Hi, it was a long time ago, but i did a search for you and found an article. Unfortunately, it’s in dutch, but maybe you can translate it. I’m sorry, this topic is not my expertise, but i did find it quite interesting. And a bit disheartening, because this info is crucial for people who plant forests, but not for the casual gardener.

As far as looking for resources, that’s a very kind offer, but my garden is filled to the brim! It’s not big, but very wild and i tried to plant some native shrubs that i felt were most beneficial for both insects and birds. (And since literally all birds skip the paved gardens in our neighborhood and flock to our garden to sing, to feed, to mate, to rest and to breed, i would say that we are doing something right :-)

Apologies, i completely forgot to check my inbox! I’m not in the US and we don’t have a lot of nurseries around and nothing that focuses on native, organic plants, or caring about genetics. I was aware of the genetical issues, since i follow some nature blogs that focus on the things happening in our country, for instance the problems with importing tree seeds that seem native, but genetically they are not really, which - or so i heard - is also a problem for our insects.

Thank you for your reply and have a great weekend

A couple of years ago i started to read about the destructive nature of invasive plant-and animal species and decided to exclusively focus on planting native plants only, both in our little pond and in our garden. Unfortunately, garden centers sell a lot of invasive species, i don’t think there is any regulation (just yet) and most people who work there probably don’t even know anything about this

Some thoughts.

I understand that clothes that are ethical and of quality cost a lot more, but up to a point. Certain brands raise prices because they can hang a ‘green’ label on it. For instance, as a vegan i bought plastic shoes (not happy with that, obviously) and they were pretty cheap. Then, companies discovered they could call those shoes ‘vegan’ and the price went up, up, up, for those same cheapo shoes.

One of the reasons i learned to sew is that i hope to have slightly more control over the fabrics i choose.

I have a cotton sweater in my closet that is about 30 years old. It still feels very thick and it looks fine. The thing goes in the dryer and everything. Nowadays, cotton is so flimsy, it’s ridiculous. I’ve had clothes that i put in the washer before wearing them for the first time and they came out shredded.

But even cotton - or so i read - is not that environmentally friendly, because it uses a ridiculous amount of water, not to mention that some dyes are probably also terrible. Even wool sometimes undergoes harsh treatments that are not environmentally friendly at all.

I feel like the amount of effort we have to make to choose our clothing is ridiculous and tiring. Yet, with our actions we need to give a signal that we want changes (as a side note, just like i buy pants in the men’s department, because pockets). Actions through what we wear, but also political choices, because so many parties encourage greed in the name of ‘the economy’.