Entrance Slip Class 3: Common Threads

I enjoyed reading the excerpt this week, as it gave me a lot to reflect on! Some of the bigger 'stops' for me:

• "What we make, how we make it, and where the materials come from": I was just chatting to a friend today about reusable "ziploc" baggies and how her perspective was that processing the materials gone into making them were no less damaging than processing normal disposable bags. It's an interesting thought, because even as many clothing manufacturers or furniture companies will brag, just because something is assembled or fabricated 'by hand' in Canada, does not mean they didn't use overseas, large-scale factories to process all the materials before putting the final piece together. If this is a reflection you want to have, it's important to consider the practices of which companies tend to be less transparent.
• "Support production as well as consumption": nobody is saying to stop enjoying new clothes, or new jewelry, or new furniture. But it is important to notice where we are able to support our local infrastructure, whether by supporting small local creators/artists, or by supporting the processing of local materials and resources. It's a beautiful and grounding thing to have a home decorated with pieces of the land (without excess damage).
• "The empowerment of being able to opt out of the consumer paradigm, even for one small thing": I agree with the author that this boosts self-esteem. Even collecting homegrown vegetables, I recognize the beauty of not having to depend on the cost of that tomato at the grocery store, and what that signifies in a bigger sense (no import costs/transportation costs/labour costs). And by 'cost', it is so much more than a dollar amount - what about the cost to the climate, the wellbeing and equitable treatment of employees, etc.?

Watching the crafting videos was also super interesting! I think being someone who plays/played with hairstyles a lot throughout my life, I am super keen to get back into braiding with string, and with rope! I've always been curious how different textures can affect the process of rope making. I remember making so many of those string bracelets at summer camp when I was little. Again, it was such a flattering gift when someone would make a bracelet for you - you knew the thought and time and sore thumbs that went into it.