Going Local

We live in a world where truly local products have become a rare breed, but following after the example of designer Natalie Chanin, my suggestion for change this week is to become sustainable within the local community.

In Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, Kate Fletcher promotes localism because of the opportunity it provides for major change, limited editions, fibre grown closer to production sites, and design distinctiveness. Producing locally also provides us “with an occasion to produce and consume based on more sustainable models that recognize natural limits and the importance of reliable work to strong and resilient communities, while affirming the central role fashion and textiles plays in our culture.”

Bradley Quinn writes about Chanin’s impact on sustainability in Textile Futures. Chanin is known for introducing “ethical standards to the production process, refusing to produce her garments under sweatshop conditions,” and for guaranteeing every garment is produced by hand and by local women from her Alabaman community. Not only does Chanin focus on local sustainability, she also incorporates environmental sustainability by using recycled T-shirts as the base material for her designs.

An article written by Annie Buckley and published on craftzine.com covers Chanin’s unique business. The company is said to be based on a “cottage industry model” where the locals “essentially own their own business and set their own hours.” Chanin is responsible for the designing and sales but allows the local women she employs to sew the garments to choose the designs they want to make. After the sewers choose the design they are going to make they then purchase the materials needed to make the design from Chanin and at the end sell the finished good back.

I think that going local is logical. If designers offered their designs to be sold to local “factories” where sewers could choose what designs they wanted to make, use local goods and then sell the finished product back to the designer but to be sold locally or regionally it would cut down on shipment and packaging costs, provide more people with job opportunities, and provide customers with more one of a kind pieces. Obviously guidelines would need to be implemented, deadlines would have to be set, and the quality of the work would have to be monitored but by producing things locally and with local materials people would have more appreciation for the goods they create and purchase.

Going local also implements Industrial Ecology principles. The first principle that backs up the idea to go local is “don’t draw down resources.” This principle is explained with the example that a predator cannot completely eliminate its prey in one area and expect to survive. I think that by going local it would allow diversification to the crops planted and could reduce the crops planted in one area. Instead of all of the crops coming from one farm in one state, locals would be able to grow their own, or at least purchase the crops needed from a location closer their production site. The second principle that backs up the local production sites is the suggestion to “shop locally.” According to the article this step is almost always ignored completely. By producing goods locally the community is more likely to be aware of the goods and the people producing the goods and more willing to spend their money to support them. Shopping locally keeps transportation close to home. It also challenges consumers to educate themselves on the processes being used, the materials being used, and the benefits that occur from shopping locally.

We hear of projects in third world countries trying to provide jobs for local women so that they can provide for their communities and in turn their families thus making their economy sustainable. Just because we have the resources to produce off-site does not mean that we should. We should be smart with our resources and do our best to implement sustainable ways of life.