It's been over a year since I initially began Meddle. Since then I've decided to not only share my works but also a message...

I truly believe that if we all took more responsibility and care for our belongings, many of our environmental and systemic problems could be solved.

For example.

Why do people steal?

Many reasons. Maybe because we desire what someone else has more than what we already have and/or we want more. Greed.

Because we can.

Cherish what you already have. Do good for yourself and others and just maybe life will bring you what you need.

Why do we always want more new things?

Because we can.

All I ask - is that you contemplate the things you can do and why you do them.

Who you want to be - and how you can become it.

Contemplate where your new things come from. Where they will go when they've been deemed useless.

Love your home (EARTH) and your fellow human.

- Fashion is the 2nd largest polluting industry, after to oil and gas

- The U.S. Department of Labor found that 80% of contractors were breaking laws on minimum wage and overtime pay. They caught one contractor paying garment workers only $1.58 per hour in a state where the minimum wage was $15 per hour.

- 83% of textiles thrown away (should be disposed of properly)

- Fast fashion is a $136.19 billion industry as of 2024, it has grown by 10.74%

- New York alone 1.4 billion pounds of clothes each year — over $130 million !

- Biggest Players: Shien, Temu, Amazon, Zara, H&M, and Fashion Nova

- A paradox among Gen Z fashion consumers— 94% respondents said they support sustainable clothing but surprisingly 17% of them shopped at a fast fashion retailer every week, and 62% did so monthly. Only 10% claimed to have never purchased from fast fashion outlets. SHU study

- Over 3.8 billion pounds of used textiles in thrift stores and recirculated through America each year. Only 1-2% are high end brands and 95% get thrown away or “disposed” NRC

- Post consumer market forced to compete with landfills and constant influx of cheaper material 

- Less than 1% of old clothes are turned into new ones, and the amount of recycled polyester used in clothing has dropped about half since 2019.

- 35% of microplastics in the ocean are from fast fashion materials - Laundering a washing load of 13 lbs could release an estimated 496,030 fibers from polyester and 728,789 from acrylic. IUCN report 

- 11.3 megatons of textile waste ends up in the landfills every year since 2017, that is 80% more waste than the year 2000. Thanks Gen Z ♡

- Landfills are nearly 3 times more likely to be found in neighborhoods where a larger percentage of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) residents live, compared to other areas.

- Ultimately more than 50% of textile waste is just sent overseas to countries in the Global South, where they often end up in landfills. Very not cool.

All you have to do is StarⓉ somewhere. Whether it be reducing purchases of new unused items, fixing your old broken clothes/items instead of disposal, sharing unworn items with friends or family (doesn't only apply to fashion).

StarⓉ being more conscious about your waste.

I have always grown up in and around the recycling industry; the mindset that you are responsible for the endlife of the items you own.

MeddleStreet began out of my desire for new clothes but lack of desire to spend all my coin. First, I chose the worst option, and purchased fast fashion out of curiosity and ignorance. ( ˇ෴ˇ ).

I was greatly disappointed.

Left with a feeling of guilt and responsibility for items I couldn't even wear, I decided to start sewing again in an attempt to combat my waste.

After many failed attempts (and a pile of scraps I still have in a box somewhere ⊙﹏⊙), I had broken my idealistic-ocd-artist brain and was finally able to make ""fast fashion"" out of old clothes I had no use for or had found for little to no cost. None of the items I make are factory quality. None of them have perfect seam-lines and none would pass the average quality inspection tests. All of my pieces are tested for durability. All of them have been made with up-cycled or reused material.

I try to price items based on time and effort.