The Activist for Activists. Author of Make a Difference with Mental Health Activism and The Happy Activist: Journey the 5-Step Activism Path to Focus Your Passion and Change the World. Teacher, Psychologist, Environmental Activist, Animal Lover.
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Last Updated on October 25, 2024
A story about Crafting and Activism, also called Craftivism.
As Mary crosses the threshold and approaches the women’s department, the mall’s pop music fades into the distance and Vivaldi takes its place. A store employee glides up and in a hushed voice says, “My name is Victoria. Let me know if I can help you in any way”. She moves far enough away to give Mary privacy but close enough to read her body language. Mary wonders if Victoria is her real name.
Just browsing in this oasis of colors and textures is calming Mary’s nerves. Humming along with Winter, Mary studies the store mannequins, posed and clothed from head to toe – outfit, shoes, and accessories, to allow Mary to imagine herself in each ensemble at the wedding. She notices a mannequin wearing a fabulous pair of red shoes and scans up to see a navy blue dress that probably won’t upset upstage her sister or clash with her mother’s in the photos. And those shoes…Mary sighs. Victoria appears silently at her side, “That cut would look fantastic on you, and the shoes are on trend. Would you like to proceed to the dressing room while I bring your sizes?” She scans Mary expertly and then heads off.
The dressing rooms are more luxurious than her bedroom, and she plops on a soft white coach to wait. Victoria gathers the dress and shoes in less time than it takes Mary to find her car keys in the morning, and, of course, she nails the sizes. When Mary is dressed Victoria escorts her to a platform; under bright lights, she sees herself in a circle of mirrors. “Yes” murmurs Victoria, without waiting for Mary’s response. “I’ll get the accessories.” She slips away.
Mary studies herself from various angles. The length hits her right, the color flatters her, although she suspects the lighting is nuanced to make anything look good, and the pockets seem big enough to carry her cell and lipstick during the reception. Her fingers feel paper in the pocket depths, and she draws out a tiny scroll sealed with a red satin ribbon. Loopy letters on the side read, “Please Open Me.”
Enchanted with this lovely addition to the shopping experience, Mary unties the bow, opens it and reads the elegant script:
Beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder … It is woven into the very fabric of the cloth. Our clothes can never be truly beautiful if they hide the ugliness of worker exploitation.
Mary’s smile disappears. The mirrors show her the note many times. Thoughtful, she heads back to the dressing room and changes into her clothes. Working carefully, she rewraps the scroll, making sure it looks as delightful as when she discovered it. On her way out of the store, she drops it in a different dress pocket.
Crafting as Activism: Sarah Corbett
Mary is fictional, but the movement is real. Activist Sarah Corbett started craftivism to target stores carrying clothing from manufacturers that exploit garment workers. She trains craftivists to create opposition messages, put them in a beautiful package, and stash them in department store clothing for people like Mary to find.
Before Sarah started this work, her activism experiences were loud and rowdy, usually an extrovert’s knee-jerk reaction to an issue. As a strong introvert, this type of activism didn’t match her needs.
So, she combined her love of crafting with her concerns about the exploitation of workers. In a campaign to urge a company to pay a living wage, she embroidered handmade handkerchiefs for each board member. The handkerchiefs, stitched with the words “Don’t blow it,” got her group in the door to pitch the living wage. Citing the unique campaign, the company yielded.
Crafting is Quiet Activism
Sarah uses craftivism for quiet activism, dropping scrolls in stores during fashion weeks. She says,
I genuinely love fashion, and during fashion week there’s a spotlight on the industry. I’d like to use that so we can think about how fashion could be beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.
Resources
More About Crafting and Activism
Learn more about Shop Dropping.
The Craftivist Collective is an organization devoted to craftivism.
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