A recent encounter with a discarded stove allowed me to think about what could’ve been or perhaps could be in a more sustainable future – if we could build consumer goods to last, end discontinuation, or use more standardized interchangeable parts.
For the very first episode, we hear from Maura Brewer (L) & Abigail Glaum Lathbury (R), collectively known as the Rational Dress Society. They discuss Jumpsuit, their clothing production line that addresses the biggest ethical dilemmas in fashion and demonstrate that alternatives are possible. As “the open-source monogarment for everyday wear to replace all clothes in perpetuity”, it is made entirely in the U.S. in 248 sizes and available for purchase or as an open source pattern to sew yourself. They also speak frankly about how they sustain themselves and their work and finish by discussing their offshoot Make America Rational Again project and the current state of textile recycling.
Though the economy is ever-present in news and politics, we rarely examine its fundamentals – and never with nuance. In this collection of essays published over 40 years ago, Schumacher shines a light on our systems, remarkably similar then, questioning the mythologies we’ve adopted and offering alternative approaches.
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