Radical Transparency

When I grew up – a long time ago, let’s just call it “the 60s” – the notion of radical, especially in an arch-conservative household – was anything but positive.  Think “free love,” Students for a Democratic Society,” that kind of thing.

Around the same time, surfers started hanging ten on the word as slang for “cool,” often shortening that to simply “rad.”

(If you’re interested in the history of the word, you can learn more here.)

I thought I’d pay homage to the word, and the idea, with a three-part series focusing on the radical ideas that are surfacing among us:  radical transparency, radical abundance, and radical reporting.

So, let’s hop into it, starting with transparency of the radical kind.

The apparel industry is catching a lot of heat these days, and rightly so, often for its opaque supply chains that can camouflage environmental ills, human rights violations, and questionable certifications that provide cover to greenwashing claims.

Today, overseas manufacturing provides up 97% of the clothing we purchase here in the United States

My friend in North Carolina, Eric Henry, runs the other way; he’s building an apparel supply chain – here in the U.S., no less – that is purposefully naked in its ambition to provide a clear window to every step of the supply chain.

(I wrote about TS Designs and Solid State Clothing, two of Eric’s endeavors, back in 2023.)

The TS Designs team recently launched the third version of Where Your Clothing, a website that provides complete transparency into the apparel manufacturing supply chain.

Here’s how it works:  Each garment is printed with a unique tracking number that, when entered on the website, allows you to see each step of the process used to make your clothing, from fiber and farming to wearing and recycling.  (Or from “dirt to shirt,” as Eric likes to say. TS Designs makes t-shirts and provides those for the B Corp shirts I sell online.)

If you’d like to see how this works in action, just check out the supply chain page for my t-shirts.  What I love best about this tracker is the human face it applies to those involved in the process by including their photos.  For instance, if you want to know more about the circular knit process used to make my t-shirts, just go ahead and email Alex Whitley at Contempora Fabrics.  Imagine that, real people with contact information!

You'll also see that my t-shirts travel just 738 miles in the many steps of the manufacturing process after the farming of the fiber.

In case that sounds like a lot of mileage, consider that the typical t-shirt travels thousands upon thousands of miles in its manufacturing process.

If you're thinking about printing t-shirts for your team, an event or conference, or even selling t-shirts online as I do, this is a great way to engage your audiences in storytelling with your brand's own supply page and back up your environmental street cred at the same time.

Now don’t you think that’s a rad idea?

Godspeed, friends.

Russ

💬 Think About It

"Speak the truth. Transparency breeds legitimacy." Mike C. Paul

💥 Quick Hits

•            Is there a cost of carbon? – Of course there is, though many in Washington, D.C. see it otherwise. (New York Times)

•            Surf’s up – Two surfing mentions in one newsletter – a first! Loving this story about women surfing in Sri Lanka and the movement of SeaSisters there. (reasons to be cheerful)

•            It takes a village 🙏 – Shout-out to James Bailey for becoming a paid supporter. James also does some writing of his own on Substack, On Money and Meaning. Appreciate your help, James!

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