I am a writer and executive administrator for Trusted Clothes, which is an ethical and sustainable fashion organization. The following is a series devoted in honor of the work done in collaboration with the Schroeckers and the Trusted Clothes team. Here I explore Haiti, part 1.
—
I want to talk about some natural fibres in one particular part of the world that is unique, that part of the world is Haiti, which is under a great amount of duress at the moment following some tribulations and trials (or ‘trials and tribulations’ in the early part of 2016) in the country.
But first, I want to discuss or point out some of the basic information around natural fibres in the world, and then that part of the world. Natural fibres are composed of mineral, plant, and animal fibres. They can decompose. Mineral fibres only have one kind as far as I have discovered/learned, which is asbestos. Plant fibres are made of cellulose primarily and come from plants, of course. Animal fibres are composed of amino acids linked together in chains or proteins. Animal fibres come from a variety of fauna including camels, alpacas, and others.
Synthetic fibres and man-made fibres differ from natural fibres in that they do not decompose and are prominently seen in such things as polyester. Polyester being made primarily in mainland China based on consumer demand from Europe and North America, I assume.
With respect to Haiti, they have a proverb that says, ‘Bèf pa di savann mèsi.” The ox does not thank the field. That’s probably true. Or “Bèl cheve pa lajan.” Good hair is not money. For a poor country, which often lacks for the basics of life, then this makes perfect sense. You wear clothes for livelihood or to just have clothing, not as a frivolous garment. What is Haiti?
Haiti is a Caribbean country in or sharing the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is to East. In 2010, it had a terrible earthquake. That earthquake devastated much of the country, and the country has upwards of 10 million people in it. In Canada, we have approximately 36 to 37 million people. It’s teeny little place with a tremendous number of human beings. The capital is Port-au-Prince. And its official language is Haitian Creole French or French. Recently, a deadly attack was conducted on a Haitian police headquarter as tensions arose in February. The tensions arose and individuals in military fatigues attacked at night in the coastal city of Les Cayes.
Gunmen stormed police headquarters on Monday and killed 6 people in an apparent shootout at a police station. Could the country be close to a civil war? One of the problems with the possibility for the civil war at the present moment is in light of the fact that the country was unable to sign in a new president because it missed a deadline to do so.
The individuals that committed the crime seized automatic weapons. Some of these murderous activities stem from February in terms of a political disagreement for the Caribbean nation. It failed to hold a runoff election. In other words, both deadlines were missed.
How does this relate to the natural fibres? Look at the people, look at the frustration, look at the clothes, it’s all intertwined. One giant interconnected web. Sisal, itself, has actually been used in terms of content materials for furniture and construction in addition to cars and plastics and paper products. The plant is quite hardy and can grow year round in hot climates and even in arid or dry regions that are typically unsuitable for other crops.
—
Original publication on www.trustedclothes.com.
—
—
Image Credit: Getty Images.