What’s So Bad About a Cheap T-shirt?

If you’re new to our journey (or even if you’re not!) we’ve created a video to introduce ourselves, our journey, and our mission. We’ll be posting here each Friday with videos and thoughts from the road, so we hope you’ll join the conversation.

The road always surprises us. We see things that we’ve seen a million times before, but somehow, on the road, it all looks brand new.

On a rainy Seattle Sunday, we found ourselves exploring downtown. The first thing we saw was H&M, and above the building, a billboard. Featuring an attractive but relatable couple, it said:

TEES: $4.50

TOPS: $9.50

We made some snarky comments about H&M, expressed our sadness, and kept walking.

After a few minutes, our impromptu tour guide (an old friend) tepidly ventured to ask,

“What’s so bad about a cheap t-shirt?”

This friend – a super-smart, worldly, and generally aware person – had never thought about where his clothes come from. He had never thought about the story behind his purchases. And he certainly wasn’t repulsed by that attractive H&M billboard like we were.

It was such a small moment – with such a big lesson. We explained to him in a few minutes about how clothes are made, who makes most of them, and why disposable fashion is destructive to the planet. Afterwards, he said,

“Oh, I had really never thought about that before.”

That moment is what our summer is all about. It’s about seeing things for the first time, even if you see them every day. It’s about bringing “the road” to everyday life, and taking a moment to think deeper about the things we rush past while we’re caught up in our busy day-to-day.

It’s about sparking one thought – one person at a time.

{r}evolution reel: The Trailer from {r}evolution apparel on Vimeo.

We’re Kristin and Shannon, the founders of {r}evolution apparel – a clothing company focused on sustainable and versatile design. We created the Versalette – one garment that can be worn over 20 different ways — as a dress, skirt, shirt, poncho, purse & more. It’s made in the USA with 100% recycled fabrics. In 2011, we launched the Versalette on Kickstarter and raised over $64,000. Since then, we’ve been featured in Forbes, Gadling, and the New York Times. To learn more about our mission, check out our website, FacebookTwitter, and watch this video about why we do what we do.