Monthly Archives: February 2023

Textile Recycling – FabScrap Focuses on a Sustainable Future

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I emerged from the 59th St. Subway station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn into a vibrant, energetic neighborhood. Blocks of 3-5 story, multi-tenant, walk-up brick apartment buildings lined the streets, many with small Asian or Hispanic shops, bakeries, and restaurants on the first level. A happy, multi-lingual chatter of families filled the air as parents escorted their children to morning drop-off at local elementary school PS 503/506.

Crossing 3rd Avenue, the sky was blocked by the elevated Gowanus Expressway. I could hear the muffled rumbling of traffic overhead. Busy delivery trucks and taxis carefully made their way up 3rd, dodging construction teams working on the underside of the Gowanus.

I was headed to volunteer with FabScrap – New York City’s largest fashion recycling organization – whose goal is to help end commercial textile waste by recycling waste generated during pre-production and production of consumer products.

Located in the Brooklyn Army Terminal, FabScrap works with teams of volunteers to help sort and recycle over 2,000 pounds of fabric a week – keeping it out of landfills.

Site photos are mine. Arial photo from Google Search

The Brooklyn Army Terminal is tucked against the edge of the community, along the NY Bay. During WWII it was the United States’ largest military supply base, a sprawling complex of two enormous warehouses and a spattering of other buildings, spanning 6 blocks, 9 floors, and 55 acres. The warehouses themselves completely dwarf the buildings in the surrounding neighborhood. Today, the complex is used for commercial and light industrial/manufacturing use, artist studios, and maker-spaces.

FabScrap is in Building B, at the far end of a long internal atrium that once was a busy hub for weapons and supplies, but now seems weary and out of place and time. The metal frame of a once-glass-ceilinged dome sits rusting to the elements and open to the sky. An old, WWII-era train sits decomposing on moss-covered rusty rails leading up either side of the atrium. Dozens of cantilevered concrete ledges run up and along both sides. Each ledge buts up against metal garage door entrances, some long defunct. Large, chicken-wire frosted windows line each floor.

This morning was grey and drizzling and stepping into the atrium I took in a sharp, deep, breath. I felt as if I had entered an apocalyptic dystopian movie set. The air felt weary. A musty smell and the sound of the drizzle on sets of metal chairs and tables added to the chill.

Hidden beyond the atrium are over three million square feet of renovated space. The Terminal is a highly functioning industrial complex that houses over 100 businesses and 4,000+ good manufacturing jobs!

On the far side across the atrium, up on the 5th floor, FabScrap takes in more fabric than it can process most weeks (up to 3,000 – 5,000 pounds). They work with well over 400 NYC clothing labels, designers, furniture companies, and costume studios to help recycle their manufacturing waste (642 brands between NY and their second location in Philly).

FabScrap provides these companies color-coded canvas bags into which excess fabrics are placed (brown for general waste and black for proprietary fabrics the brand indicates cannot be resold or reused). This can be fabric swatches they no longer need, or fabric scraps from making sample items. Sometimes clients send damaged or unfinished samples as well. Clients leave the paper/cardboard headers, tags, and stickers still attached so FabScrap can identify the type and composition of the fabric.

Some of the fabric I sorted (left) and one I found in the scrap room (right)

FabScrap charges a small, tax-deductible pickup fee and provides empty bags at every pickup. The bags are brought back to the warehouse for sorting and recycling by teams of volunteers. This morning the volunteers were a mix of artists, quilters, regular citizens, and students from FIT – whose programs mandate a certain number of hours volunteering so students are introduced to the often-unseen side of textile production.

Each volunteer had a table for sorting, surrounded by bins labeled for each type of material. Our job was to pull apart bundles of fabric then remove paper, pins, stickers, and staples, and sort the fabric into the bins.

It is a very manual, time-consuming, and tedious process and up to 11 volunteers help during any 3-hour session.

Behind us, across the length of the warehouse room, was a floor-to-ceiling hill of pristine textiles in trash bags, waiting to be sorted.

After sorting, the fabric has a variety of end uses. Proprietary material and small scraps are shredded to create a colorful pulp called shoddy, which will be used to create insulation, carpet padding, furniture lining and moving blankets. Non-proprietary material is used by students, artists, crafters, quilters, sewers, teachers, and even other clothing designers who focus on eco-wear.

How much commercial textile waste is generated each year in NYC alone? It’s hard to say as there is no current industry model for tracking and laws in most states are non-existent. NYC has passed a regulation that all businesses are required to recycle textiles if textiles are over 10% of the business’ waste.

According to Grow NYC, the average New Yorker tosses 46 pounds of clothing and other textiles in the trash each year. All told, that’s almost 200,000 tons of textiles every year.(1) It is estimated that commercial textile waste could be as high as 40x consumer/residential waste.

Designers have difficulty recycling their textile waste. There is a lack of recycling options, recycling partners, and infrastructure, and commercial fabric scraps do not fit into the current resell-at-thrift or donation models. FabScrap steps into this space to help NYC designers and brands recycle their waste.

An example of shoddy

They also provide each company an “Impact Report,” which includes the end use of all sorted materials, the total weight diverted from the landfill, and the overall environmental impact. FabScrap has another warehouse location in Philadelphia which they launched in 2021.

According to Fabscrap’s annual report from 2021, they saved 305,977 pounds of fabric, 90% of which was recycled or reused and only 3% ended up in a landfill. They saved over 1,400 tons of CO2 emissions – the equivalent of planting over 20,000 trees.(2)

After each 3-hour shift, volunteers are able to choose and take home up to 5 pounds of material for free, either from their own sorting piles or from the large fabric recycle room. There were so many choices it took a solid hour for me to decide what I wanted!

In the end I took home materials to make two throw pillows for my couch – and a great experience and story to share with others! On my subway ride back to Manhattan, I thought about fast fashion and how often I’ve “cleaned my closet” by tossing clothes. While I tend to donate ones in good condition, I had been throwing away certain well-worn items. I think I’ll be trying to figure out how to reuse the fabric instead for potholders, to make fabric-rope baskets, maybe for quilting… What would you do with your unwanted clothing going forward? Send me some suggestions!

References:

Preserving History through Digital Transcription

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Volunteering with the Smithsonian Digital Transcription Center was an interesting and educational experience that allowed me to help preserve historical records. The Smithsonian created this program so volunteers, called “volunpeers,” can work together to transcribe handwritten documents into searchable digital text. Since the program began in 2013, volunteers have helped transcribe over a million pages of materials, including field notes, diaries, manuscripts, photo albums, and specimen labels.

One aspect I enjoyed about this activity was the ability to choose projects that matched my interests. The website offers general categories such as mysteries of the universe, women’s history, and world cultures, as well as projects connected to specific Smithsonian museums and archives, such as the National Portrait Gallery and the Archives of American Art. There is also a “new projects” section where volunteers can find recently added materials to work on.

I carefully read handwritten historical documents and typed the text into a digital format. Before starting you have to watch a tutorial that trains you on the specific process to follow.

The activity required patience and attention to detail because older handwriting can sometimes be difficult to read. It was fun to think that my contributions could help make these historical materials easier for researchers, students, and the public to access in the future. After transcription, other volunteers reviewed the work to make sure the text was correct. Peer review!

What I enjoyed most about volunteering with the Smithsonian Digital Transcription Center was the opportunity to interact with real historical materials. There were many really interesting documents to look through. It felt like stepping into the past and helping preserve stories that might otherwise remain difficult to access.

I also appreciated that this work allowed me to do the activity from anywhere and contribute to museums and archives. It is a great activity to de-stress and it’s easy to fit it into busy lives.

This experience helped me understand how technology and teamwork can protect important pieces of history. By participating in digital transcription, I contributed to preserving knowledge and making it available to a wider audience.

Volunteering with the Smithsonian inspired me to value historical preservation and recognize the importance of making information accessible for future generations.

Interested in transcribing? Check out:

https://transcription.si.edu

Fighting Nursing Home Loneliness through Caring by Cards

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For Seniors living in Nursing Homes, the experience can be both comforting and isolating.

Shutterstock: Image ID: 2125640579

Residents with health conditions who require daily oversight or medical care may need a skilled nursing facility, and there can be advantages to a Nursing Home such as providing physical safety and 24-hour access to trained physicians.

In some cases, nursing homes can provide seniors with a sense of community and engagement, helping provide cognitive stimulation, physical exercise, and daily connection to friends.

However, living in a nursing home can also be very challenging for residents.

Residents have been uprooted from the familiarity and comfort of their personal homes. They often feel a sense of loss from that. They may have been placed in a home far from family who cannot visit often and so they feel isolated or may not have the level of interaction with loved ones they had in the past. Dementia patients have a hard time adjusting to new, unfamiliar environments and so can become stressed and angry. Residents must also adjust to new schedules and routines with less flexibility, less freedom and less independence. They cannot leave when they want or go do what they may want to do. They have less choice (set menus, set activities, etc.).

https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos

No matter how wonderful the nursing home is, no matter how much the staff works to build a sense of community and trust with and among residents, no matter if the nursing home schedule and menus are beneficial to the overall mental and physical health of the patients, residents may lose self-esteem and feel depressed. They can become fearful, lonely, and feel isolated.

The prevalence of severe loneliness among older people living in care homes is at least double that of community-dwelling populations: 22% to 42% for the resident population compared with 10% for the community population.(1)  Such feelings can lead to a decline in physical health and quality of life. Cognitive abilities can be negatively impacted.

What can we do to help?

One way to help residents of Nursing Homes feel connected and loved and remind them that they are important, is by sending hand-created or hand-written cards and notes.

I know cards will not solve social isolation, depression, and loneliness, but sending cards is an accessible way to connect from a distance and send hugs to someone to brighten their day. Receiving hand-written cards and notes can provide happiness and a feeling of belonging. It is an easy way for you to reach out to support someone and share a hug across the miles. And the residents I’ve worked with LOVE receiving them!

The non-profit Caring by Cards lives in this space. They are focused on bringing joyful moments and smiles to residents of Nursing Homes. Their goal is to sharing love.

Caring by Cards rallies the public to send hand-made cards and letters to local Nursing Homes for distribution to the residents. They partner with a variety of homes in various States across the US but they also encourage participants to look up their local nursing homes and make cards for the residents there. They provide guidance on how to do that.

Sharing Valentine’s Day LOVE!

The week leading into Valentine’s Day my Firm’s group of new Spring Interns took a much-needed break from tax form preparation to partner with Caring by Cards.

Members of our Spring 2023 Intern class, getting to know each other and making Valentine cards for a local nursing home.

We created over 80 Valentine’s Day cards for a New York City based assisted living and nursing home in Manhattan. One for each resident.

Because the Interns were newly hired and still bonding with each other and the Firm, it was an amazing opportunity for them to do something fun and meaningful while getting to know each other! And they jumped right into creating the cards!

It was very fun to see how they approached the project as individuals and as a team, and to see how wonderfully creative they were in creating the cards.

I was very proud of the team for their work!

They started with piles of the basics – colored card stock, stickers, colored markers and pens, etc.

And we discussed some suggestions and guidance on wording for the messages, format for the cards (simple and large).

It was a great way to de-stress from the work of the day and have some positive impact on members of our community.

The nursing home we chose was one connected to Caring by Cards and it was not far from our office.

As you see from the photos, we we have some very talented interns! However – Caring by Cards reminds us that the cards do not need to be fancy or extravagant. Just making something hand-made is special!

At the end of the day, I dropped the cards off at the facility. Each resident received a card on Valentine’s Day and our team had a lot of fun together making them.

But that’s not the end of the journey! This post is action-focused for YOU too!  

YOU can help bring smiles to local Nursing Home residents and it’s SUPER EASY to do it!

All you need to do is follow these steps:

  • STEP ONE: Find a Nursing Home and connect with them:
    • Caring by Cards partners with a variety of homes across the USA: https://caringbycard.com/?p=256 or you can do a Google Search and find a local home.
    • Be sure call the nursing home and ask to speak with the Head of Recreation so you can tell them you are making cards to send to them so they can be on the lookout for them. Remember to get a person’s name to address the packet to, and to get a good mailing address.
  • STEP TWO: Make the cards (any number of them):
    • You do NOT have to make a card for every resident. You can send a few or many.
    • KEEP IT SIMPLE – you don’t have to go fancy. In fact, you want them to have large drawings and large print.
    • You can write notes in store-bought cards instead of creating cards, but creating simple cards goes the extra mile and always brings on smiles!
  • STEP THREE: Drop off or mail the cards to the destination:
    • Often you won’t be able to give your cards directly to the residents (for health reasons), but don’t worry – the team at the facility will make sure your cards are distributed.
    • You may want to take a photo of your card-makers and include that in the packet with the cards. The residents LOVE to see the photo! We included a photo of the Interns in the packet with our cards.

Any amount of cards goes a long way!

Don’t worry if there are not enough cards for every resident, the staff at the facility will use your cards as centerpieces for a meal, or hang them for display in a central area, or hang them on the shared room doors of the residents.

Want to try a simple Pop-up Card?

Want to get a little more creative? Pop-up cards are great for visual engagement. You can find step by step instructions here: https://tinkerlab.com/simple-diy-pop-up-cards-for-creative-kids/

More tips:

CLICK on the image to enlarge and see the tips.

It takes very little effort to bring a smile to a senior citizen at a Nursing Home!

I hope you will make a few cards and send them. It’s a great rainy day activity and it’s great for children’s parties, school/club activities, office lunch activities, etc.

If you do create cards, please post a photo in the comments – I would love to see your creations!

Want to learn more about Caring by Card?

Check out their website at: https://caringbycard.com/

Thank you for journeying along with me this week.

XO XO – Penny

Citation:

1. Victor C.R. Loneliness in care homes: A neglected area of research? Aging Health. 2012;8:637–646. 

The Bowery Mission:

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Loving Actively through Hospitality and Compassion

Concrete beds in cardboard houses line the city sidewalks.
Tattered blankets, fast food remnants,
The smell of rusty, wet scaffolding.
Black plastic trash bags hold all the Universe.
Watching with heavy eyes through subway grate steam
until the suffocation of invisibility settles in.
They turn away from the lights of the street,
turn their backs on the world and endure a restless sleep.

Cardboard cabins built by the homeless on 37th. The residents will remove them each morning and rebuild them each night.

Each night, thousands of unsheltered homeless sleep on the streets of NYC and over 65,000 sleep in city shelters.1 Often, homelessness is accepted as a ubiquitous and expected background of daily life in the city, just like taxi cabs and neon signs. Encounters with panhandling and outbursts from mental illness make homelessness and poverty visible and uncomfortable – something evoking fear.

The Bowery Mission steps directly and unquestioningly into this, fiercely bringing their core value of “Love Actively” to life. Since 1872 this organization has exemplified love as action through compassionate care – offering free meals, clothing, showers, and a place to sleep for anyone in need of hospitality.

From humble beginnings in a small wooden building, to multiple sites in New York City helping those in need, The Bowery Mission served over 250,000 meals, provided over 55,000 nights of shelter, and over 20,000 articles of clothing in 20222. Sweat equity that builds relationships and restores communities.

In addition to these emergency services, they offer residential and transitional programs such as long-term residential support, psychological counseling, addiction recovery, educational and life classes, vocational mentoring, job training, certification programs and more.

I had volunteered at both their Bowery and Tribeca campuses, helping serve meals to those in need. This particular morning we were serving a hot breakfast with eggs, bacon, French toast, fruit, pastry, and coffee, to both the residents in the Bowery program and hundreds of homeless who came regularly to get a solid meal.

Clients in their programs come from all walks of life and are all ages. They all have a common denominator – life’s circumstances brought them to very hard times. Some lost jobs and were unable to find new ones so were evicted, some battle alcoholism and drug addiction, some left abusive family situations, some battle mental illness. There are many stories of trauma and pain. The Bowery Mission promotes the flourishing of New Yorkers by helping work through that trauma and pain and overcoming homelessness and marginalization. Their programs care for the whole person – body, mind and spirit.

While serving breakfast we were able to speak and connect with the people who had come for a hot meal. One client told me the Bowery team members and I were the first people to have a conversation with them in over 24 hours. On the streets, they said, “…no one looks us in the eye or speaks to us.”  Another client told me they look forward to regular breakfast meals at The Bowery because… “It’s nice to know there’s someone who loves me.”

Building bridges through hospitality and compassion means the world becomes a little less brutal for the clients for that moment, and by getting to work with the homeless and build human relationships, I live with a little less fear because they are less invisible and unknown.

You can read more about the amazing history of The Bowery Mission, make a donation to support their programs, or find out how to volunteer here: Donate, Volunteer or Learn More to Help the Homeless & Hungry | The Bowery Mission

References:

  1. Statistics for NYC Homeless comes from: How many total people are homeless in NYC? – Coalition For The Homeless
  2. Statistics come from The Bowery Mission’s site: Homelessness & Poverty in New York City | The Bowery Mission