–eating a salad w/fresh lettuce from my neighbor’s garden. gifted over the fence between us, with an accompanying smile because we don’t speak the same language
–CatGirl’s super-orgnanized studiousness, including color-coded notecards for each subject
–GameBoy’s cello audition going well, and his placement at FIRST CHAIR in the school orchestra after 2 weeks of concerted practicing
–knowing that I am surrounded by friends who care deeply about the fate of my immortal soul
–taking the car into the shop and exiting with a bill of less than $50
–a trim of my bangs, so I can see the world again
–wearing my brown oxford shoes. because it’s fall now
–the leftover cornbread that I am about to eat, drizzled with fresh honey from Logan
:)
The second in my series of letters to companies that I patronize, asking them about their labor and environmental practices:
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Dear Lands’ End:
I’ve been a customer of your products for many years. The quality of your products are unrivaled in the clothing industry, which I greatly appreciate!
However, I am curious about the places where your clothes are manufactured. For example, I recently bought a polo shirt that was made in Malaysia. What efforts do you make to ensure that the workers you use are paid a fair wage? Also, what efforts do you make to ensure that the fibers used in your clothing are farmed in an environmentally-responsible manner? These issues are important to me, and may affect my future clothing purchases.
Dear Ms. R—:
Thank you for sharing your concerns with us about the welfare of the employees who manufacture our products. We require all our suppliers, foreign and domestic, to follow our Standards of Business Conduct. It is posted on our Web site. You can find this by clicking on the “About Us” link on the bottom of our homepage and then clicking on the “Our Business Standards” link.
Compliance with these standards is a condition for becoming and remaining a Lands’ End business partner. In addition, we use the services of an independent agency to monitor our suppliers.
Lands’ End is also committed to being a good steward of the environment. We take special care in selecting partners who share our concern for the environment and adhere to their local and national laws regarding the protection and preservation of the environment.
Once again, thank you for sharing your concerns and for giving us the opportunity to respond.
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I like how explicitly Lands’ End states their company’s policies in their Business Standards. Though I’m still not satisfied about their environmental choices–following local and national laws isn’t proactive enough to satisfy me. However, I will probably continue to patronize Lands’ End because it seems environmentally responsible that a pair of their pants will last my kids 5 times as long as a pair from Target.
If you would like to send a similar letter to Lands’ End, you can contact their customer service reps here: productinquiry@landsend.com