How Buying Recycled Clothing Can Change the World
Sweatshops and child labor are a growing problem, particularly in clothing and textiles. No one wants to buy products made with sweatshop labor, but it is hard to know what to avoid, and where to find green and Fair Trade products.
Corporate greed and global competition to produce goods at the lowest possible price are the main reasons for the existence of sweatshops. It's much more cost-effective for corporations to subcontract their manufacturing to suppliers who produce goods cheaply by minimizing worker salaries and benefits, skimping on factory and dormitory upkeep and standards, and demanding high levels of productivity (long hours and big quotas) from their workers. Developing countries desperately need foreign investment, and therefore compete with one another to produce goods more and more cheaply, allowing US corporations to dictate their purchase prices. As reported by the business journal Fast Company in December 2003, Wal-Mart (the country's largest retailer) actually implements a corporate policy of requiring its vendors to continually seek ever-lower prices for its products. "[Wal-Mart] has a clear policy for suppliers," writes Fast Company's Charles Fishman. "On basic products that don't change, the price Wal-Mart will pay, and will charge shoppers, must drop year after year." As retailers compete with one another by seeking lowest-cost workers, they put pressure on suppliers to keep their costs down, and they encourage consumers to buy more at "discount" prices. This market for cheap goods then squeezes factory owners to pinch even more. The result is forced overtime, low wages, punishments and fines for slow work and mistakes, worker intimidation, child labor, and other abuses.
What you can do to make a difference.
Unfortunately, no overarching "sweatshop-free" label exists. Some independent monitors follow the supply chains of companies that pay a fee for that service and help facilitate follow-up correction programs for factories found to be in violation of labor standards. Because conditions can change rapidly at factories, often these companies do not go on record endorsing particular companies or factories. For some select industries, however, dedication to recycling efforts has resulted in useful Vintage labeling for a handful of products. For example, Dust Factory Vintage Recycling combats the existence of child labor in the apparel industry by recycling vintage products to re-issue back into the fashion industry. Labeling specific items with a Vintage Tag, letting consumers know that the item is eco-friendly and child-labor-free.
By purchasing products that are recycled, fairly traded, cooperatively produced, or produced in a unionized factory, you can help end sweatshop and forced child labor. Many other well-respected organizations have called boycotts to put an end to unfair labor practices, animal testing, dangerous pesticide use, and other abuses of people and resources.Whether you're protesting treatment of workers at a national retail chain or mobilizing against the construction of a waste dump in your community, a boycott can help you get the attention of your community and the company you are targeting.
Year oF The Pig
Year of the Pig - 2007 Outlook
Everybody wants to know what the coming year will bring in terms of the markets - nobody knows. There are so many variables and so many geopolitical unknowns that it becomes a sort of miraculous guessing game contemplated by many market observers. We have always stated that we do not want to participate in that game but would rather simply watch on a weekly basis as to what happens in the markets - that seems a more reasonable approach. Yet, many niggle and wiggle as to what could happen. Ok, so let's look at some esoterics and cycles - that's about all anybody has to go with on historical data aside from sheer common sense about what the short term looks like, e.g. inverted yield curves, or housing data or whatever. Honestly, we do look at some esoteric indicators ; some analysts use sun-spots, some astrology, some consumer preferences, etc. We certainly don't feel qualified to report on them regularly - let's just say - we review them and keep them in our grab-bag of possible indicators.
he Year of the Pig, 2007, is a twelve year cycle based on Chinese astrology. We quote
"This year marks the end of the cycle and is a year in which to concentrate on endings rather than beginnings. Affairs should be put in order, ready for the new cycle. There will be a decided sense of optimism in the air, with the economy taking an upswing. There should be a feel-good factor, and the Pig year is a time for conspicuous consumption, having a good time, eating, drinking, and enjoying ourselves. The leisure industry and trade in luxury goods both do well, gambling flourishes and records are broken in the world of sports"
Going back to 1899, Pig years have all been positive for the Dow Jones Industrial Average except one.
1899 : 9.2% 1911 : 0.4% 1923 : -3.3%
1935 : 38.5% 1947 : 2.2% 1959 : 16.4%
1971 : 6.1% 1983 : 20.3% 1995 : 33.5%
2007 : ??
By the way, the most striking year seems to be the Year of the Snake : 1929 : world stock market crash ; 1941 : WWII raging in full strength ; 1989 : fall of Communism in Europe ; 2001 : Tech market crash ; 2013 : ?? And we keep in mind that many esoterics hold that the 2012-2013 timeframe is the "end of time" according to the ancient Mayan calendar and will mark a rebirth in the world order and an upheaval in the global economic order. Don't cringe - I'm just reporting what we read. Another interesting fact that we have been researching for many years now and which has not been reported anywhere else, as far as I know, is the fact that many market relationships seem to evolve around the 3-6-9 vibrational characteristics based on numerology. We have been developing a chart which goes back to 1850 which will boggle the mind of any stock market and gold watcher. For example 1971 = 1+9+7+1 = 18 = 1+8 = 9. That was the year when Bretton Woods fell apart and US President Nixon went off the Gold Standard and the gold price was thrown open. Nine years later in 1980 = 1+9+8+0 = 18 = 1+ 8 = 9 it reached a high. A trine of nines. 1998 marked a market low in the commodities complex. 1998 = 1+9+9+8 = 27 = 2 + 7 = 9. From 1980 to 1998 is 18 years or 2 nines. From 1998 to 2007 is a single nine period and note that 2007 also equals 9. These are not coincidences. The open question remains whether this has any meaning in the larger cycle or is it bound to be a mid-term high or low price? Our long range cyclical gold high is to occur in 2016 which also equals 9 and note that the high of 1980 to 2016 is a delta of 36 years or 3+6 = 9 and 4 x 9 (4 cycles of nine). Numbers do have meaning. Only you can decide if this has any meaning for you.
Moving on, without observing any of these esoteric indicators our forecast for world markets is a benign to positive-tendency year. Liquidity will remain intact. The world economies remain imbalanced and fragile - as they have been for many years and yet all are intertwined. It will be interesting to hear what the upcoming World Economic Forum in Switzerland has to report on - most likely only positive spin. Just to note, China has only 1.5% of its reserves in gold whereas most countries maintain a 3% level. If China were to diversify more of its US Dollar reserves into gold, this would certainly be supportive of higher gold prices. Likewise, a number of countries, Russia, UAE, China are diversifying out of the US Dollar and this could give impetus to a further weakened US Dollar and Euro strength. With US manufacturing at only 12% of GDP it seems nearly impossible that the US could ever export its way back to a healthy and balanced economy. The Pentagon has now asked for another $100 billion for Iraq, Afghanistan and new military equipment. New accounting measures now passed in the US will make pension commitments more transparent and may reveal larger holes in company and government finances than reported previously. The follow on to the sad story of world imbalances is that the recent US election resulting in a democratic controlled Congress may now start to implement protectionist legislation against China on imports. In 2006 the Congress tabled 26 pieces of anti-China laws. If the Democratic Congress passes some of these it will signal a new low in the world economy and could trigger devastating economic dominoes and hurt egos. Strangely, the US with the most to lose is seemingly playing with economic fire. Weak manufacturing, heavy imbalanced consumption, a weakening currency and asset imbalances (housing). China won't be fooled with - they are gathering resources, moving into high technology and broadening their reach and diplomatic influence.
The trickiest picture for us is the interest rate outlook. From OEF -
In the Fed's last statement they acknowledged the economy's recent weakness, adding the word 'substantial' to the description of the cooling of the housing market over the past year and describing recent indicators as 'mixed'. However, the remainder of the statement, assessing the inflation outlook and risks was unchanged. The Fed expects that recent elevated levels of core inflation will moderate, thanks to reduced pressure from energy prices, contained inflation expectations, the lagged effect of past rate increases, and slow growth in demand. But, and it's a big but, the Fed still believes that some inflation risk remains and that additional policy firming may be needed to deal with that risk.
That suggests that the chances of a near-term rate cut are very low, and in fact, still below the chances of a near-term rate hike, which we also view as low. The latest batch of indicators support the view that the Fed need take no action for an extended period. The surge in retail sales in November, the improvement in the trade balance in October, and the calming of unemployment claims after a late-November spike suggest that the economy may be stronger than the Fed expects, and so encourage a rate hike in the near future. But the unexpectedly mild CPI inflation report for November suggests that core inflation is easing, perhaps more quickly than the Fed expects, and that makes a hike less necessary. Reduced inflation will, however, ease the way for a rate cut should one prove necessary, but if the economy is really set to post higher growth, then that is increasingly unlikely.
Despite the above, the US Fed now has a tough landscape ahead ; is the US housing market as bad as many think (full implosion) or is the soft landing now programmed in? Will energy prices remain low? What about the US Dollar? With foreign asset holders buying $3 billion USD per business day when does that stop or will it go on forever? Hint: nothing goes on forever. Do US trade sanctions against China start the downward tipping? Big things further accumulate against the US : Russia and China in the resources department, no clear military exit or diplomatic strategy in the Middle East, a suspicious world of US hegemony, a weakened currency. Empires cannot stand on military strength alone. What does the Fed do in the case of creditor nations
offloading the US Dollar - how far does it go to defend the USD with interest rate rises? What is the risk premium for the US Dollar in terms of rates? The US current accounts deficit is now over 7%. We do not see any "robust stand-alone" strength in Euroland ; Japan seems also weak. Canada would be wiped out on a hard US recession. Meanwhile money supplies by Central Banks are continuing upward - a crazy world. Even experts (economists) are totally confused : are we in a deflationary wage spiral due to globalization while in an inflationary price spiral as the Central Banks pump liquidity? That, I believe, is exactly what we are in. It will continue.
Some of the most fascinating reading I have done over the last 8 weeks has been about the squeezed and disappearing middle classes everywhere - personal bankruptcies are up, a recent study showed Europeans have now "caught" the US sickness - 2 or 3 jobs just to keep status quo - forget about saving or getting ahead. And this while taxes are raised. And the politicians in Euroland complain that we, the squeezed consumers, are not spending enough to sustain business growth and hence job security even as the bureaucrats will not reform or relax business conditions or give tax incentives. How schizophrenic and absurd and immoral.
Information Provided by : http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/buss010707.html
Dallas Trendsetting Eco Chic Boutique
Counter Culture Store in Dallas, Texas is an eco friendly boutique that brings a whole new edge to green fashion and art. “We wanted to start out by making it easily accessible to everyone, so this way our eco conscience shoppers can walk or ride their bikes if they want.” say’s founder Ricky Coburn. In order to this, they moved their shop to the only retail center in the Dallas with both a metro bus and train station. It is safe to say that at Counter Culture, location is only where their revolutionary concepts begin. After a brief look around the store, it becomes apparent that this independent Dallas shop might have a few things that they could teach the big boys.
Counter Culture is located at Mockingbird Station, in a space in that used to be Dallas’ Old Dr. Pepper Bottling Plant. The store preserved much of the raw vintage warehouse feel yet stepped it up a notch by interlacing it with recycled fixtures, light boxes, organic displays and natural plants. They call it third world surf layout, like what you may see in a beach town in the tropics, except they turn recycled materials into apparel and accessory displays. “We know that the product is what matters, with that in mind it’s amazing what you can get away with to display things on.”
The truth is, Counter Culture’s chic collection of clothing is what matters. They combine a mixture of recycled vintage clothing, re-constructed used clothing, and eco-friendly and responsible clothing brands. Half of their apparel collection is authentic vintage clothing consisting of hard to find vintage t-shirts, dresses, blazers, and a collection of Levis that would make a denim designer blush. Another 35% of the store is reconstructed vintage collections from, Particle Clothing, and Counter Culture’s in-store label CCVintage. Both these are apparel lines that use material form previously worn items. Each piece is a one of kind creation for both the fashion forward and eco conscience shopper alike. With the exception of a couple of other clothing labels uniquely sold at Counter Culture, the rest of the merchandise in the store is recycled hand bags, boots, jewelry and more. Counter Culture also features accessories and artwork from local area designers. The modern art, consistent with everything else in the store, is finished on mediums of used papers and objects.
The employees at Counter Culture are more than eager help you find the perfect look and inform you about latest styles and trends. One stop in Counter Culture and there is no wonder why Counter Culture is a secret shopping spot for a number of celebrities and musicians passing though the Dallas area.
Originally coming from a small beach town in Southern California and spending some time in both Dallas and Central America, when the founder of Counter Culture was asked why he chose Dallas for his first location instead of California or somewhere else, he said, “I thought we could pioneer something, kind of like missionaries, I wanted to go somewhere that we could make a difference.” I took note of an old event flyer in Counter Culture from a clothing drive they did for local homeless shelters, “Individuals throw away 67.9 pounds of used clothing and rags each year. Collectively, Americans discard two quadrillion pounds (that's a two with fifteen zeroes) of used clothing and textiles into the landfills each year.” With innovative shops like Counter Culture setting the pace, the concept of recycled fashion might not be that far off from leading trends in the future.
