sustainabisexual

[sustainabisexual]

It’s an open secret in fashion. Unsold inventory goes to the incinerator; excess handbags are slashed so they can’t be resold; perfectly usable products are sent to the landfill to avoid discounts and flash sales. The European Union wants to put an end to these unsustainable practices. On Monday, [December 4, 2023], it banned the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear.

“It is time to end the model of ‘take, make, dispose’ that is so harmful to our planet, our health and our economy,” MEP Alessandra Moretti said in a statement. “Banning the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear will contribute to a shift in the way fast fashion manufacturers produce their goods.”

This comes as part of a broader push to tighten sustainable fashion legislation, with new policies around ecodesign, greenwashing and textile waste phasing in over the next few years. The ban on destroying unsold goods will be among the longer lead times: large businesses have two years to comply, and SMEs have been granted up to six years. It’s not yet clear on whether the ban applies to companies headquartered in the EU, or any that operate there, as well as how this ban might impact regions outside of Europe.

For many, this is a welcome decision that indirectly tackles the controversial topics of overproduction and degrowth. Policymakers may not be directly telling brands to produce less, or placing limits on how many units they can make each year, but they are penalising those overproducing, which is a step in the right direction, says Eco-Age sustainability consultant Philippa Grogan. “This has been a dirty secret of the fashion industry for so long. The ban won’t end overproduction on its own, but hopefully it will compel brands to be better organised, more responsible and less greedy.”

Clarifications to come

There are some kinks to iron out, says Scott Lipinski, CEO of Fashion Council Germany and the European Fashion Alliance (EFA). The EFA is calling on the EU to clarify what it means by both “unsold goods” and “destruction”. Unsold goods, to the EFA, mean they are fit for consumption or sale (excluding counterfeits, samples or prototypes)...

The question of what happens to these unsold goods if they are not destroyed is yet to be answered. “Will they be shipped around the world? Will they be reused as deadstock or shredded and downcycled? Will outlet stores have an abundance of stock to sell?” asks Grogan.

Large companies will also have to disclose how many unsold consumer products they discard each year and why, a rule the EU is hoping will curb overproduction and destruction...

Could this shift supply chains?

For Dio Kurazawa, founder of sustainable fashion consultancy The Bear Scouts, this is an opportunity for brands to increase supply chain agility and wean themselves off the wholesale model so many rely on. “This is the time to get behind innovations like pre-order and on-demand manufacturing,” he says. “It’s a chance for brands to play with AI to understand the future of forecasting. Technology can help brands be more intentional with what they make, so they have less unsold goods in the first place.”

Grogan is equally optimistic about what this could mean for sustainable fashion in general. “It’s great to see that this is more ambitious than the EU’s original proposal and that it specifically calls out textiles. It demonstrates a willingness from policymakers to create a more robust system,” she says. “Banning the destruction of unsold goods might make brands rethink their production models and possibly better forecast their collections.”

One of the outstanding questions is over enforcement. Time and again, brands have used the lack of supply chain transparency in fashion as an excuse for bad behaviour. Part of the challenge with the EU’s new ban will be proving that brands are destroying unsold goods, not to mention how they’re doing it and to what extent, says Kurazawa. “Someone obviously knows what is happening and where, but will the EU?”"

-via British Vogue, December 7, 2023

[sustainabisexual]

Calling All Queer Muslims!

Story time: I joined this tumblr in fall 2017. I had just reconciled being Muslim and queer and I heard that this site was hella gay. A few months in I met some other queer Muslims and we became quick friends. Someone (The person who eventually became my spouse, @skeletonymous ) made a group chat in WhatsApp for all of us and we supported one another. We had virtual movie nights, we encouraged each other to keep up with prayer and fasting. And for Muslims, especially queer ones, that don’t have a lot of irl support, this really made an impact.

I want to bring this back. There are still plenty of queer muslims on this hellsite that don’t have the support, love, and friendship they need and that needs to change.

So if you’re Muslim and queer and are looking for people like you to become friends with, hit me up. And share the shit out of this y’all.

Sn: @skeletonymous edited this cause I never know wtf I’m doing or how to talk lol

#muslim #queer muslim #muslim and queer #trans muslim

[sustainabisexual]

“As global warming intensifies droughts, floods and wildfires, Mr. Smith has become one of a growing number of ranchers, scientists and other “beaver believers” who see the creatures not only as helpers, but as furry weapons of climate resilience.

Last year, when Nevada suffered one of the worst droughts on record, beaver pools kept his cattle with enough water. When rains came strangely hard and fast, the vast network of dams slowed a torrent of water raging down the mountain, protecting his hay crop. And with the beavers’ help, creeks have widened into wetlands that run through the sagebrush desert, cleaning water, birthing new meadows and creating a buffer against wildfires.

True, beavers can be complicated partners. They’re wild, swimming rodents the size of basset hounds with an obsession for building dams. When conflicts arise, and they probably will, you can’t talk it out.

Beavers flood roads, fields, timber forests and other areas that people want dry. They fell trees without a thought as to whether humans would prefer them standing. In response to complaints, the federal government killed almost 25,000 beavers last year.

But beavers also store lots of water for free, which is increasingly crucial in the parched West. And they don’t just help with drought. Their engineering subdues torrential floods from heavy rains or snowmelt by slowing water. It reduces erosion and recharges groundwater. And the wetlands beavers create may have the extra benefit of stashing carbon out of the atmosphere.

In addition to all that, the rodents do environmental double duty, because they also tackle another crisis unleashed by humans: rampant biodiversity loss. Their wetlands are increasingly recognized for creating habitat for myriad species, from salmon to sage grouse.

…

Instead of killing beavers, the federal government should be embracing them as an important component of federal climate adaptation, according to two scientists who study beavers and hydrology, Chris Jordan of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, and Emily Fairfax of California State University Channel Islands.

“It may seem trite to say that beavers are a key part of a national climate action plan, but the reality is that they are a force of 15-40 million highly skilled environmental engineers,” Dr. Jordan and Dr. Fairfax wrote this year in a perspective article in the research journal WIREs Water.

Dr. Fairfax’s recent research focuses on how beaver complexes interact with wildfires. For now, her findings indicate, they are too wet to burn. But as climate change makes wildfires more intense, she said, that could change.

“We cannot afford to work against them any longer,” she and Dr. Jordan wrote. “We need to work with them.”

…

“Mr. Smith’s father got so angry at beavers in part because the sides of their dams would fail during the rush of the spring snow melt, sending damaging sediment onto his hayfields. But the younger Mr. Smith decided to try a different approach to cattle management, moving them around his land and letting them spend less time around the creeks. That allowed shrubs and trees to grow in along the banks, making the whole area more stable. Eventually, if the beaver dams did give way, they would do so at the center, and the surge of water would stay in the channel.

Over time, beavers expanded the wetlands. New meadows grew in. Willows sprout from beaver dams, having taken root where the animals anchored them. The water runs clear. Fish and frogs have returned.

“Now the only time we get crossways with beaver is if they start building dams in our irrigation ditches,” Mr. Smith said. “But we’ve learned ways to discourage them from doing that.” Pulling out the dams a couple of times usually does the trick, he added.

Part of what has made the partnership successful is Mr. Smith’s flexibility. For example, beavers have completely rerouted one section of creek. But Mr. Smith doesn’t see the change as good or bad, “just different.” The most important thing, he said, is how much water they’re storing on the land.

Now more than ever, he said, “water is liquid gold.”

[sustainabisexual]

Spotlight by Vern

[sustainabisexual]

my kitty cat was wandering around going ‘mrrph?” so i was like “in here!” he goes “mrrph!” shoves open my bedroom door with his big round head and FLOPS on me. as in hard enough that he made a little “oof” noise when he did it. followed by a category five purring event. there’s good in this world mr frodo etc

[sustainabisexual]

#micorrhizae #mycology #wood wide web

[sustainabisexual]

Anxiety is not activism.

[sustainabisexual]

America is a settler nation state and nothing good is ever going to come of it.. If we feel safe its incidental and also false, its an illusion. The idea of resolution or good by america is a pretense. Any comfort brought about during the course of the settler nation state is a pretense. The settler nation state could only do right by dissolving and decomposing into the earth it occupies.

[sustainabisexual]

I was looking at resources on food gardening– particularly regarding planting dates since I'm trying to figure out what I want to sow for fall and winter harvests, and I found this cool document from Washington State University that goes into a lot of specifics, though I haven't gone through it completely yet

Right now I'm grabbed by this chart on page four that goes into the difference in quality of your home grown stuff vs. supermarket stuff.

As a gardening and hobby biologist I love growing plants but also gardening in itself isn't radical (too individualized still and folks including other leftists overestimate how much food their gardens will cover of their food needs) and for it to be radical it growing food would have to be on the level of communities and society itself (which where I am would mean Land Back and restoring the food forests), BUT it is fun and satisfying to know when we're able to grow stuff ourselves it ends up being better that what you could find at a Fred Meyer for a lot of things.

I also know the reason the things there aren't as good are because of the logistics of making sure the food is able to ship well and stay fresh and not rot in the shelves, which is why when something is able to grow nearby we're able to pursue more unique stuff that wouldn't be easily shippable.

It's also an easy-to-access planting chart as well!

Other things I see right now are different types of garden and guides to root depths (which helps with intercropping).

[sustainabisexual]

I did that job once.

#literally me talking to anyone in a work context

[sustainabisexual]

#💜💜💜💜💜💜💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

[sustainabisexual]

Today is the first day over 30 degrees Celsius in Germany. Time for small changes on my account. There is a little story behind almost every one of my photos. I will try to describe them briefly if possible. Last year, like every year, I propagated many plants with cuttings. I don't write anything down, I don't make name tags! This year I had these 7 little seedlings from last year but didn't know what it was. I planted them in spring and they grew well. But only 14 days ago I realized what it was! "Dipsacus fullonum" is the scientific name. Versatile, the root is often used as a medicine. Handsome in the garden and a feast for the eyes when dried indoors. I wish you a great weekend!

[sustainabisexual]

Here’s the original thread from Twitter but I want all my followers protesting the recent supreme court decision to stay safe. 

[Image description: A screenshot of a tweet from Rh3t0ric (@avglibsoc) that says ‘In lieu of Roe V Wade being overturned, I’m going to compile a thread of any protest advice I can find’ followed by an infographic illustrating the following:

PROTESTING SAFELY

What to Wear:

-Nondescript, solid color clothing; cover identifying tattoos.

-Goggles & mask

-Heat resistant gloves

-Emergency Contacts written down

-Tie your hair up

What to bring:

-Water for drinking & tear gas

-Snacks

-Cash/change & ID

-Bandages & First Aid supplies

-Washcloth

-Earplugs

-Protest signs

DON’T BRING:

-Cell phone without first turning off Face/Touch ID, going into airplane mode, and disabling data

-Jewelry

-Anything you don’t want to be arrested with

-Contact lenses

/end image description]

[sustainabisexual]

For US friends, there are bulk pregnancy tests that you can buy for really good prices.

I prefer Pregmate, but Easy@Home is also a good brand. Pregmate has quantities ranging from 25-100, with 100 being for $20.95.

I recommend testing every 3-4 weeks or so, but every 3 weeks will ensure you catch any pregnancy early enough. You can print cycle tracking sheets that will help you monitor your cycles and learn what is regular for you so you’ll know when to test.

[sustainabisexual]

Cat litter can be an antidote to climate change, researchers say

MIT professor Desirée Plata, in red, and doctoral student Rebecca Brenneis say their team’s findings have the potential to greatly reduce the amount of methane in the atmosphere.

[sustainabisexual]

Agricultural fields in Brazil photographed from the International Space Center in February 2011. (Source)

[sustainabisexual]

Algae Read about its potential to be used to create hydrogen here.