“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another,” (Gandhi). The destructive practices of the last 2 centuries reflect this thought by Gandhi entirely. Technology has improved hundred-fold, but so has destruction to our planet, to what gives us the possibility of existence. Where did this ideology shift? Were humans doomed starting with the agricultural revolution, the moment humans gained control over the nature around them 15,000 years ago? What has shaped humans into the ideology that they are better than the creatures surrounding them? My answer of choice to this question is addressed by one of my favorite authors, Kathleen Moore, “Not...
Founding Oshki was completed with the mindset that sustainability and preservation would be put at the top of the priority list no matter the circumstance. Since July 2017, we have continued to put out new products - donating 5% of proceeds to non-profits working to preserve the Great Lakes. Although our customers have enabled us to donate over $1,200 to these amazing organizations, the feeling that Oshki could do more as a company to produce items of the utmost quality and sustainable materials has pushed me towards working on a shift to sustainability as a brand. One of the most shocking realizations I have come to over the last few months is the detrimental effects the fashion industry has on...
After a few weeks of college education at the University of Michigan, some of my lectures have inspired me to seek a greater understanding of sustainability, the human experience, and what I have done with Oshki in its first year as a company. Research I have been doing on human GDP over time on Earth and our carbon footprint as a species has revealed to me a daunting truth about the future of this planet. Within my inquires, one sample of evidence seemed to catch my eye above all. Astronomer Carl Sargan’s “Cosmic Calendar” helps conceptualize human activity on Earth. In this calendar, 1 billion years is equivalent to 24 days, and 475 years is equivalent to 1 second. Using...
