Happy Fall!
by Shenandoah Marr
Happy Fall! October is also the un-official start of the increasingly extended season of overconsumption. Halloween decorations and candy will soon be followed by endless advertisements about the importance of buying things to express love for yourself and others. Spokane Zero Waste wants people to enjoy holiday decorations, food, and community. We hope to shift the narrative on what holiday consumption can and should look like.
Imagine spending quality time with people you care about instead of stressing to find just the right gift for them. Or maybe giving yourself the gift of time to do something you enjoy or taking a nap. Think back to when you were a child on Halloween. What was the most memorable part? Picking out a costume? Going trick or treating with your friends and/or an adult? Trading candies with your friends? While there are material items with all of these memories, the parts that make you smile likely have more to do with your experience rather than if you had the current year's plastic jack-o-lantern or the most knick knacks around your house.
Spokane has several thrift stores where you can find costumes, home and outdoor holiday decorations, and party supplies. Consider purchasing pumpkins, gourds, and other natural holiday decorations that can be composted when the season is over. BONUS: Our Green Bluff farmers have had an especially difficult year due to the loss of the entire cherry and peach crops. Support them by visiting their farms now and buying your natural holiday decorations from them!
Local Business spotlight
I have owned a pair of Birkenstock Boston clogs since college (long before a 2022 Tik Tok trend made them impossible to find!). After the cork bed finally broke down this summer I researched my options. Not only did I want to keep my beloved shoes out of the landfill, I wanted to continue making memories with them. My late mother gifted them to me and these shoes have taken me through a lot! A quick internet search led me to Saad’s shoe repair, inside Frank’s Boot Shop on Market street. Saad’s is an authorized Birkenstock repair shop who will also work on other brands of shoes and boots. The staff was incredibly nice and after one week and $100 I walked out with a resoled and recorked pair of shoes. With the job they did I should be able to get another 20 years out of my beloved Birkenstocks! Check out Saad’s Shoe Repair
The Underconsumption Core Trend
We here at Spokane Zero Waste are not the only ones wanting to hang on to our textiles and home items as long as possible. A new report shows that many people, especially people in their 20’s and 30’s are tired of clothes wearing out after a few washes and furniture and other home goods breaking after a few years. We are thrilled to learn about more people joining the low waste revolution!
NO on I-2117
Election day is right around the corner. Although much attention is given to the Presidential election, local elections are equally (if not more) important to what happens in our community. Washington voters will be electing a new governor, public lands commissioner, and state officers. As a registered 501c3 non-profit organization, Spokane Zero Waste cannot endorse candidates. We encourage you to vote for candidates who support legislation and policy that is important to you. For the environment, Washington Conservation Action created a non-partisan tool where you can look up an incumbent's voting record and “score” on environmental legislation.
We can and have endorsed NO on I-2117 (repeal of Washington’s Climate Commitment act). We invite you to join Spokane Zero Waste and the over 500 organizations including labor unions, faith groups, environmental groups, and Tribal nations by pledging to vote NO on I-2117 in November. A NO vote on I-2117 ensures that our Climate Commitment Act will remain intact and that funds collected from the CCA will be used to support clean energy projects, access to public transit, and wildfire prevention. Confirm that you are registered to vote at your current address and commit to casting your ballot by November 5th, 2024.
Exciting news from California!
The California legislature recently passed the nation’s first textile Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program. If signed by the Governor, a statewide program to collect, sort, process, repair, reuse, and recycle textiles and clothing would be established. The program would be funded by textile producing companies who sell clothes in California. Although this would not affect Washington, we are excited that issues like textile waste and EPR are making progress!
