Archive for the ‘Clothing’ Category
prAna like many companies makes our products all over the world. I have a unique job in that I get the opportunity to visit many of the suppliers who make our products and check on their business practices as well as working conditions. I recently returned from a trip that mixed both work and vacation in Vietnam and Cambodia. In my visit I was reminded about the need for a global commitment to sustainability and how everyone regardless of who we are needs to be a part of this commitment.
Countries like Vietnam and Cambodia are developing at a rapid rate. Buildings, roads, electricity and opportunities arrive every day to places where they didn’t exist before. And this can be done in a sustainable way or not. You may have heard before the concern “what if the entire world lived the way we do in North America or Europe”.
This really struck me on my trip. The people I saw lived in such a frugal way, homes were small, many people lived in them, people didn’t have the amount of “stuff” we seem to fill our closets and garages with. It is a more simple life, but that is dramatically changing. The opportunity to buy stuff in these developing countries is growing increasingly. There are more retail outlets for any type of product than ever before. And we are noticing it first hand, workers in the apparel industry are harder to retain in factories as there are other job opportunities in electronics factories or even retail stores that people can take.
Not only did I think about consumption as a global society, but as I was there visiting factories it is important to think about HOW things are made and the impact of our decisions. I visited two factories that I was impressed with and rivaled some of the better garment factories in the world. This is not something people think of when they think manufacturing overseas. But the dyeing factory I saw had state of the art waste water treatment, which is a requirement for sustainability. The sewing factories were well lit, clean and one even with air conditioning. With the need to retain workers, changes have been made to meets worker’s need above the legal requirements. Otherwise the factories loose talent – and brands like prAna need to see consistent quality out of our suppliers. In my visits I was reminded of the trickle down affect of decisions that we make back in the USA, selecting where our products are made and how that leads to global sustainability. There are opportunities to support companies further down the supply chain who are trying to make a difference as well.
We are all so connected, in the water, air, and land we share. And so as we live we do have to think beyond the product in our hands but the world in which it touches and what impacts that might have. Every decision we make has an effect and there is evidence in this once we leave and see what is happening on the other side of the world. Luckily globally people are aware and there are commitments to both social and environmental responsibility.
~Nicole Bassett, Director of Sustainability
Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.
We stand by our goods. But in order to truly do so, we feel that it is important to understand our goods. Recently, prAna’s Production Manager took our Customer Service team on a “field trip” to tour a few factories in Los Angeles, CA to show us how and where some of our products are made. We started the day excited just to be out of the office and doing something different, we finished the day informed, appreciative and impressed.
Previously, when I heard the word “factory” it conjured up images of industrial sized machines, automated robots and assembly lines as far as the eye could see… It turns out I’ve been watching too much Futurama. While technology has its place in manufacturing, the art of sewing hasn’t dramatically evolved since the advent of the sewing machine over 160 years ago. What struck me the most was how hands-on the process of making clothing is from start to finish. Far from automated, I couldn’t believe how many people were involved in making each garment.
We saw how the fabric itself is made. Giant spools of thread delicately fed into an intricate spider web, each strand meticulously placed so that it can be spun and knit into the material that is the foundation of our products. Different content of yarns, elasticity, tensions, and blends are mindfully chosen to make the specialty fabrics.
Armed with safety equipment and dexterity, the cutting machines are hand operated. Steady hands and diligence to detail are essential in this craft as the powerful cutters are hand guided across the fabrics. Patterns for particular styles and sizes are scrupulously laid out so that every inch of possible fabric is used, creating perfect panels and minimal waste.
Sewing machines are just a useless hunk of metal without the individuals sitting behind them. Maneuvering the fabric and thread into expertly built pieces, their skill and precision has yet to be matched or replaced by any advances in technology. Even though the sewing machines are slightly more sophisticated than the one at my grandma’s house, it’s still an actual person sewing every single garment that we make.
The dyes are personally created by a chemist/artist who measures out the non-toxic powdered colors, then mixes and matches them in beakers until the vibrant colors and perfect shades are made. Tie-dye pieces are wrapped in rubber bands, one-by-one, each piece with a unique finish. While a standard of quality is always upheld, no two garments will be perfectly identical.
Labels are hand sewn, tags are individually stickered and attached, and each piece is vigilantly wrapped to be delivered displaying the care that has gone into every single garment. My misconceptions of machines making and packing thousands of units at a time are gone.
I’ve always loved the quality of the products that prAna produces, now I have a new found appreciation for how the products actually come to life. We understand our goods. We stand by the people making them.
~Nicole Douglas, Sales Coordinator
Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.
Captain Marce holds the paddleboard flat in the water and tells me to “hop right on” while I look at her sideways, skeptically. We are anchored far away from the shore of Whidbey Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington. It’s April, the water is choppy and I’m wearing only yoga pants, a light jacket and a personal flotation device. Shouldn’t I have a wetsuit on at the very least?
I have no idea how to stand-up paddleboard, but I know it’s the newest recreational activity to hit the rivers of Montana, so I’m determined to learn while on “flat” water. The added bonus of having a crew trained in life-saving and first aid technique nearby does not escape me. I crouch down on the boat’s dive platform and place my knees on the shaky board. There is no way I am going to go from kneeling to standing without falling into the water, but Captain Marce pushes me away from the Wilderness Discoverer anyway.
I watch with a sinking feeling as the boat goes from 10 feet to 50 feet away.
Eventually, I realize that I have a paddle in my hands and I start using it while kneeling, getting used to the feel of the waves and the board while moving through the water of Puget Sound. After a few minutes I think I might even be ready to stand up. I crouch with my feet hip-width apart in the middle of the board and slowly start unfolding upward. I’m standing up, barely. At least I’m not in the water yet. I’m shaking enough that I can see the board moving below my feet. Balance is not coming as quickly or easily as I would have hoped. I just keep the paddle in the water.
About the time I start feeling comfortable paddleboarding, I look up and realize that I’m pretty far away from the boat and I haven’t figured out how to steer. What would have been a quick five-minute trip back to the dive platform takes me more than thirty minutes. As I come into the dive platform, Captain Marce grabs a hold of the board to stabilize it and I jump off. I can’t believe I’m still dry!
In Montana, where I’m from, I spend a lot of time with adrenaline sports such as skiing and kayaking. I might be outdoors, but the whole point is sometimes going as hard and fast as possible. Paddleboarding is completely different. There is a quiet, controlled aspect of it that I had not expected. The second day of our cruise in the San Juans, I pushed off at sunrise on the board. I was the only person out this morning and the bay was as smooth as glass. I could see Mt. Baker in the water as I dipped my paddle in its reflection. Every movement I made was slow and contemplative. It reminded me more of yoga than of surfing or kayaking. A few silent hours with only the sound of the paddle moving the water is a meditation.
The Wilderness Discoverer is now in Alaska and Captain Marce is teaching more neophytes how to paddleboard in waters far colder than those in Puget Sound. I wonder if anyone is out at dawn on their own first paddleboarding excursion, only to find an orca or humpback whale cresting nearby in the glassy waters of Windham Bay. I hope so.
~Kassi Miller, Adventure Life
Adventure Life provides authentic adventure travel to our world’s legendary locations. Combining award-winning operating standards with exceptional itineraries, our trips are carefully designed to experience the best of the region, while allowing flexibility for the unexpected and unpredictable that make each trip unique. For more info visit adventure-life.com and facebook.com/adventurelife.
This customer story was just too good not to Share…
Good morning…
In 2002, I purchased my first pair of prAna nylon climbing pants. At that time, I used them primarily for climbing, and they kept my legs abrasion-free on the notoriously coarse granite of Joshua Tree and other Southern California crags.
The following year I moved to Bolivia, and the pants went with me. As one of two pairs of pants I packed, they were an almost constant fixture on my lower hemisphere, riding my legs on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu as well as on mountaineering excursions throughout the Bolivian Andes, bushwhacks in the thorny desolation of the Gran Chaco desert, and slogs through the humid bugginess of the Amazon Basin.
Upon my return to the U.S., they were the only pair of pants in my bag for a 30-state trek across North America in which I hiked, camped, climbed and biked my way across the continent. They served me well even when I was rooted, having taken up irreplaceable residence in my outdoor kit for climbing excursions from Utah’s Snow Canyon to the Gunks and beyond.
In 2007 I returned to South America, and my prAna pants joined me for adventures ranging from urban pub crawls to Andean circuits in Argentine and Chilean Patagonia to a wild solo excursion in the rugged Martial Mountains of Tierra del Fuego.
Since my return to the U.S., my pants have stayed with me through similar adventures. I have replaced the Velcro closures on the fly twice and done some minor stitch-work where seams have come apart. Beyond that and a pair of tiny holes from exploding campfire embers, the pants are in fine condition and I am fairly convinced that they are immortal. Alas, while I have purchased (and loved) other prAna pants, I do not know if you continue to make a pair of nylon pants that would duplicate (or even approximate) the bulletproof pair of which I have sung praise on hill and dale.
Can you help me? I have enclosed a photo of the pants. The only identifying information on the label is the word Breathe and the code RN92382. And if they are indeed obsolete, I assure you that this pair is not, and they live on for further adventures. Kudos!
Sincerely,
Tod Imperato
Nearly a decade and the Zions are still looking awesome! How’s that for “Value”? Not only are we going to help Tod find some more “bulletproof” pants but we are going to hook him up with an autographed Chris Sharma poster and some very cool prAna swag! Thanks for supporting us on your global travels…
Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.
Chris Sharma is hanging out at prAna today to work on new fall designs and shoot product videos. He took a break with his gal, Daila to enjoy Jim Thornburg’s Climbing photography book called Stone Mountains. A gorgeous photo essay of Jim’s epic shots from the last 2 decades – a must see! If you missed Chris’s visit to Vital Climbing Gym yesterday, then stay tuned because we have a very special treat from Chris coming in August!
Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.
SlowMoney is a new economic vision. An emerging network of investors, donors, and farmers committed to building local food economies…
Thousands of Americans have begun affirming a new direction for the food system and the economy. It’s called Slow Money. Inspired by the vision of Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing As If Food, Farms and Fertility Mattered, published in 2009, the Slow Money Alliance is bringing people together around a new conversation about money that is too fast, about finance that is disconnected from people and place, about how we can begin fixing our economy from the ground up, starting with food.
“Combine poisonous factory-farm tomatoes with disgraced investment banker Bernard Madoff. Throw in a stock market disaster. You get a public spooked by the dangers of industrial food production and investors wary of risky business. This may be the recipe for a Slow Money revolution.” ~David Gutnick, CBC
Slow Money is bringing people together around a shared vision about what it means to be an investor in the 21st Century:
It starts with the soil.
The soil teaches us that we must put back as much as we take out to ensure long term health and a strong, secure, restorative economy. Life in the soil is all about diversity and regeneration, a large number of small organisms working together in a healthy system. When we erode our soil, we erode our social capital, we erode community.
Entrepreneurs are the seeds.
In contrast to far-flung multi-national corporations and financial institutions that are too large to understand, small food enterprises are comprehensible. We live near them. We can connect to them directly. Their entrepreneurs are our fellow community members. They create jobs, promote cultural, ecological and economic diversity, and build robust local food systems.
Investors are the water.
Money can erode. Or money can nurture. Millions of us, slowing just a little of our money down, can begin to create the nurture capital industry—as important to the next generation as venture capital has been to this generation. Looking at philanthropy and investment through the lens of food, soil and place, we will find new ways to rebuild trust and to support millions of small acts of entrepreneurial care.
Saving farmland, supporting a new generation of small and mid-size organic farmers, rebuilding local and regional food processing and distribution, improving nutrition and otherwise remedying the imbalances of a food system that is too consolidated, too global and too industrial—where will the money come from? From Wall Street? From philanthropy? From government programs? From consumers?
One thing is certain: a new generation of entrepreneurs is starting to rebuild local food systems and the capital available to them is insufficient. If we want this capital to start flowing today, this year, this decade, if we share the belief that we don’t have another generation to wait for “them” to figure it out or be pushed in this direction by disruption or collapse, then we have to roll up our sleeves, sink our hands into the soil of the economy and start planting.
The Slow Money Alliance is a national network and a family of local networks, organized around:
The Slow Money Principles: New ways of thinking about the relationship between food, money and soil;
Regional Events: Slow Money Institutes, local discussion groups and entrepreneur showcases organized by Slow Money chapters;
National Gatherings: Annual events that bring together investors, donors, entrepreneurs, activists and farmers from around the country and the world; and,
Financial Products and Services: Incubating new vehicles to make it easier for individuals of all economic backgrounds to participate, including The Soil Trust, Slow Municipal Bonds and a Kiva-style platform.
~Andre Walker, Interactive Media
For more information on Slow Money and how you can participate visit slowmoney.org
Breath, life, vitality of the spirit.
