BLM and sustainability

social media has been an impressive arena for sharing important information in a timely manner, especially content that is often skewed by traditional medias. with this shift in content from the previous norm to the focus on black lives matter, pride month, and other situations deemed more urgent, there has been different pressures to halt your regularly scheduled posts.

personally, i have been trying to find my balance for my pages between sharing the content of others for blm and my other interests of fashion and sustainability. in trying to figure out next steps along with and/or after the protests, petitions, and donations, i am pushing myself to look into where my money is going. there are a lot of pages that share black owned businesses that are of the same quality of similar white owned businesses that i will continue to share and search for on etsy, depop, and instagram. i encourage you to do the same because there are so many wonderful businesses and products out there that we would otherwise never come across if we don't search for them. you are more likely to see brands that are owned by the people that look similar to you whether that is purposeful (through targeted advertising) or situational (through your local neighborhood of people similar to you). searching for black owned businesses is just another way to expand your variety and find cool new things.

while i know that the black lives matter movement and current events still take precedence, i want to take this time to connect my usual sustainability content. seemingly unrelated, sustainability is actually very important if we want to enact physical change. pollution and the decisions we make regarding the environment affect different populations disproportionately. the people who are hurt the most are those who live in low-income communities. yes, i say "are hurt" instead of "will hurt" because they (and we) are being affected right now. just think about it: communities and housing located near manufacturing and industrial sectors are cheaper. these people who cannot afford to live in more affluent areas are subject to higher rates of pollution whether that is carbon dioxide, sulfur emissions, NOX particles, or dirty drinking water compromised from the chemicals dumped into it from the nearby businesses. for many reasons, the people that live in these low-incomes communities are mostly BIPOC. "among the 10.6 million U.S. low-income families with an employed adult in 2013, racial/ethnic minorities constitute 58 percent, despite only making up 40 percent of all working families nationwide."- prb.org below are links to some sites to back up these statements.

"though african-americans make up 13 percent of the US population, a startling 68 percent live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant, compared to 56 percent of whites. this zone is where residents breathe the most resultant pollutants — which can cause a range of health problems, from heart attacks to birth defects to asthma, states the NAACP. although latinos make up 17 percent of the US population, 39 percent live within a 30-mile radius from a coal plant.

some native american lands are home to large coal reserves, resulting in tribes across north america feeling the toxic effects from coal mines and plants." -Green America (linked below)

there are many other statistics and resources that i can link and talk about in later blogs (comment if you are interested in certain topics).

in general, with the knowledge that i have regarding this disproportionate impact of climate change on BIPOC, sustainability is something i want to push for more than ever both with my own buying power and others i can educate as i learn too. use your money wisely. i will be sharing more black owned sustainable businesses as well on my instagram @emp.fashion. you can head to my eco brands story highlights and/or search for black influencer pages that share similar content.

one black owned sustainable business i found this week is Galerie.LA. you can shop by "values" such as eco-friendly, recycled, vegan and more. they are a little pricey, but could be good for gifts ranging from jewelry, clothing, shoes, bags, and more. they also include some products designed and manufactured in LA.

another brand of similar price range is Two Days Off. "Two Days Off is a sustainable line of thoughtful pieces by Gina Stovall. each piece is made in Los Angeles either to order or in limited edition batches. we believe that a good wardrobe should be simple, conscious, and have enough ease for everyday life." by using made to order/limited edition manufacturing, the company reduces their waste as most if not all products are sold so there are little to none left over to go to the landfill. they also use deadstock fabrics sourced from California which means that bigger companies had left over fabrics that would have otherwise gone to waste, so brands like Two Days Off utilize it instead. they also prioritize natural fiber materials which eventually biodegrade instead of manufactured fibers that come from petroleum. to top it off, "the packaging you receive your order is reusable and 100% recyclable and biodegradable."

you can find more black owned sustainable businesses at this link:

i will be searching for more affordable sustainable brands owned by BIPOC, but all sustainable brands help. take note of who is silent or ignoring the current events and use your money for good. please comment any topics you would wish to hear about and thank you for reading!