http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?objectid=11986387&ref=twitter
Considering my last blog; it was timely that a recent article in the NZ Herald suggested that new parents were more likely to have a negative impact on environmentally sustainable behaviour.
It’s difficult to comprehend this statement when surely, as parents we are so invested in our kid’s welfare? Yet it appears we are able to dismiss the value of protecting the environment for short-term benefits. I previously discussed how the continual battle between time and convenience always seems to linger, and the response to this dilemma ultimately shapes our daily behaviours. Maybe this could explain why we can overlook the consequences.
One suggestion from the article was to consider our positive legacy and actually visualise how we want to leave the environment for our kids. I’m sure our kids would thank us for it.
So, after a lot of research into sustainable practices, my new Functional Dad skill is going to be…. how to knit.
Why? A number of reasons:
1. I’m a big fan of knitwear, big fan.
2. The gesture; it’s so easy to make quick and cheap purchases with little thought. I’m suggesting that investing in a gift with time and effort is more likely to be appreciated by the recipient.
3. Maybe dispel some myths about who knits.
4. Arguably the most important point, reducing child labour. The stats regarding our throw-away culture and the manner on which we source our textiles is tough to read. It was reported by the World Counts that there were still over 150million children labourers clocking up 313,630,000 hours of child labour. Some of these hours would have been attributed to sweatshops making cheap clothes in poor working conditions for little or no reparation.
5. Additionally, in the US alone 15 million tons of textiles go to waste annually, with only 15 % of consumers recycling their textiles. This is despite most textiles being recyclable. It is important to note that synthetic clothing may take hundreds of years to decompose which strengthens the argument of using natural fibres. The final stat, if the average life of clothing was extended by three months, it could reduce our carbon and water footprint by up to 10%.
I am going to learn how to knit using 100% NZ Merino Wool.
Watch this space for a perfect demonstration…
