Yvon Chouinard on Treehugger

two things that inspire me, and have continued to shape Interwoven Threads: Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard and Treehugger.

check out this interview with Treehugger Radio. audio or text available.

what does leading the "examined life" look like to you? to your consumption?

fashion and culture

just posted some thoughts and great links on fashion and its influence and representation of culture over at WoolardSpeak. check it.

Final 2007 shirt drop!

thanks to an amazing holiday sales blitz and an already-busy 2008, i had a lot of shirts to donate to reStart today. the best part of the donation was meeting a couple of the kiddos in their adolescent program who would get the shirts. these kids happened to be hanging around when i arrived, so they got first pick. many of the folks at reStart were excited to see the "green ones" appear. they've been wearing the blue and brown designs for the most part. after much prodding during the holiday photo shoot Rebecca and i did, i decided to print an extra run of the "green ones" for the final donation of 2007. thanks to the artist, sethy g.

we took these photos today, of two kids who were surely psyched to get some new threads. the boy pictured summed up the entire purpose of Interwoven Threads when one of the reStart employees said, "Do you want a T-shirt?" and he said, "Can I choose my own size?" that's the point, folks. so this little dude picked up a XL, as it was the style he was used to wearing and the style his friends wear. he threw the shirt on over his shirt immediately and began pointing out the make and models of the cars pictured. then, they were both excited to go tell the other kids there were new shirts downstairs.

both he and the girl pictured, who will move on from reStart within the month more than likely, got to pick the sizes they wanted and got a fresh piece of clothing none of their peers at school have ever seen! it's that type of reaction and those types of realizations that should make those of you who buy Interwoven proud. this is what we're trying to do. these reactions sum up "success" better than any QuickBooks balance sheet in my opinion.

i thank reStart for letting me use these photos to show all of you where your donations end up. and most of all, i thank those of you who have made Interwoven Threads part of your wardrobe. we are changing a little corner of our world.

i'm working out some new details for 2008's spring and summer shirts. the designs are done and a few (3!) new collaborations could launch late spring, so please stay tuned for new ways to do better with your purchases.

justin marable, inside the artist's studio

the man responsible for the interwoven threads homepage background and soon-to-be shirt collaborator, Justin Marable, is nicely profiled in the blog Designojek, which ironically is written by Dave Gnojek, a fella with whom i attended jr. high. small world, this kansas is. check out the pictures, and hit up Justin's website for more.

The LifeStraw

my friend Rebecca and i were having lunch awhile back and she mentioned the LifeStraw as something very relevant to the children she works with through her non-profit, HALO. we thought about adding an element to Interwoven Threads that would allow for the purchase of these amazing water-purifying straws through a collaboration between Interwoven and HALO. i was reminded of the LifeStraw last week while reading the EnviroMedia blog. thought it was high time to raise a bit of awareness for the invention TIME Magazine called the "best invention of 2005." i agree.

hit up the EnviroMedia blog for some great facts on water quality and shortage throughout our world.

how green is your candidate

Outside Magazine and Grist remind us to do a little fact checking on our candidates, as Super Tuesday hits. i'm looking forward to caucusing in Kansas tonight, and though i know my candidate, this link helps define all candidates green positioning.

another bit of green thought: Green Marketing Manifesto author John Grant gives a stunning and hopefully empowering recap of green in 2007.