smaller scale) and I’m hoping as momentum builds I’ll have opportunities to continue exploring these types of mass-produced commodities, just as I continue to meet ambitious local artisans.