My earliest childhood memories are of playing outside. The forests around
our mountain homestead in West Virginia became the playground for my siblings
and me. We headed for the woods when our homeschooling studies were
finished (around noon) and often stayed out until hunger brought us back for
dinner. The deep respect and appreciation for nature that grew out of
those early experiences, expanded with long-distance hiking, seeping outside, and
a college education. I majored in Environmental Studies at Bates College and worked
for three years on
waste reduction and recycling in the college dining hall.
I believe that running a business requires environmental responsibility that should go well
beyond the current norm. While it might be slightly more time intensive I
think that it is our responsibility both as individuals and businesses to do
all that we can to lower the environmental impact of our daily lives.
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Teaching compass skills to a local student on a biodiversity research study
in Madagascar. |
What does Recycled Fleece Mean?
First all of the Malden Mills fleece that I use is "trash" from factories.
Due to their large production
facilities they cannot use the ends of the bolts, flawed fabric or old
colors. That is where I come in. Each year I purchase hundreds if not
thousands of yards of this discarded material to make into hats. My hats are
the same quality as those made from virgin Polartec Fabric from Malden
Mills. The difference is that the environmental impact is far less and
you get a wider selection of colors and textures.
Secondly Malden Mills makes some of its fleece out of recycled soda pop
bottles. The technology of this process is so good that you can not
tell the difference which makes it impossible for me to know how much of my
fleece is made from recycled plastic due to the way that I purchase it.
A UPS Truck Load of Fleece Remnants purchased directly from Malden Mills. This is
photo is taken in my
old workshop |
Fleece scraps from the cutting table.
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Fleece scraps insulate my storage shed ceiling! |
Recycling in action
Hand cutting hats out of fabric maximizes the usage of fabric. But still I
generate large piles of scraps. I tediously cut larger scraps into small hat tassels
or use them for patchwork clothing. Those that I cannot use for sewing
become pillow stuffing for dog and human pillows that I give away. I have
never thrown away any fleece scraps (except for some floor sweepings).
To the left is a bag of scraps that I can not use for hats that will soon become
pillow stuffing. Imagine a room 10 foot square filled four to five
feet deep in scraps, that is how much I recycle each year! |
Waste
One can judge the effectiveness of recycling by looking at the amount of
trash that goes to the landfill. In 2007 my production hung out
at about 3000 hats and I still only filled one paper grocery bag with trash.
It could be less but it is the best that I can do. I would estimate
that 95% or more of my business waste is recycled.
Want to recycle your old fleece clothing? Send it to
Patagonia
and they can melt it down spin it into new fabric! Energy
Usage
In 2006 the total electricity used by two households of two And The Mouse
Works was down to 2850 kWh. I called up my electric cooperative and found
out that the average energy used per household is 18,000 kWh.
That means that my business-household usage is only 16% of the average
electricity usage in this area. I am currently looking into
producing this energy with solar panels. any advice on photovoltaics? |
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"There is nothing
like home-grown tomatoes"
This tomato plant grew pretty huge while I was backpacking
the northern half of the Pacific Crest Trail |
Gardening
We try to grow as much food as possible in our own back yard. It just
tastes better and is far less energy intensive and chemically safer than store
bought veggies. To see more photos please visit my
gardening page.
No Daily
Commute
My daily commute involves walking inside from my outdoor sleeping spot greatly
reducing the amount of gas usage and harmful emissions from my car. In the
fall I travel to festivals so I do put
2-3000miles on my vehicle then.
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New "Green" Studio-House
During the summers of 2005-6 I built a new home for my self and
the Mouse Works. While I was on a tight budget and doing most of
the work myself I tried to incorporate many affordable green building
practices into the construction. Here are a few:
- The house is built on a large concrete slab and
is partly earth-bermed on the north and east sides. This provides a
slightly cooler space in the summer and warmer in the winter.
- The building is oriented to take advantage of
passive solar heat gain in the winter.
- I super insulated the building using recycled
newspaper. The earth-bermed cinderblock wall cavities were insulated
with used packing beads and fleece scraps! It took only 1/2 cord of wood
to heat the house last winter!
- Most of the windows are recycled from houses
and construction sites.
Light colored energy star metal roof
- My entire workshop is lit by window
light during the day and by night with energy efficient florescent bulbs.
- The trash from the entire construction fit into
one station wagon car!
- In the spring of 2008 I recycled a 1984 vintage
hot water solar system. After numerous headaches and replacing broken
components it is working fabulously. We regularly have eighty gallons of
150-180 degree water!
- I am exploring putting photovoltaic solar on
the roof next year. If you have any knowledge that you can pass my way
please do so.
The Weedy patch in the foreground is a
rainwater garden
that absorbs the runoff piped from my gutters. I am trying to
establish a cranberry bog in part of it. You can see my
raised-bed garden in front of my studio-house.
Click
here to see more photos of the new studio-house |
The newly installed 24 year old hot water solar panels. And check
out the new porch on the left!
The new homemade pantry door open to view the hot water solar system. The
80 gallon tank regularly stays between 150-180 degrees! The blue circle is
the heat exchanger that converts the antifreeze heat from the panels to the
domestic hot water. |
