Doing My Part:
Values, Commitments, and Future Goals

As an independent artisan, my values are inherently brought to all aspects of my work and business practices. It is my responsibility to uphold these values, educate myself, and continue to seek ways to do better.

I currently support my values through the following actions:
- Attending workshops and educational presentations focused on topics including anti-racism, restorative justice, inclusivity, and cultural awareness
- Donations to diverse organizations supporting the rights and needs of marginalized communities (including BIPOC and LGBTQIA+), and direct aid to individual members of these communities
- Educating myself on cultural appropriation and historical context to create designs that do not steal from, promote hate towards, or perpetuate harm to marginalized communities
- Providing complimentary basic repair services for each hat I create, and consciously constructing hats in a manner that allows for easy future alterations and redesigns to keep the piece wearable for as long as possible.
- Using vintage, recycled, secondhand, discontinued, deadstock, or remnant materials and embellishments whenever possible
- Minimizing waste by saving and repurposing the majority of scraps of all materials
- Avoiding use of harsh chemical stiffeners, dyes, and adhesives whenever possible; when stiffener is needed, I only use either gelatin-based or PVA (alcohol) products
- Handling and disposal of any hazardous materials in the appropriate methods
- Reusing shipping materials for the majority of orders, and only purchasing new shipping and packing materials that are widely recyclable. No new plastics are purchased, and if any wraps or air pillows are included in a shipment they are both reused and recyclable (see Resources section below for recycling information)
- Orders shipped via the Etsy shop are carbon offset
- In 2022, installed a filter to my laundry system to mitigate the polluting impact of microparticles on the water supply when washing materials (link to the filter I use below)

I plan to further my commitment with these specific goals and continuing actions:
- Convert home (which includes the Frontier Millinery studio) to mainly solar power
- Begin a Patreon profile with all funds earned to be donated (specifics TBD)
- Find and switch to a more sustainable and responsible packing tape option
- Continue limiting purchase of new materials and prioritizing using existing stock on hand and other sustainable options
- Continue to read, learn, listen, and share information to defend and amplify marginalized voices in the millinery, costuming, and fashion communities

Resources

Information on recycling: https://how2recycle.info/
Filtrol, the filter system I use: https://filtrol.net/
The Fashion and Race Database, for education and research: https://fashionandrace.org/database/