Environmental Consciousness in Wimbledon Cluster: the way forward

In looking back on the way in which the Kottonree Green project was run in 2010, there are very many ways in which it could be improved:

1) It could have been 'advertised'/marketed more aggressively and more creatively; involve the HK's of the green portfolio of each of the constituents of the cluster, but don't leave it there. See if you could also achieve the buy in of various other committees (i.e. first years, second years) However, always be aware of the fact that you should promote the project in a way that has very little, if any, impact on the environment. Otherwise, you are defeating the purpose.

2) You could also maybe expand the marketing of the project to the broader community of the university but also that of Stellenbosch. Do cool things (arrange installations) on campus which attract students outside of the cluster's attention. Also, contact die Eikestadnuus, Die Matie etc. How about die Matie-dagboek??

3) Maybe arrange more than two 'drop off' dates (at the Hospice) for the year?

4) You could possibly win more 'buy in' from the various constituents of the cluster by asking Corne or myself to speak at the 1st house meeting of the year.

5) How about letting the T-shirts that are given to/sold to the first years communicate something about the project?

6) Make the following option available to the girls residences/PSO: Corne could go and exhibit her clothes/ various fashion items at their damesdag/damestee?

7) Give the message of the project a prominent voice during CLUSTER DAY.

8)  How about renting a stall at the organic market that takes place every Saturday (at the Oude Libertas)? You could let the members of the community know that Wimbledon has a stall there. Not to SELL anything but to promote the project via flyers and the stall itself, hand out 'green tips' and to serve as a point at which old clothes could be collected. People should be made aware that they could bring there old clothes to the stall for it to be recycled.

9) There are lots of space within the Kottonree concept to also make people aware of people with disabilities' needs. See the Kottonree website for more detail on this. Corne also collaborates with Huis Horison, a institute in Stellenbosch for people with mental disabilities:

http://www.kottonree.org/
http://www.kottongrafik.org/

10) And the project needs a proper name! I'm not entirely convinced that 'green project' will suffice?
These are just a few ideas! I'll come and post more if I think of anything.

Facebook can help

Please see all of the already existent stuff on the Wimbledon Cluster Page. I would recommend anyone who fulfills the position of cluster convenor to get to know how the administration of such a page works. It could be a very effective tool when trying to communicate.

Wimbledon Cluster Page

green fashion quotes

These quotes were taken out of Corne Edwards' thesis on green fashion. It could be useful for doing presentations about the topic/project at house meetings etc.

 “The key difference between organic cotton and conventional cotton is that the chemical pesticides, insecticides and herbicides that are used to control pests, weeds and soil quality during the cultivation of convention cotton, are banned during the cultivation of organic cotton”. (Black 2008:110‐116)

“American Apparel claims to be the largest T‐shirt manufacturer in America. Being true to their sustainable practices, all their workers are given bicycles, bus passes and yoga classes, and their clothing are used from materials locally grown and they recycle all scraps. All the manufacturing, from sewing, to zips, are all produced in the same building, making their practice very sustainable.” 

“Fran Abrahams and James Athill (Guardian Journalist) tracked a pair of Lee Cooper Jean sold in the UK. (A pair of Lee Cooper Jeans can be bought for R1500‐R2000 At The Waterfront, Cape Town.) They found that a global journey of80,000 miles route by land and sea makes this very brand very un‐sustainable. The label could have said Tunisia, Italy, Germany, France, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Turkey, Japan, Korea, Namibia, Benin, Australia and Hungary. All these countries named above were involved in the production process in some way. To give a brief description: The denim fabric came from Italy, the finishing took place in a Tunisian factory, where the workers stone wash the color from the jeans for the fashionable worn faded look, using pumice stone from Turkey. The cotton fiber for the fabric was grown in Benin, West Africa; sent to Italy for weaving and dyeing; back to Tunisia for cutting and sewing. The cotton fabric for the jean pockets came from a different source in Pakistan or Korea. The cottoncovered polyester sewing thread has also travelled from Northern Ireland, as well as in Hungary and Turkey. The polyester and zip tape came from Japan, butthe tape was manufactured in France, and the brass teeth were also made in Japan. Lastly adding to the carbon footprint is the important signature metal buttons made in Germany from raw materials supplied in Namibia and Australia. (Black 2008:158)” 

“American Apparel also does not broadcast their new ranges through fashion catwalks/shows. Fashion shows can leave enormous carbon footprints behind.For example, a case study showed that the transportation and accommodationfor buyers and exhibitors, to attend the Hong Kong Fashion week, left 49, 000,000 pounds of carbon behind. Which is the equivalent for over 1, 200average Americans living their lives for 365 days. This figure excludes thecarbon footprint for the production of the clothing. (King 2008:n.p)” 

“Is the big green wave only the large‐scale brainwashing of consumers? Not only are shoppers persuaded by eco‐friendly window displays, but consumers are also made to believe that buying soy‐based underwear will in some way save the planet. The true benefits from buying 100% organic rather than 50% soy clothing can be both confusing and very misleading. (Wilson 2007: 1)”

 “No clothing item can be completely eco‐friendly. Barneys, a New York based high –end retailer is an example of a corporation using green marketing to benefit from consumers concerns for the environment. In 2007, they celebrated a ‘Green Christmas’ with their ‘green’ holiday window displays. (Figure 13) They also branded their seasonal catalogue: ‘Have a Green Holiday’, printed in a 93 full color page spread, with adhesive binding, and soybean‐based inks. (Figure 14) In the catalogue they advertised a Goyard canvas shopping bag for a mere $1,065, with a gold triangular recycle symbol printed in gold, on it. (Figure 15) (Hirst 2005:n.pag)”

New beginnings: the Kottonree Green Project

So, the detail about the Kottonree Green project, as it was approached in 2010, is as follows:

(These pictures are examples of the garments that form part of the Kottonree line; they're from the Kottongrafik website: www.kottongrafik.org)

• The idea for the project came from Corne Edwards' honors thesis. She received her degree from the University of Stellenbosch in 2009. She used to be in one of the residences in the Wimbledon cluster.
  
• The thesis was about whether organic cotton really is a more viable and sustainable option when compared with 'plainly' manufactured cotton. The finding of the research was that producing organic cotton and buying products made from organic cotton is not a significantly more sustainable outcome. If we were to invest in sustainable/green fashion, we should seriously consider using previously/already manufactured materials and textiles for the clothes we wear.
  
• The goal of the project within Wimbledon cluster was to make people aware of this fact (the unsustainable nature of the fashion industry) and to provide them with ideas of how old/used textiles may be revamped into fashion items etc. This could also get the following message across: when people talk about environmental consciousness, the general tendency is to think about recycling paper, glass, electricity etc. This project could broaden people in the cluster's perception of 'environmental consciousness' and could help them think about all of the different ways in which an individual could reduce his/her carbon footprint.
  
• This year (2010) it was decided by the convenor and the various HK's for green issues, that old clothes were to be collected from the res and PSO members during the 2nd and 4th quarters of the year.
  
• It was also decided that people should be given ample time to bring clothes. We decided that the 'drop off point' in each res/PSO HK house should be clearly communicated as well as the times during which they could go and drop their clothes off.
  
• On the 31st of July, the first 'batch' of clothes was dropped off at the Stellenbosch Hospice. By giving the old clothes to the hospice the project could a) help the Kottonree brand, as the designer buys the materials from there; b) increase the revenues of the Hospice shop which in turns help financially less privileged people in the community; c) increase 'green' awareness amongst students.
  
• This 'drop off' event was attended by a representative of each of the groups in the cluster (with the exception of Aristea, who's representative couldn't make it) as well as Corne Edwards from Kottonree.
  
• Both the Eikestad Nuus and Die Matie reported about this event.
  
  

Wimbledon Green Project

Wimbledon Cluster launched its green consciousness project in 2010. This project feeds off the idea behind the Kottonree fashion lable: recycle cotton and other textiles.

See the link for detail on Kottonree.

Kottonree Green Fashion Project

Eerste kwartaal van die termyn

1) Stel 'n databasis op met al die kontakdetail van die onderskeie HK's in die kluster

2) Maak solank mailing lists vir die mense wat jy gereeld sal moet kontak: die verteenwoordigers van elk van die koshuise/PSO's op die klusterbestuur; die HK-lede van kultuur; HK-lede van groen/ekosorg/omgewingsbewussyn; HK-lede wat verantwoordelik is vir akademie (NB); hoofmentors (NB); die ander sameroepers; die koordineerders.

3) Drink baie tee met die koordineerder

4) Begin brainstorm vir klusterdag! Betrek soveel as moontlik mense.

5) Reel 'n sosiale skakeling vir al die HK-lede en nooi ook moontlik die hoofmentors

6) Kry die slides en reelings vir die klustergesprek reg; werk in hierdie verband nou saam met die vorige klustersameroeper

30 seconds

Ons sou selfs foto's kon opplak.

Wimbledon Klusterdag, 2010, Eendrag Quad

Preface

Hi Mariaan, Risna en Ilse

Hierdie is tot op hede die beste plan waarmee ek vorendag kon kom om in die volgende veelledige doel te slaag:

1) Om 'n virtuele spasie te vestig waarin die sameroeper van ons kluster deur die jaar kennis wat sy/hy insamel kan opteken.
2) Ek wou ook gehad het dat hierdie 'kennis' in verskillende vorme in hierdie bogenoemde spasie gestoor sou kon word: multi-media, foto's, teks etc.
3) Dit is belangrik dat hierdie spasie as 'n platform kan dien wat 'n mens op enige tyd op enige plek kan bereik.
4) Die sameroeper behoort hierdie spasie ook as 'n 'bron' van vorige sameroepers se kennis te kan benut, sonder dat dit veel moeite verg.

So, kom ons kyk of hierdie blog werk. Dit kan ook dien as 'n manier waardeur oud-sameroepers met Wimbledon in kontak kan bly. Ek kan byvoorbeeld deur die jaar kommentaar lewer op Mariaan se inskrywings.

Tot my volgende post!