{"id":14818,"date":"2012-05-03T08:49:52","date_gmt":"2012-05-03T12:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uncommongoods.com\/?p=14818"},"modified":"2012-04-20T15:00:53","modified_gmt":"2012-04-20T19:00:53","slug":"made-green-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/2012\/made-green-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"Made (Green) in the USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our friends at Green 3<\/a>, Jim and Sandy Martin, have helped us add some fantastic uncommon goods to our assortment. From adorable babywear like the gnome babysuit and hat<\/a> and matching blanket<\/a>, to the perfect-for-a-breezy-spring-day reclaimed t-shirt scarves<\/a>, to the summer-friendly update on the popular recycled sweater skirt<\/a>, the recycled bridesmaid dress skirt<\/a>, the Martins know eco-friendly fashion. <\/p>\n

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Sandy and Jim. photo via Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce<\/a><\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

Jim works closely with our product development team to create unique clothing and accessories exclusive to UncommonGoods, like the bridesmaid dress skirt and the comfy, casual recycled dress shirt robe<\/a>. We love that these products come from recycled materials, and many are even created with the help of organizations working with disabled adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife Sandy started the company,\u201d he told us. \u201cShe grew up on a farm in Michigan and saw firsthand the negative implications on the farmer\u2019s health when they are exposed to chemical pesticides on a daily basis. She felt strongly that her company would focus on sustainable fibers that caused the least damage possible to the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Causing less damage to the environment means using organic cotton, like that in Green 3\u2019s babysuits, and reusing materials when possible.<\/p>\n

Sometimes those materials, like the sweaters used to make recycled sweater scarves, come from thrift stores. Others are leftovers from apparel manufacturers. \u201cWe actually look at what types of fabrics are available to us, and then design into the fabric,\u201d Jim explained. \u201cCertain fabrics lend themselves to specific applications and steer us into new product categories.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Clockwise from top left: A Green 3 Artist hand-drawing a graphic \/ Green 3’s warehouse storing reclaimed and excess fabrics \/ Tina, an in-house sewer at Green 3 headquarters. <\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

Once the fabric is in hand each piece is inspected individually to insure it meets aesthetic and quality standards. Thrift store items are washed before being deconstructed and prepared for cutting and sewing, so even though the garment created may be made from secondhand materials, it\u2019s as good as new.<\/p>\n

The processes of selecting, inspecting, and preparing fabrics and creating the final products are all done in the United States. \u201cSandy and I had both been in the corporate apparel industry for over 20 years. During that time we watched a steady flow of jobs going overseas,\u201d said Jim. \u201cWe just felt strongly that we could do it here and bring a few jobs back. What we\u2019re finding is that we\u2019re not the only ones that feel this way. More and more like minded companies are partnering, and quickly it is becoming more than just a few jobs. In our community alone we employ 20 people. But our network of partners employs thousands.”<\/p>\n

One partner helping Green three create handmade upcycled products for uncommon goods is Aspiro<\/a>, a non-profit organization offering job training and career options to cognitively disabled adults in Green Bay, Wisc. \u201cWe contacted Aspiro after learning of them through a news report,\u201d Jim said. \u201cTheir facility has been doing cut and sew work for years and they have a highly skilled labor force. When we toured the facility and saw the pride and passion of the workers, and how this opportunity for independence positively impacted their lives, we knew wanted to support the initiative any way we could.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Reclaimed T-shirt Scarf<\/a> \/ Dress Shirt Robe<\/a> \/ Recycled Sweater Scarf<\/a> \/ Recycled Bridesmaid Dress Skirt<\/a> \/ Gnome Babysuit(TM) & Hat<\/a> \/ Gnome Blanket<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

By partnering with Green 3 and other apparel manufactures, the skilled sewers at Aspiro earn fair wages and are given opportunities for independent living. <\/p>\n

Thanks to these dedicated workers, secondhand and leftover fabrics, and the imaginations of Jim, Sandy, and the talented designers at Green 3, we\u2019re always seeing updated products and trendy upcycled fashions. Which Green 3<\/a> design do you love most? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our friends at Green 3, Jim and Sandy Martin, have helped us add some fantastic uncommon goods to our assortment. From adorable babywear like the gnome babysuit and hat and matching blanket, to the perfect-for-a-breezy-spring-day reclaimed t-shirt scarves, to the summer-friendly update on the popular recycled sweater skirt, the recycled bridesmaid dress skirt, the Martins know eco-friendly fashion… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":14982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[743],"tags":[253,135,37,30,223,28,221,31,247],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14818"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}