Episode 45: Smashed Candles, Slashed Wrapping Paper, and Huge Bags of Doughnuts: Corporate Waste with Anna (part I)

As you know, January is Trash Month here at Clotheshorse.  Today's special guest is Anna Sacks, who you might know as @thetrashwalker on Instagram and TikTok.  Anna shares videos exposing waste by large corporations...especially companies that direct employees to destroy and throw out otherwise perfectly fine products just because they didn’t sell.  This can include food, hygiene products, paper goods, furniture, candles...you name it.   And to be clear, this is a very common practice...but it’s kept hush hush. So you might not know about it!  And we are talking some really egregious waste….Anna will give a few alarming examples in this episode.  Today’s episode will be the first half of our conversation, with the second half coming on Sunday!

And please, sign Anna's petition urging Petco and Petsmart to change their policies regarding live animals.  You can see Anna's videos about Petco on Instagram and TikTok!

Learn more about Ironbound's mission for environmental justice in Newark, NJ.
Read the Vice article "Overworking and Humiliation Are Rampant in China's Toxic Workplaces."

If you have something to contribute to the conversation, thoughts, questions, more info...please reach out.  Your personal stories as consumers, workers, people who wear clothes, make clothes, sell clothes, like clothes...these personal stories are political at their core...and sharing these stories helps us shape what we do next.  So please reach out.  You can call the hotline at 717. 925.7417.  There’s also the old fashioned way, via email amanda@clotheshorse.world Or on instagram, @clotheshorsepodcast.

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If you're interested in making a one time donation, you can do that via Venmo, @crystal_visions

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If you can’t get enough of podcasts, then check out our sister show, The Department.  We talk about the trends that shape(d) our lives.  This week is all about Pantone, the company that systemized color!

Clotheshorse is brought to you with support from the following sustainable brands:

Selina Sanders, a social impact brand that specializes in up-cycled clothing, using only reclaimed, vintage or thrifted materials: from tea towels, linens, blankets and quilts.  Sustainably crafted in Los Angeles, each piece is designed to last in one's closet for generations to come.  Maximum Style; Minimal Carbon Footprint

Salt Hats:  purveyors of truly sustainable hats. Hand blocked, sewn and embellished in Detroit, Michigan.

Gentle Vibes: A vintage shop for the psychedelic mind. Formerly inside Jean’s in Hamtramck, with a new Detroit location coming soon.

Picnicwear: a slow fashion brand made by hand in NYC from vintage and deadstock textiles. Picnicwear strives for minimal waste but maximum authenticity; "Future Vintage over future garbage!". 

Shift Clothing, out of beautiful Astoria, Oregon, with a focus on natural fibers, simple hardworking designs, and putting fat people first.  Discover more at shiftwheeler.com

No Flight Back Vintage:  bringing fun, new life to old things.  Always using recycled and secondhand materials to make dope ass shit for dope ass people.  See more on instagram @noflightbackvintage

Late to the Party, creating one of a kind statement clothing from vintage, salvaged and thrifted textiles. They hope to tap into the dreamy memories we all hold: floral curtains, a childhood dress, the wallpaper in your best friend’s rec room, all while creating modern sustainable garments that you'll love wearing and have for years to come. Late to the Party is passionate about celebrating and preserving textiles, the memories they hold, and the stories they have yet to tell. Check them out on Instagram!

Vino Vintage, based just outside of LA.  We love the hunt of shopping secondhand because you never know what you might find! And catch us at flea markets around Southern California by following us on instagram @vino.vintage so you don’t miss our next event! 

Shop Journal: Specializing in upcycled, handmade, and vintage fashion for all genders. Owner Laura Cerri makes each piece by hand with love in Pittsburgh, PA. With an emphasis on upcycled menswear, tie-dye, modern jewelry, cottage core collars and everything in-between, Shop Journal makes pieces they love and hopes you will, too. Getting dressed should always be fun! See more on instagram
 @shop_journal

Wide Eyed Vintage:   a curator of truly covetable vintage, from Minneapolis, MN. WEV encourages the experimental spirit of dressing up and will provide you with all the special pieces that will make your wardrobe truly unique. Dedicated to preserving the craftsmanship of clothes, WEV only selects pieces that are well made, pieces that have been proven to last beyond their lifetimes so you too can enjoy them for more lifetimes to come.  See more on instagram @wide_eyed_vintage.

Old Flame Mending helps you keep your clothes intact through clothing repair, visible mending, and tailoring. Through extending the life of textiles, Old Flame Mending makes your pieces not only wearable and functional again, but also unique and beautiful. This mending duo is based in Pittsburgh, but they take mail in mending orders from anywhere in the US. For more information, visit them at oldflamemending.com or follow them @oldflamemending on Instagram!

Gabriela Antonas is a visual Artist, an ethical trade fashion designer, but Gabriela Antonas is also a radical feminist micro-business.  She’s the one woman band, trying to help you understand, why slow fashion is what the earth needs....