Thursday Open Thread 11-16-2017


As time passes and I get crankier, I am less willing to wrap myself in petroleum products throughout the day and night. The worlds favorite clothing items continues to be jeans, the universal cotton clothing item. Winter has arrived, along with wool, alpaca and mohair scarves, hats and gloves.

Maybe our clothing purchases are another economic choice to effect global politics.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuuPDonTbz4]
Natural fibers and cloth is produced by individuals to large corporations and is still an important part of many local economies around the globe.

Timeline of man-made fibers shows petroleum based fibers have been in use less than 100 years. Large commercial companies dominate production and manufacture.

Microfibers released during the normal laundry process are a growing pollution problem.

Breaking a plastic bottle into millions of fibrous bits of plastic might prove to be worse than doing nothing at all.

Rochman said she can’t yet explain why fish in the US are filled with microfibers. She speculates that washing machines are less pervasive in Indonesia and synthetic, high performance fabrics, such as fleece, which are known to shed a lot of fibers, are not as common in Indonesia.

Donating clothing our minimally used is not a simple solution to benefit others.

Spinning technology was the catalyst that sparked the industrial revolution, weaving punch card technology the computer age, the invention of polymers and high tech fabrics have enhanced mankind’s physical performance on this earth and beyond. Since time immemorial textiles have remade our world, repeatedly revolutionising society. Our over consumption of clothing is now impacting the earth’s ecology,

People want to do the right thing, as is indicated by the large volume of used clothes donated through clothing bins rather than just thrown out. In reality, they are providing free stock to multi-million dollar businesses which then on-sell the majority of this clothing to poor second-hand clothing traders on foreign shores. The issue is so significant that in 2016 a block of East African Government’s proposed a ban on the importation of second-hand clothes, but a counter move from powerful US rag traders to have trade agreements rescinded to enable the continued dumping of waste clothing on those less fortunate looks far from benign.

Farm Report
First snow of the season. Gone within a couple hours.
soe first snow.jpg

Forgot to carry the camera the rest of the week. So a couple of old shots. Some hand dyed locks.
soe Locks_0.JPG
Lamb from a few springs ago. Favorite game, King of the hill or rock.
soe lambs.jpg

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is proving to be a far reaching and multi-dimensional problem. Environmentally and in economies around the world, overconsumption is incredibly damaging. We all know this but it is helpful to reiterate it, so thank you.

I know I am as wasteful with my clothing purchases as are many Americans. Part of the problem is that we find that we need an item NOW, and so we have to go and buy it. If we could think ahead a bit we might make better choices by modifying something we already have, or by borrowing something. Additionally, it is often cheaper to buy an item of clothing than it is to make it. I know for a fact that if I knit a sweater with good quality wool yarn it will be more expensive (and time consuming) to make that sweater than to buy one.

I just bought a new dog bed and a mat for the dog. If I had been thinking ahead I could have made those things myself with extra fabrics I have that I am preparing to donate to one of those clothing bins you describe above. I know there are how-to videos that show how to knit or crochet strips of fabric to make mats and rugs and pads for chairs.

I am going to have to adopt your crankiness. Being thoughtless about all this is only going to hurt the planet and other people. Even though it often takes more time, effort, and energy to use what I already have, I just have to dig in my heels and stop with the overconsumption. If everyone does this, it would help.

Chris Hedges was just talking about consumerism in this country. He noted how after WWI, the advertising industry changed the tendency towards frugality to one of consumption. We have been going down that path and wreaking havoc ever since.

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studentofearth's picture

@randtntx Depends on the fashion needs but here are a few of my practices.
1) Pet beds - old cotton/polyester pillow cases from mu supply or the thrift store, stuffed with old folded cotton towels or washed wool fibers (I have a large supply). Pets puke, pee and shed need something that can be washed without too much work and non-toxic. Can be folded to fit a chair or placed on the floor.

2) Traveling with only 1 suite case is a good way to learn how to create multiple outfits using a few basic cloths and accessories.

3) If a knitter take a look at Plymouth yarns. The few years I owned a yarn shop, Plymouth had better quality natural yarns than any other company and for significantly less cost. The family owned business has long standing ties with producers.

Higher cost, but fun - attend a local fiber market. Will be amazed at the creative energy.

4) During my working years didn't have the time for sewing and cloth had become more expensive than ready made. Bought a lot of natural clothes at 2nd hand store because they showed less wear, were repairable and looked expensive. As you mentioned it is being conscious of our choices. Sometime buying new is the right choice, we just try not to let it be the default choice.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

mhagle's picture

@studentofearth

We have 3 big dogs and 3 little dogs who all sleep in our room at night. Some cats too! The dog beds you buy in the store look cool but don't wash worth a darn. Currently I am using 3 old mattress covers that I fold up and throw on the floor. Your pillow case beds would be more comfy. Smile

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

mhagle's picture

@randtntx
Wendy Tremayne on Consumerism.
[video:https://youtu.be/9t10W4FxRnI]

Jim Hansen on Superstorms.
[video:https://youtu.be/JP-cRqCQRc8]

So the ice melt is dumping cold fresh water into the ocean which is already impacting the gulf stream, potentially shutting it down. If/when this happens it will not come back for hundreds of years. The absence of these currents will create superstorms of a magnitude we have not seen.

Present day superstorms surely have an affect on shipping. If anyone sees documentation on how this year's hurricanes impacted shipping, I'd like to see it. Read somewhere that cruise ships just changed their routes.

http://www.resilience.org/stories/2017-11-08/uncharted-territory/ This article is about how the barges carrying shipping containers run on the dirtiest fossil fuel available yet there are no regulations for these polluters. However the sentence that really caught my eye in the article was:

About 90 percent of everything we buy will travel on ships like these at some point.

I draw the following conclusion. Superstorms will shut down ocean shipping, so we will have to start making things and growing food, etc. The U.S. is particularly vulnerable with the loss of manufacturing and the take-over of Big Ag.

The questions are, how much and how soon? Jim Hansen says the ice melt is non-linear and could go quickly. You know how it is as you grow older and one day realize you have collected a bunch of crap? At this point in time, I am not so sure that is a bad thing.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Lookout's picture

yeah, right.

I'm a fan of second-hand stores. I'm not much of a shopper (other than my weekly trade day - which is really as much a social as shopping occasion). The local goodwill is kinda the upper-class used store (shirts or pants $3-5), but there's Attic Treasures second-hand stores where shirts, pants, coats, are $1 each. I've bought nice things at both stores. In fact I have on a (now stained and well used)shirt with monogrammed cuffs (at one time a fancy business shirt I bet). I'm also wearing a $1 pair of used jeans. You don't have to participate in the normal capitalist system if you look around.

That said I need to fess up that I often use the Amazon monster for all kinds of items which I can't find local, or are only available at the Wall-Mart. However, especially with books, I buy used items from them as well.

I've never been one for synthetic fibers. Here in the south cotton is king. I also like wool clothing this time of year...especially socks (which are locally made for the most part). At one time the town where I taught was the "Sock Capital of the World"
http://blog.al.com/huntsville-times-business/2011/04/the_decline_of_the_...

One of my grown students re-opened a mill to produce sustainable socks made with naturally colored organic cotton. They are not cheap, but we've bought some to support her effort.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/fashion/sock-business-alabama.html

So like you, I promote natural, local, and sustainable products when I can. Producing your own food, building your own projects, and being as self-sufficient as possible helps weaken the capitalist strangle hold on our society. We do what we can.....

All the best!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

studentofearth's picture

@Lookout Thanks for the inspiring story of a local business and new generation still trying. Zanco and Little River Sock Mill

So many people have no idea what high quality natural products feel next to the skin. Poor fitting and nonbreathable socks can lead to foot discomfort, which leads to pain, then to pain meds and then to side effects.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

mhagle's picture

Wow. That is much worse than I realized. And I also was unaware of the process of selling used clothing in Africa. And some assholes enrich themselves?!? So when I take used clothing to Salvation Army or Family Services it goes to the rich??

Sad

Though your pictures of snow, lamb, and locks are wonderful.

Learned a significant gardening thing this week. My neighbor gave me an onion set catalog. The whole thing was dedicated to everything onion like. Here is their website: http://www.dixondalefarms.com/

I learned that different varieties of onions need different daylight. There are short day onions, intermediate day onions, and long day onions. I have been planting long day onions. I just plant what they sell at Tractor Supply or Atwoods. No wonder my onions never get very large.

Been thinking a lot about growing plants that do well in my area, but not in a traditional sense at all. In my part of Texas at least, stores do not try to sell the plants and seeds that thrive in this area. Vegetable gardening expectations among gardeners are very low, so it probably does not impact sales.

Will say more on this later if I can. Time to drive a kid to piano lessons. Smile

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

studentofearth's picture

@mhagle His video was very informative. Thirteen leaves is the magic number for onions. Just had an Open Thread Monday discussing the special properties of 13.

Had planned on growing onions this next season ans was going to do some research before plant buying season. Thanks for the head start.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

enhydra lutris's picture

@studentofearth
your comment made me go there and learn a ton. Things aren't auspicious for my onions, it appears, but I'll stick with them all the same.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

mhagle's picture

@enhydra lutris @studentofearth

I had not watched the videos yet. Wow. Very informative.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

enhydra lutris's picture

@mhagle

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

gulfgal98's picture

for your always informative posts every week. While I do not comment often, I really look forward to reading your Thursday OT's. I learn so much from them and today was no exception.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

studentofearth's picture

@gulfgal98 The feedback, links and video in the comments are much more interesting than simply talking to myself. Been busy jumping around the internet all morning (still morning here.)

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

riverlover's picture

into rugs. Braided, coiled. Very short. One of my concussions made me acquisitive, unlike before. I buy cheap from China. Cottons. Must stop. Now am investing in thermal socks. Cold feet, always. Whatever I buy is age-appropriate for a crone, not a teen.

I discovered microfiber cloths and now use them instead of paper towels. That may need a re-thinking. Shit paper is maybe better than cheap cotton or microfiber. BTW, where are we in eliminating microbeads from products?

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

studentofearth's picture

@riverlover Most of the state implementation dates are January 1, 2018.

Cold feet - don't forget leg warmers. Can also be a sign of low blood pressure and thyroid, both which can contribute to memory problems. But, I am sure your doctors checked in one of your visits.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

from being frugal and resourceful to being wastefully consumer oriented.... In Chris Hedges' show 'On Contact', he notes that the advertisement industry grew out of the effort to sell WWl to the public. Wilson needed the propaganda techniques to convince people to support the war. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_0vrFwaT2Y
Hat tip to J. Shikspack/news/blues roundup

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studentofearth's picture

@randtntx years to bypass a persons ability to engage critical thinking about their world and break apart whole society into small, controllable identity groups.

The action of separating emotional response from reason response has distorted our use of reason. It now lacks the fluidity between emotions, rhetoric and critical thinking in analyzing and addressing our societal problems.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

enhydra lutris's picture

@randtntx
fringes of that problem as a growing number of people are beginning to indulge in repairing and repurposing stuff. The impetus is in part driven by products that make this easier and quicker, especially for the less skilled, and which can be applied to the little things in life, small stuff, as it were. Two that come to mind are SUGRU and BONDIC. They also let you create solutions to things that obviate the necessity to go and buy some solution. Gear ties too can be used to create stuff that you don't have to buy, especially on a temporary basis. For example, one or more appropriate sized gear ties and a 1/4 x 20 bolt allow one to create those all purpose flexible camera mounts, on the spot, which you can keep as a permanent piece of gear, or assemble and dissasemble as needed, using the tie for other things in the meantime.
The problem, of course, is that those things are prtial solutions, because you have to buy the Sugru, Bondic or Gear Ties, but it is more like buying lumber and nails than ready made shelving units.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

studentofearth's picture

@enhydra lutris easy to get out of the whats new loop
Sugru video by seejanedrill intrigued me. Started watching her channel to improve a few skills required for some projects tackled the past couple of years.

Bondic works like welding without the heat. Interesting option for a couple of projects I have in mind where heat is an issue. Wonder if it gets brittle when cold?

Gear ties a handy solution and more attractive than covered wire, string and rope. Been on the farm too long I use hay bale wire and twine for a lot of quick fixes.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

by this morning, because I missed all these fantastic comments and links yesterday. All the information you all gave is much appreciated.

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