Did you know that in 2015, according to the EPA, Americans discarded 16.03 million TONS of textiles into the municipal solid waste system? Did you know that 10.53 MILLION of those TONS ended up in landfills? We didn’t either, until we did, which got us thinking and…
So – without further ado… We’re super stoked to introduce a new line of SEEKJOY merch into the community marketplace! These little sleeves, designed to slip snuggly over a standard BIC™-style lighter, are upcycled from remnants of landfill-destined jeans that we have begun to intercept, seam-rip and re-purpose for various merch & goods.
Why lighter sleeves? Well, because many times when a lighter is pulled out of a pocket it is being used in a social setting – smoke breaks at work, candle-lighting, maybe even (dare we say) smoking a joint where it is not illegal…
What better of a time could there be to talk about what we must do, as two-leggeds, to bring about radical social change and transform how we interact with each other and our natural environment?
Okay, okay, okay…. We get it. Yes, we understand that lighters contain gas, a fossil fuel, and that seems to contradict our #SYLFFIRE (Support Your Local Fossil Fuel Industry Resistance Effort) initiative. But hey, maybe this is one of those things that can be talked about when someone sees your awesome, SEEKJOY-afied lighter and asks you “hey, what is SEEKJOY?” and you say something like, “well, it’s a small community-based project calling for radical social change pledging to catalyze immediate efforts towards the long-term, sustainable cohabitation of all people, nations and cultures.”
If, after looking into all this, that person you were speaking with brings to light this paradox it’s another chance for open dialogue and conversation, which is one of the first steps we believe is necessary in bringing about this radical social change.
Anywho – back to these little lighter sleeves. As with most all of our merch, they’re manufactured using alternative energy. Yes, the embroidery and sewing machines are running completely off-grid on solar. As we come across and intercept denim fabric from being buried in landfills, we’ll be making these Lighter Sleeves in small, unique batches and adding them to the SEEKJOY Community Marketplace. We’ve listed the sleeves for $12 each, but if you enter the discount code “keeptalking” (without the quotation marks) you’ll get $2 off each one so they’re really $10 each!
The sun’s currently shining so we’re going to follow the age-old adage, “Make hay while the sun shines” and keep on sewing.
Sending love to everyone out there supporting our work! Click the link below to view the current selection of SEEKJOY lighter sleeves from our pilot batch!
Link to View Current Styles: https://seekjoy.myshopify.com/collections/merch/lighter-sleeve
Source on EPA MSW Facts & Figures: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-07/documents/2015_smm_msw_factsheet_07242018_fnl_508_002.pdf