Eco Trash Couture
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My Label Dress, Photo Harry Glazier
In this fifth and final post of this series I give some ideas about what YOU CAN DO to reduce the environmental and social impacts of the clothing you wear.
To recap my series, the first blog post, explained how through preparing new work for ECO FASHION WEEK, I took a deep dive into the environmental and social impacts of our clothing. The second post explored the world of fast fashion. My third post used the journey of a simple T-Shirt to see how the clothing industry is the second most polluting industry in the world after oil. The forth blog post shared my experience creating the ECO FASHION WEEK collection/performance piece that led to this blog series.
AN EASY 5 POINT PLAN TO GREEN YOUR WARDROBE
1. STOP buying new clothes!
I know this may seem kind of radical and maybe very difficult, but do you really NEED that new shirt or pair of shoes? If you count how many pieces of clothing you currently have in your closet and drawers, you will see that you could live for a long time without adding anything new to your wardrobe. Americans purchase an average of one new piece of clothing a week 1. If you fit into this average category but my solution feels farfetched, then at least try to reduce how much you buy. Here are some ways to do this:
- Wait a week before making any new purchase
- Clothing moratorium – try not buying new clothes for 1 or 2 weeks, or even 3 months
- Avoid the sale racks – most sale racks are designed to convince us to purchase something we don’t need
- Set a monthly spending limit – pick a low number and stick to it
When you do purchase new clothing try to:
- Support sustainable practices (for example organic cotton) and fair trade organizations. Check out these resources for environmental and ethical clothing:
– Project Just
– The Fashion Transparency Index 2016 [PDF]
– Remake
– KnowTheChain.org
– FairTradeUSA.org
– GoodGuide.com
- Buy durable and well made items that you know will last and avoid fast fashion
- Support local and small scale designers whose designs are locally made, meaning less environmental impact from shipping items halfway around the world to hang in your closet. Many small-scale designers are more ethical in their choices about fabrics, manufacturing, and worker’s rights. However, it is a good thing to investigate before assuming…
2. Repair what you already own
The idea of darning a sock feels as antiquated as the horse and buggy, but across the globe the art of repairing our clothing and other possessions is making a comeback. Fix-It-Fairs take place throughout the Portland area where I live. You can bring all kinds of items to these community events and citizens with sewing machines, tool kits and the “know-how” will fix your stuff.
Photo: Ace Armstrong
If you don’t have a fix-it-fair in your area or want to learn to “do-it-yourself”, check out www.ifixit.com. This is a wiki-based site that teaches people how to fix almost anything. Anyone can create a repair manual for a device, and anyone can also edit the existing set of manuals to improve them. The site empowers individuals to share their technical knowledge with the rest of the world. They even have a clothing page https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Clothing that teaches you basics like sewing a button or mending a rip, to more complicated tasks like repairing a zipper.
REPAIR has been added to the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” phrase as an important way of reducing our waste. Additionally, I really appreciate the act of repairing because it respects the resources that went into creating that item.
Plus, repairing items can add character to your clothing! An interesting patch or, visible mending, can liven up a boring pair of pants, a shirt, or a coat!
3. Purchase second-hand clothes or go to clothing swaps
Stylist Jason Pillay, photo Harry Glazier
Have you noticed how many more thrift and consignment stores there are compared to just 15 years ago? According the Association of Resale Professionals the number of resale shops increases 7% every year.2 They attribute this to people being more interested in recycling/reuse, which could be true, and because people love shopping and getting bargains, which for good or bad we know is true. But I also think it has to do with the glut of clothing (and other STUFF) in our world because of fast fashion. Whatever the reason, purchasing gently used clothing instead of buying new clothes is very impactful in terms of reducing your carbon footprint!
And if you have never been to a clothing swap, they are an amazingly fun, and economical, way of getting rid of clothes you don’t wear anymore and picking up new items you need. My closet has many clothing swap scores!
Remember though to always give your unwanted clothing to thrift/consignment stores or take them to clothing swaps. In my first blog in this series I mentioned that the average American throws away 81lbs of clothes every year and the clothing recycling market is only capturing 15% of that, the rest goes into the landfill! Even ripped and torn clothing and fabric can be used for industrial rags and building insulation.
4. Caring for your clothing
I was surprised to learn that up to 80% of our clothing’s impact during its lifecycle comes while we wear them. This is because it takes a lot of energy to heat the water for washing and a lot energy to keep the dryer running. So there’s a huge opportunity to decrease your environmental footprint, by simply greening your laundry habits. The following list, borrowed from an article in TreeHugger, shows fabulous ways to do this:
- Wash your clothes only when needed
The Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh actually promotes NEVER washing your jeans! That might be a bit radical for most, but we can all wash our clothes far less than we do. Except for the obvious items that need washing after one wear, I use the sniff test on shirts and visually inspect my clothes to determine if they need to be washed yet. Washing clothing after one wear is definitely unnecessary in most cases and degrades the colors and the fabric! - Use green laundry detergent
Conventional detergents can contain ingredients that aren’t good for you, your clothes, or aquatic ecosystems where the dirty water we wash down the drain can end up. Phosphates in conventional laundry soaps can cause algal blooms that negatively affect ecosystems and marine life. To shop for more eco-friendly detergents, look for labels that indicate a product is readily biodegradable and phosphate-free, and made from plant- and vegetable-based ingredients (instead of petroleum-based), which means they’re healthier for the planet, from production to rinse cycle. - Wash in cold water
A whopping 90 percent of energy used for washing clothes goes to heating the water, costing you $100 or more every year. With more and more detergents specialized for cold-water washing, your whites will still get white without the hot (or warm) water. Next, be sure to wash only full loads of laundry, which ensures that your machine is operating at peak efficiency. If you can’t manage to fill ‘er up, the “load size selector option” (if you have one) ensures that smaller loads use less water. - Hang it out to dry
Designer Henry Wanjala, photo Nicole Morris
There are upward of 88 million dryers in the U.S., each emitting more than a ton of carbon dioxide per year. Because dryers uses so much energy, skipping it altogether can make a real difference. While some homeowners’ associations and municipalities oppose hanging clothes out to dry, the pro-line drying movement, headed up by Right to Dry, is putting up a good defense for your right to harvest free solar energy. Added bonus? Clothes last longer when you line dry because there’s less wear and tear than when you use the dryer.
- Maximize your dryer
Line-drying doesn’t have to be an all or nothing choice. If you’re sticking with the dryer for part (or all) of the time, cleaning the lint filter frequently will increase efficiency and shorten drying time. If your dryer has a moisture sensor, use it. This will automatically reduce the amount of drying time or shut off the machine when it senses that clothes are dry, which reduces wear and tear on your threads and saves lots of energy. A good moisture sensor is the best thing to look for if you’re shopping for a new clothes dryer. As of this year, Energy Star began to rate dryers, so make sure to check for their stamp of approval.
TreeHugger also recomends ditching the dryer sheets, which can be full of cancer-causing chemicals and neurotoxins such as toluene and styrene. They also break down organic fibers, shortening the life of your fabrics. Instead, toss a sachet of dried organic lavender in the dryer for a healthy, sweet scent. - Don’t iron if you don’t have to
Not only is ironing a tedious chore, it also consumes energy and can deteriorates fabric. Still, no self-respecting environmentalist wants to look ruffled, right? To avoid looking haggard, simply hang clothes up immediately after the wash cycle is complete. The water still in them will work with gravity to pull most wrinkles out. For wrinkle-prone clothing such as linen, cut the final spin cycle, which will leave even more water in the garments, creating yet more pull. Then fold dry clothes where you want creases to be, and place them under other clothes in your dresser, which will further help to press them. - Don’t bother with dry cleaning
Conventional dry cleaning is a decidedly un-green process; most businesses use the chemical perchloroethylene (also called “perc”), which research studies have shown may be dangerous to our health. Exposure to this chemical has been linked to increased risks of bladder, esophageal, and cervical cancer; eye, nose, throat and skin irritation; and reduced fertility; among other effects. Yikes!
Luckily, there are alternatives. For starters, if you want to eliminate dry cleaning from your life, start by buying clothes that don’t require it–it’s wise to read labels before making purchases. Also, recognize that many delicates and other garments, including those made from cashmere and lambs’ wool, can be safely and easily hand washed. 3
Stylist Jerome Insorio, photo Domnic Arenas
5. Reclaim fashion as a form of personal creativity!
Lastly let me just say that I hate to be manipulated and the fashion industry, by definition, is all about dictating what we should and should not wear any given year. They guide our purchasing decisions to benefit their bottom line— not to benefit the consumer, the workers, or the planet and that MAKES ME MAD!
If you enjoy fashion, then I encourage you to create your own sense of style. Though I don’t go clothing shopping very often anymore, when I do I love shopping at thrift stores, I find that it encourages creative dressing. You can discover interesting items and combine them in unusual ways that reflect your personality and lifestyle! I have included photos throughout this blog post from other ECO FASHION WEEK stylists and designers that exemplify creative fashion play at its best.
We have come to the end of this long look at the impacts of the clothing that we wear. And as you probably realize, many of these same facts hold true for most items in our lives, not just our clothing. From basketballs to frying pans, most of the things we buy are made outside of the country by people working in unfair conditions that we would NEVER accept for ourselves or our family. And they are made from mined and manufactured materials that are harmful to the planet, that use a lot of energy to make, fuel to transport and that pollute the air, water and soil in the process. Reducing our consumption, and reusing EVERYTHING in our life is essential!
I would love to hear what was most useful in this series to you, and how you might change your actions based upon what you have read here or elsewhere. You can respond below or send me a private message at Nancy@RecycleRunway.com. And thanks for taking this journey with me!
1Cline, Elizabeth L. Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. Reprint edition. Portfolio, 2013. Print.
2 NARTS. “Industry Statistics & Trends.” Professional Trade Association. NARTS: The Association of Resale Professionals. N.p., 2017. Web. 9 Feb. 2017. http://www.narts.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3285
3 TreeHugger. “11 Ways to Green your Laundry.” Environmental. Team Treehugger HTGG. N.p., 10 July, 2014. Web. 9 Feb. 2017. http://www.treehugger.com/htgg/how-to-go-green-laundry.html
This series was co-researched and co-written with Nicole Morris.
Cascade Head Preserve and the Salmon River Estuary
I love most that first breathe when I step out of the car after a two-hour drive from Portland, OR and inhale the rich smells of Cascade Head. It’s a mixture of the salty ocean with the loamy earth. It is specific to this area where the sea meets the land at the mouth of the Salmon River Estuary. As a child I was allowed to roam this River and the nearby forests at my leisure, spending hundreds of hours quietly watching: noticing the green moss, the green ferns, the green leaves, the green pine trees—infinite shades of green teaming with life. Burying my nose in a mossy tree limb made me feel alive and connected to the natural world. It still does!
Pacifica
Pacifica is the most personal sculpture I have created thus far. It tells the story of my history, my inspirations, my family, and one of the most powerful forces on earth: the ocean. This sculpture was commissioned by The Nature Conservancy in Oregon (TNC) which is celebrating the 50-year anniversary of Cascade Head, one of their prized preserves and a place central to my being. I first came to this magical area as a child in the 1970s when my parents purchased a small piece of property below the majestic Cascade Head which is on the Oregon coast just north of Lincoln City. They settled on a steep triangle of land thick with elderberry bushes and sword ferns over-looking the Salmon River Estuary. Here my Mom and step-father John (who is a painter, sculpture and builder) designed and built our family a beautiful home. John took over 20 years to construct every inch himself down to each drawer and banister. It is truly the gift of a lifetime as my siblings, nieces, nephews, our spouses, friends, and I have returned again and again for over 40 years!
The creation of Pacifica began at Cascade Head on a rainy February day when I hiked with TNC’s Debbie Pickering, Mitch Maxson and Julia Amato, along with cinematographer Brady Holden, up to the Head and walked along the Estuary to collect materials. Debbie, TNC’s Oregon Coast Ecologist, shared information with us about the ecology of the area that was completely new to me despite my years of walking these paths. For example she taught us how to distinguish different conifer trees from one another, and which plants are edible and used for medicinal purposes.
Brady Holden’s video about Pacifica won two awards at the McMinnville Short Film Festival in October.
Detail of Pacifica
Unlike my other garments, Pacifica is made primarily of natural objects: shells, wood, rocks, bones and feathers are strung on wire and connected to an upcycled steel skirt; the living bodice is made from moss, branches and pine cones sewn to burlap with reclaimed fishing wire. Debbie determined which items we could include on the sculpture, for example we had to be careful not to collect anything with living barnacles attached to it so as not to inadvertently kill any little creatures in creating the piece. Additionally, Debbie and her husband Dave spent many hours along the sea shore gathering the majority of materials that make up the skirt… I am very appreciative of her special contribution to the creation of Pacifica!
For me, this sculpture is about the connection of the ocean to the land. As a child I was moved by the connections and transitions I witnessed at Cascade Head where the river meets the ocean, the ocean meets the land, and that incredible moment when you break out of the sheltered forest into the open grasslands of the Head. There before you stretches the Pacific Ocean out to our neighbors in Asia and, as you turn around, you can see miles of the Salmon River forever flowing, flowing, flowing. Below our house, sitting on a rock in the estuary I watched the waves crashing, splashing, misting, and foaming. Other times the ocean arrives in the estuary quietly, slowly raising the river as the tide flows in, curious seals floating by with big eyes watching me watch them. It was in these moments I discovered my connection with the earth which has guided me to the work I am privileged to do today, and to creating Pacifica. See more beautiful photos of Cascade Head here.
TNC staff and volunteers string the “sea-shore-shish-kabobs”.
I started working on Pacifica right after I finished an upcycled wedding dress called Bella. At the same time I was working on Pacifica I was starting another project called PDX Weather Advisory; both had to be completed at the same time in April. All that to say, there is no way I could have finished this sculpture (it took 270 hours) without the help of many volunteers! Over 20 people helped me in several work parties at the Oregon TNC headquarters and at SCRAP, a local reuse store in Portland. Volunteers prepared materials and helped to string the “sea-shore-shish-kabobs” made of drift wood, shells, rocks and fish bones that make up the skirt. Early in the project the OCEAN volunteered an invaluable gift to Pacifica: a huge pile of old Salmon bones was discovered by a TNC ecologist at another nearby estuary. The teeth, fins and especially vertebra became an essential part of the skirt. The little vertebra created space between the rocks, wood and shells which not only kept the wires from becoming too heavy, but they also helped to extend the materials (which we used ALL of) so that I had enough to complete the skirt. This also created a more open and airy visual feel to the skirt.
Pacifica has been on display this summer at the Bridgeport Shopping Center outside of Portland, TNC’s Julia Amato created a beautiful display located in a shop window on the way to the movie theater. In October Pacifica will be showcased at FashioNXT, a celebrated fashion week in Portland, OR. It will travel back down to Salmon River Estuary at the end of October for the 50 year celebration of Cascade Head Preserve, and then in 2017/2018 Pacifica will join the rest of my work in a solo exhibition in the Atlanta Airport for one year.
Pacifica above the Salmon River Estuary
For me Pacifica represents the wisdom of ancient forests regenerating themselves for billions of years. As leaves, shrubs, grasses and trees die and fall to the ground they become food and shelter for other life to grow; at Cascade Head I learned that in nature there is no such thing as waste. Pacifica also captures that sense of discovery the ocean offers as it delivers little gifts along the seashore every day. The sea is so comfortably consistent; for decades and centuries, for most of the life of this planet, the rhythm of the waves has been present like the heartbeat of the earth– the heartbeat of Pacifica.
A special heartfelt thank you to all the staff of The Nature Conservancy for each of your special contributions to this project: Julie Fitzgerald, Debbie Pickering, Julia Amato, Mitch Maxson, Deanna Brown, Christine Kessler, Kate O’Neill, Joe Buttafuoco, Teri Stoeber, Megan Fairbanks, Meredith Stewart, Nav Dayanand, Kim Lepre, Molly Dougherty
Additionally, I deeply appreciate the following individuals and organizations for your time, various contributions and encouragement:
Kevin welding the skirt
Nicole Morris-Judd
Brady Holden
Dave Pickering
Kevin Takalo
Palo Alto Software
Bridgeport Plaza – Mallorie Goody
SCRAP – Elizabeth Start and Lisa LeDouxAshley Smithers
Carol Knutson
Marilyn Ellis
Helena Tesselar
Myleen Richardson
Norma Gregor
Amarette Gregor
Jayne Vetter
Morning view of Cascade Head from the Salmon River
Claire Darling
Gillian Nance
Cynthia Cada
Pat Reisinger
Harold Broughton
Lexie Ladd
Russel Parks
Julia White
Tiff Valentine
Tami Wheeler
Rose Lawrence
Ben Lawrence
Dave my neighbor
…and anyone else I forgot to mention!!
Gillian brushing Salmon teeth at SCRAP
Photo Credits: All photos by Nancy Judd except:
“Cascade Head and the Salmon River Estuary”: Jack Doyle
“Pacifica” and “Detail of Pacifica”: Brady Holden
“Pacifica above the Salmon River Estuary”: Nicole Morris-Judd
PDX Weather Advisory, AKA April
One of my very favorite words is from Nepal: रङ्गी-चङ्गी; written in letters, raṅgii-caṅgii; and pronounced, rungy-chungy. This fabulous word (which does not have an English equivalent in my opinion) means crazy, multi-colored, splendid, fancy, exciting and fun! It was the design inspiration for one of my newest sculptures, PDX Weather Advisory, created for the Port of Portland which runs the Portland International Airport.
This raṅgii-caṅgii adventure began after listening to a presentation about the PDX Airport’s waste minimization efforts at a meeting about reuse of commercial waste streams. As I listened to Kaileigh Westermann, a Waste Minimization Project Lead from the Port of Portland, I was astounded to learn that the Port has implemented a five-year plan to achieve 90 percent or greater landfill diversion rates at its facilities. Let me repeat that: 90% landfill diversion– that is a TRULY impressive goal! To achieve this, they have an extensive on-site recycling program and provide technical assistance to airport tenants and airlines to reduce waste and recycle a wide variety of materials. Their composting program (unusual for an airport to have!) has diverted over 1,300 tons of food waste from the landfill and they also have a food donation program that has donated 130,000 lbs of food, or 85,000 meals, since its inception in 2013. I also learned that the Port has FOUR other equally impressive sustainability programs!
Next it was my turn to give a presentation to the group about my work. After the meeting, Kaileigh asked if I could help the Port tell the story of their sustainability programs in a creative, eye-catching way for Earth Day. “YES, I’m your gal!” I proclaimed enthusiastically and a dynamic collaboration began. We met many times over the next several months, fleshing out details such as:
April on display at the PDX Airport
- The overall design concept- we settled on a rain gear outfit with five parts (umbrella, hat, scarf, coat and boots) that would each represent one of the Port’s five sustainability programs, and reference Portland’s notoriously wet climate.
- The message – we met with representatives from each of the five sustainability programs (air, water, energy, natural resources and waste minimization) to discuss what message they wanted to convey and the waste materials they generate that I could use in the garment to tell their story.
The day that Kaileigh delivered the materials, she looked at the mix-matched pile of coffee cups, electrical wire, old magazines, invasive dried grass, and parking garage tickets with an overwhelmed expression on her face and said:
“I’m glad you’re the one making this thing, not me!”
“Yes, well that is my specialty!” I said with a confident smile, but internally feeling as befuddled as she looked.
And the uncertainty continued for a week until I said to my partner: “I’m kind of drawing a blank here. How am I going to make a cohesive design with FIVE different elements from such diverse materials?” In a flash of inspiration Nicole said: “Maybe you should lean into the miscellany of the materials and create something that is multi-colored, multi-patterned and multi-textured so that what ties it together is the craziness of each element!” In that moment my favorite word popped into my head and the ideas started to flow! “YES, it will be raṅgii-caṅgii– a crazy, multi-colored, splendid, fancy, exciting and fun extravaganza!”
Thus off we went down the winding path of creating PDX Weather Advisory, AKA April. We choose the name as it has several pertinent meanings:
- The word “weather” references the fact that it is rain gear, AND relates to climate change.
- The word “advisory” in conjunction with weather, refers to a weather term AND implies a warning… which is really the subtext of all my work.
- Her nickname is April though because PDX Weather Advisory does not exactly roll off the tongue, and she was finished in the month of April for Earth Day.
Yes, April needed to be completed by Earth Day. I stated after Valentine’s Day and it took 440 hours to make the sculpture, it was a pretty raṅgii-caṅgii ride! There is no way I could have done it without the help of more than 35 very generous volunteers: people ranging from Port employees, neighbors I had never met before, mothers of high school classmates, and old friends I had not seen in 30 years helped me finish April by Earth Day. We held work parties at the Port, in a local brew pub, at SCRAP (a local reuse center) and my studio. Thanks to each and every one of you– I see your contributions all over this sculpture and it is part of what makes it so special to me!
One of the volunteer work parties
So let me introduce you to April (AKA PDX Weather Advisory):
- RAINCOAT: Representing the Waste Minimization Program, disposable coffee cups cut into iconic Portland images are sewn to the coat and encourage travelers to reuse items such as coffee cups and water bottles.
- UMBRELLA: Representing the Air Quality Program, this umbrella is swirling with parking garage tickets, highlighting their program’s reduction in emissions from idling vehicles.
- HAT: Representing the Natural Resources Program, a hat-collage of insects and wildlife photos cut from old periodicals emphasizes the Port’s various protection programs and mitigation projects.
- SCARF: Representing the Energy Program, scrap electrical wire is woven into a scarf to highlight the clean energy and energy efficiency programs.
- BOOTS: Representing the Water Quality Program, these boots feature Reed Canarygrass, an invasive species that threatens wetlands. The Port works to manage this invasive species on mitigation lands, as well as many others, to support healthy watersheds and water quality.
Detail of the coat, covered with scrap plastic film to provide protection from the rain!
One of the neat things for me about making the raincoat specifically was the connection to Portland in the collaged images. I was born and raised here, but left when I went to college. I returned two years ago and having been away almost 30 years it has been lovely rediscovering my home town. This coat was a surprising way to become reacquainted with the places I knew growing up and that are new to me as well. Cutting out the silhouettes of the Oregon Health and Science buildings called “Pill Hill”, collaging the bumps and shadows on Mt. Hood, and sewing down the Marcum bridge that my sister climbed before it opened in 1970. I found after making this coat that I had a new and surprising intimacy with the details of my beloved City.
When April was completed, she was on display in the Airport and now Port staff is taking her to various events around Portland to inform people about their sustainability programs. She will then become part of an exhibition of about six pieces I will have at Portland Fashion Week in September and then join 20 other of my new works in a major yearlong solo exhibit in the Atlanta Airport in 2017/2018!
Interactive sculpture description
Kaileigh Westermann and the Port’s Corporate Communications, created a fabulous hands-on interactive display to accompany the sculpture. The board has three columns, the first has the materials (attached to Velcro) used to create April; the second has images of the coat, hat, boots, umbrella and scarf; and the third column has the name of each sustainability program on pieces of foam core. People can then match the material with the piece of clothing and the program it represents. It is a great way of engaging people in learning both about the sculpture as well as the airports sustainability programs. However, the story that PDX Weather Advisory tells is just the tip of the iceberg; the Port has many more inspiring sustainability programs! For example in their headquarters located at the Airport, their waste water is recycled through a “Living Machine” made of plants and underground gravel chambers!
Part of what made creating PDX Weather Advisory such a raṅgii-caṅgii experience, was that I had just finished (two days before) another sculpture called “Bella”, and was simultaneously working on a third piece, “Pacifica”, for the Nature Conservancy, also due at the same time. There was literally no way I could have completed these three sculptures in four months if it were not for ALL the people who volunteered their time to help!
I want to give a special thanks to Kaileigh for chauffeuring this project through all of the bureaucratic windy roads that needed to be navigated. To Erin, Grace and Lisa also from the Port for your many contributions, and to Stan Jones, Kaileigh’s boss who said “Go for it!” when she came to him with the initial idea. It was great to work with and get to know all of you, thank you for this wonderful opportunity!
Click here to watch TV coverage of PDX Weather Advisory!
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Information and registration: Upcycled Fashion Workshop
This video shows the process of creating the sculpture “Pacifica” for The Nature Conservancy in Oregon. It will be part of Portland Fashion Week. “Pacifica” will join 20 other new sculptures by Nancy Judd for a year long solo exhibition in the Atlanta International Airport in 2017/2018.
ReDress: Upcycled Style at the Stamford Museum
In September my traveling exhibition, ReDress: Upcycled Style, opened in the Stamford Museum and Nature Center in Stamford, Connecticut. I visited the exhibition to give a presentation and workshop. I also had an unexpectedly empowering experience, but first, a bit about the trip. One of the neat things about the Stamford Museum is that in addition to the museum they have a huge farm with animals. I am excited to have my work there because their mission blends the arts, environmental stewardship and life-long learning.
Stamford Museum and Nature Center
I also found the history of the site to be quite interesting, it was built by a fashion magnate, Henri Bendel. Mr. Bendel made his mark by becoming the first retailer to brand himself. Having registered his own trademark in 1895, he created the now legendary brown and white striped shopping bag and hatbox. Bendel was the first luxury retailer with an upper Fifth Avenue address, and the first to stage a fashion show. This fact was particularly interesting to me since I began creating my sculptures for (recycled) fashion shows, so I feel indebted to his creation of this now ubiquitous event, a fashion show. He was also responsible for bringing Coco Chanel to the United States. He built the large 10,000 square-foot, neo-Tudor mansion as a summer home in 1929 and the Museum moved into the property in 1955. I really enjoyed exploring the house, grounds and beautiful marble sculptures shipped from Italy. I like to think that Henri would have enjoyed my exhibition of couture fashion with a twist!
Check out Justin’s awesome new shoelaces and Amy’s fall scarf!
After a well attended gallery tour and talk, the staff held a beautiful farm-to-table meal that was also a fundraiser for the Museum. Coincidentally, it was my Birthday and I was delighted to have over 50 people sing to me while I blew out the candle on the tallest cupcake I had ever seen! The next day I taught one of my favorite workshops, transforming old T-shirts into new objects. We began by making over 20 dog toys for a local animal shelter, and then the 15 participants created items ranging from shoe strings to scarves and reworked shirts with new style. I was excited that Amy and Justin from the Trashion Fashion Show joined us, they stage “trashion” shows on the East Coast using ballet dancers as models. I also met a wonderful woman who’s family-owned business is interested in sponsoring a new sculpture from me. Thank you to all the Museum staff for hosting me and my traveling exhibition.
Now, back to my unexpected experience: whenever I visit my exhibition at a new museum I always spend a little time with the sculptures making minor repairs, mostly gluing glass back on to the Glass Evening Gown! This time I also worked on the Eco-Flamenco dress which is covered with eco-pledges made by 5,000 people. The Museum invites visitors to take their own eco-pledges and so on a whim, I filled out a pledge card and shared it that night during my gallery talk: “I will ask all of the hotels that I stay in to turn down the temperature in the mini-refrigerators”. This is a pet-peeve of mine because I always find them set on high, and I know that these refrigerators are used a very small percentage of the time they are on. When you think about the millions of hotel rooms around the world with refrigerators, this wastes a tremendous amount of energy which adds carbon to the atmosphere, unnecessarily contributing to climate change. So the day before I checked out of the Holiday Express Inn and Suites in Stamford (notably on the night of the full lunar eclipse and blood moon) I wrote my request on a comment card. By the time I returned home I had honestly forgotten about it until I received a note from the hotel manager saying: “We have shared your comments and feedback with our team and have started implementing (your suggestion) in our guest rooms.”
This was an empowering moment for me, I experienced how truly one small action can make a difference and it confirmed why I encourage people to make these pledges. I have since written to the parent company, InterContinental Hotels Group, to ask them to follow the lead of their hotel in Stamford and make this a policy at all of their properties.
Hotel room refrigerators, unnecessary contributors to climate change
I also did a little sleuthing around on the internet to see if I could find any information on the impact of mini-fridges in hotel rooms, the only thing I found was on www.KeyGreen.com, an organization in Denmark that awards eco-labels to over 2,400 hotels and other sites worldwide. They have their application form posted on-line and I was impressed to see a question asking the applying hotel if they have a policy to TURN OFF refrigerators (and TVs) when rooms are not in use. Not turn down, but turn OFF!
So, the next time you travel you might want to use this site, www.bookdifferent.com, to find a hotel that has a smaller carbon footprint. And if you encounter a refrigerator in your room, turn it to low (or off if you want to be radical) and leave a comment card for the hotel. And if they respond, please let me know!
Schack Art Center in Everett, WA
I was recently honored by being asked to emcee and show work in three trash-fashion shows across the great Pacific Northwest! Last summer I moved from Santa Fe, NM (my home for the last 20 years) to Portland, OR, where I grew up. It is great to be back in the climate that my body feels most comfortable in, and it’s exciting to discover new opportunities for my work in Oregon and Washington. Both states are renowned for their progressive sustainability efforts, and there is a lot of creative re-use, trash fashion, and innovative environmental education taking place here. Quite honestly, I did not know if there was room for another kid in the sand box, but I have been overwhelmed by the warm welcome I have received!
Upcycled Oregon in the State Capital
This spring started off with a bang at the Oregon State Capital in Salem where I emceed at a new event called Upcycle Oregon, created to raise awareness around resource use and waste reduction activities. The two day event began with a dynamic panel discussion featuring a diverse group of people that work with waste materials across Oregon. For example, Scott Hamlin is the co-founder/CEO of Loopworks which makes products and apparel out of industry scrap and waste materials such as old Southwest Airline seat covers. I really like this company because in addition to upcycling materials, they also design their products to be very durable and to be educational– as they state on their website: Only 1% of everything that’s purchased in the USA, is still in the USA after 6 months. That is an alarming statistic! Also on the panel was Mark Rumford with a company named Agilyx that is the first in the world to install commercial scale technology that turns waste plastics into refinery grade synthetic crude oil. That might not sound very exciting, but actually it’s a big deal because they can use the plastics that most recycling programs can’t take, which amounts to more than 75% of the plastics produced and usually landfilled. Their oil is recycled into plastic manufacturing feedstock or converted to transport fuels. I have grave concerns about the environmental and human health impacts of the huge amount of plastic we use and think we should focus on reducing our use of this material, especially single use items. However, like it or not our world is saturated with plastic and it is imperative to have a way to recycle it because not only does recycling keep it out of the landfills, but it also reduces the amount of oil we have to mine/refine.
This interesting panel was followed by an upcycled art exhibition, and then concluded with a trashion show the next day that showcased numerous new and seasoned designers. This was the first recycled fashion show that I have ever emceed in a state capital; it was a grand backdrop for the entire event and it felt significant to have our work honored in such an important historical and political location. I want to thank Carlee Wright from DIY Studio and and Jessica Ramey from Marion County who organized the upcycled art and fashion show, for inviting me to participate. DIY Studio is a neat organization that promotes creative, community and environmental awareness through teaching alternative approaches to creating art and diverting materials from the solid-waste stream.
Ruby Re-Usable with her fantastic models Lana, Lova and Lena Landfill.
Three weeks later I emceed a second trashion show at the Schack (pronounced shack!) Art Center in Everett, WA held in conjunction with an impressive exhibition titled Saving the Environment: Sustainable Art. This was a fun event for me because I met several experienced designers from Washington who have also been working with waste materials for many years. One of these, Ruby Re-Usable, is the colorful designer who organized the fashion show. Some of the other designers were Rebecca Maxim aka Alotta DeTritus, Jane Grafton aka Tinker’s Dam, and Kristie Maxim aka Elle Poubelle. I really enjoyed not only their creative names and impressive designs, but also the presentation and staging of their fashions. Susie Howell, an amazing photographer as well as designer of wearable upcycled fashions, hosted my spouse and me in her beautiful historic Marysville home!
One of the many high points of this experience was meeting artist Terra Holcomb. I recommend you take a moment to look at her work; she is very, very inspiring to me. Terra works exclusively with natural materials and makes ephemeral pieces that she wears for self portraits. In fact, the resulting piece of art is the photo because she leaves the garments to decompose back into nature. One of her few pieces that still exists, a magestic oceanic gown made from muscle shells, was one of the featured designs of the evening.
Washington State Recycling Association Conference
My Trashion Show Grand-Slam ended at the Washington State Recycling Association’s conference in Spokane, WA. Fashion show organizer, Abby Christensen invited me to join emcee Terra Heilman on stage at the elegant Davenport Hotel. I met yet another set of very talented designers and really enjoyed my time with the fun and dedicated group of Washington recyclers. As the previous executive director of the New Mexico Recycling Coalition, I was right at home with them and happy to have found my peeps.
Though I usually don’t participate in many trashion shows anymore, I had a great time at these events. (Most of my work these days revolves around creating new sculptures for my installation in the Atlanta Airport in 2017, and giving presentations and workshops to universities and various audiences.) It was like a door opened and I felt so welcomed this spring to Oregon and Washington by my colleagues in the upcycled art/fashion and waste reduction community, I’m so excited to become a part of these dynamic and warm-hearted groups!
I’m in the process of dreaming up some exciting new projects for my upcoming Atlanta exhibition with a number of local west coast groups including some the folks that I met at these events, so stay tuned for more details.
POST SCRIPT: I am writing this blog post while sitting on a train traveling back to Portland from Spokane, enjoying an absolutely beautiful ride along the Columbia River. As the train travels from the high desert climate of eastern Washington where Spokane is located, my heart swells at the site of the emerald green forests of the west side of this region. I longed for this land during the almost 30 years I lived outside of the Northwest, and find that, even now, after a short time away in a dryer area, I yearn for the moist climate my body was born to.
![IMG_5750[1]](https://recyclerunway.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_57501-300x225.jpg)
Dawn over the Columbia River, from the train to Portland
![IMG_5778[1]](https://recyclerunway.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_57781-300x225.jpg)
Emerald green views of the Pacific Northwest
WFMZ-TV NEWS
September 25, 2013 news story about the ReDress Upcycled Style Exhibition in the Reading Public Museum.
Nancy Judd’s Recycle Runway Exhibition in the Atlanta Airport, 2012
In 2011-2012 I had an exhibition of 21 of my sculptures in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for 14 months. The ATL Airport has invited me back for a second show in 2016 because the first one was “one of our most popular exhibits”! The exhibition will open in the fall of 2019.
I’m so very honored that David Vogt and Katherine Dirga, the team behind the Atlanta Airport’s impressive Airport Art Program, have asked me to return– it is a great validation of the work that I have been doing for the last 15 years! I’m also excited because they want me to create a new body of work for the exhibit made with the airport community including airlines, concessionaires and contractors. Many of the sculptures will be made in interactive educational workshops with airport employees, passengers and other ATL community partners including school children. The educational opportunities and reach of this project are really thrilling to me!
In the coming months we will be reaching out to other organizations for collaborations and sponsorship. Please let me know if you are interested in being a part of this exciting exhibition… and stay tuned for updates as the project unfolds over the next three years.
Nancy@RecycleRunway.com
505-577-9712
Upcycled superhero is here to teach you about sink aerators
June, 4, 2013
By Enrique Limón
Read the article and see photos on line.
It’s a bird…it’s a LEED-certified plane…it’s Sol Man, Santa Fe’s own conservationist superhero!
“This is the Man in progress,” artist and environmental educator Nancy Judd says, leading the way to her studio where the work-in-progress lies, striking a classic flying-through-midair pose.
“This is the first time I’ve done anything specifically in energy conservation,” Judd, the head of Recycle Runway and co-founder of Recycle Santa Fe Art Market, says. “I make couture fashion sculptures from trash, and I use them to raise awareness about environmental issues.”
The city’s former recycling coordinator achieves this by setting up installations in high foot-traffic locations like shopping malls, airports and museums.
Sol Man is no exception, being that he’ll be unveiled this Wednesday at 4 pm at the Santa Fe Place Mall.
Utensils galore line Judd’s worktable, including pliers, heavy-duty gloves (“his cape still has sharp edges,” she warns), and a chart of the “ideal-proportion male.”
“For me, as an artist, this has been a really challenging process,” Judd says, working on Sol’s head. His torso is a discarded dress form rescued from a dumpster; his legs and arms were once conduit, covered with pipe insulation; and his bulging “muscles” are made from downcycled home insulation.
Other elements in the figure include rubber gasket scraps, yard signs from past political campaigns and ventilation ducts.
“My stuff is usually very feminine,” Judd confesses, “so making this guy—who is everything but—has been a challenge.”
Like every fabled crusader before him, Sol Man has a chimerical backstory.
It starts in an Ortiz Middle School science classroom. “The kids learned about where energy comes from, different energy sources, problems with different energy sources and about energy conservation,” the artist says.
During the students’ three-week immersion, Judd says they were assigned energy-conservation projects at home.
“PNM, our local electric company, provided them one of these energy-efficiency kits,” she says, opening up a small box containing compact fluorescent light bulbs, a low-flow shower head, a fridge thermometer and other green household implements—several of which now rest on the Man’s belt.
During that time, Judd also went into the sixth-graders’ art class—where, collectively, Sol Man’s look was born.
“I worked with them and said, ‘We’re gonna create an energy-efficient superhero. What would he look like?’”
The result was a slew of drawn submissions, with names like “Shiny Woman,” “Super Energy Conserver” and “Corserva-Woman”—who boasts a “built-in nightlight.”
“I took some of their ideas and created this guy,” Judd says.
Approaching the same students, this time at their Consumer Science class, Sol Man’s different elements—like the 300 mini faux solar panels that adorn his cape—came to be.
After his stint at the mall, Sol Man will tour statewide to continue his mission of raising energy awareness.
“In the long run, I want people to conserve energy,” Judd says of her efforts, realized in part through a fellowship awarded by Toyota and the National Audubon Society. “I want to raise awareness about our environmental impact as individuals—and energy is one of those places where we have a huge impact.”
She’s aware the message is trite, but insists, “energy is a huge, huge problem because it’s one of our main sources of CO2, which is one of the leading causes of climate change.”
Judd hopes her initiative sets a [low-emission] spark across the local art community and motivates others in her position to marry their creativity with bigger causes.
“One of the connections that I make about the work that I do is that, in the coming years, as we face climate change, we’re gonna have to use incredible creativity,” she says.
“Whether that’s the creativity of an artist to educate, or the creativity of an engineer to help solve problems, an inventor or even a politician on how to get laws passed—all of that is really about creative problem solving,” Judd continues. “And the bigger the problem, the more creativity we’re gonna need.”
