Journal

Every once in a while, I need a sweet treat. I try to keep my baking on the healthier side, but I’m not opposed to butter and sugars when needed. A few weeks back, I felt like my family and I could all use a sweet hug. So a real sweet treat was in order. Since I was out of eggs, I figured granola bars would fit the bill with just the things we had around the house. Granola bars are a great snack, they pack well for lunches, and have enough whole grains and seeds that you can sort of trick yourself into thinking they are healthy. (They aren’t though, so don’t eat a ton of them!) My family loved these bars — perhaps because I finally made something sweet enough to be considered a treat? (Ask them about my hot chocolate, which I consider a dark chocolate lover’s dream and they swear isn’t sweet enough.)

This recipe is modified from one by Inspired Taste. I substituted the sugar they use for unrefined sweeteners, replaced the nuts with seeds so my son could take them to school, used raisins instead of cranberries, and added some cinnamon. It’s a super easy recipe and one the kids would happily help pull together.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats (not the quick cook kind!)
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds (pumpkin seeds would also work well)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 3 tbsp date syrup (this is easy to find where we live, but if you can’t find it molasses is a good substitute as it is full of flavor and nutrients, or just increase the quantity of maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup raisins
• Cinnamon to taste

Directions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F and toast the oats and seeds. Approximately 10 minutes, stir and check halfway through. Transfer to a large bowl when nicely golden.
• While oats and seeds are toasting, put honey, maple syrup, date syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt into a small pot and heat medium-low on the stove until the butter is melted and all ingredients are well combined.
• Pour the butter and sweetener mixture over the oats and seeds and stir until combined.
• Add raisins
• Line a pan of approximately 8 or 9 inches square or 10 x 6 inches with parchment paper. Leave the paper long and overflowing as you’ll use this paper to press the granola bars.
• Pour the granola mixture into the pan and spread into the corners with a spatula.
• Sprinkle the top with cinnamon.
• Fold the remaining parchment paper over the pan and press the granola down firmly with your hands. Keep pressing longer than you think you need to. It helps them stay together.
• Chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
• Cut into twelve (or so) bars, or smaller “bites” Store either in the fridge or in an airtight container.

We’ve all seen them. The big yellow or green donation boxes of used clothes and shoes by the gas station, at the shopping center, almost anywhere. They are ubiquitous in the US and here in the Netherlands they abound, too. But what happens to the clothes shoved in those boxes? Do they go to help local families in need? Is this the “responsible” way to get rid of clothes your kid has outgrown?

Depending on where you are and the box you find, many of them are operated by for-profit companies that ship the clothes abroad to the developing world. “Well, at least they are going to people in need!” you say. Not so fast.

About fifteen years ago, I spent a summer living and working in Rwanda. There, in the market places, you'll find giant stalls of clothes and shoes from Europe and the US. Think of this flood of cheap clothes as the Walmart that runs the mom-and-pop stores out of business. Throughout Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, there are tailors, dressmakers, and small-scale manufacturers struggling to compete with the cheap prices of imported second-hand clothes. This has become such a problem, that countries in East Africa were beginning to consider banning the sale of secondhand clothes. Unsurprisingly, the US wasn’t thrilled with this idea and under the threat of sanctions, most of these countries backed down. But let’s be real, if they were passionate enough about this issue to stand up to the US, maybe we should listen to them, and do our best to keep our secondhand clothes close to home.

So what can you do to avoid sending your kids clothes abroad? 

Buy less, buy better, and repair more. Repeat after me: Resist the sales! The biggest driver of this overwhelmed system is our desire for more and more items for ourselves and our kids. Just because it is a bargain, doesn’t mean your kids need it. Think before you buy another item. If family members want to buy clothes for your kids, help them fill in the gaps with quality items the kids actually need, and that will last. And, of course, get all the hand-me-downs and secondhand gems you can, and repair to make them last.

Focus on local charities. The big well-known charities are often so overwhelmed with clothes that they sell a lot of them at auction. And guess where they end up? (HINT: see above.) Smaller organizations may need the kids clothes you’ve got. Ask around for refugee resettlement agencies, domestic violence shelters, and other organizations that support families in need or in times of crisis. They may be thrilled with a collection of clean and well sorted kids clothes.

Organize a clothing swap. This is a great way to get rid of the clothes you no longer need and maybe pick up a few items you do. (PS- clothing swaps for parents over a wine or a whiskey is also a great thing to do!) I’ve seen parents organize school-wide clothing swaps as a fundraiser for the school. Pay a small entry fee at the door and get all of the clothes (or toys!) you need.

Be real about what’s unusable. Some things just can’t be salvaged and aren’t worth passing on. You can cut these up into your own household rags, or take them to a textile recycler. Our old neighborhood in Philly used to bring a textile recycler to a big neighborhood event. It was genius! Folks were already coming out to join in a fun event, and they could just bring their unusable items along to be made into rags and insulation.

Encourage the Next Generation of Donation Boxes. I’ve recently come across this interesting company, Helpsy, that is doing donation boxes differently. In addition to the usual local second-hand market and rags/insulation sales, they are partnering with fashion designers to upcycle the clothes they collect. Now they do sell some of their clothes globally, but as a B-corp (that is an independently certified company that benefits the social and environmental good) they might just hear the pleas to stop sending clothes abroad. 

So I’d love to hear from you: what are you doing to reduce the social and ecological impact of your kids’ clothes? Have you found creative ways to buy less, buy better, repair or pass along? What works for you? Shoot me an email or comment below!

-Marianna

If you are anything like me, your social media feeds (and maybe inboxes) were overwhelmed this weekend with praise for mothers and mother-figures all in celebration of Mother's Day. Mothers are a force, not just on Mother's Day but every day, all around the world. It is impossible to deny the global impact that mothers do and can have. That's why I'm proud to be featured by the Global Moms Challenge highlighting the work that mothers do to make the world a better place. Check out their blog post, featuring many impressive moms!

Read the blog post>

For those of you who celebrated Mother's Day this past weekend I hope you had a great day. It's not an easy holiday for many people (me included). If you're struggling to become a mother (or have another child), if you've experienced pregnancy loss, loss of a child, loss of your own mother, or have a challenging relationship with your mother, the holiday can be a challenge.  If that's your situation, I see you and hope you find healing.

❤️

There are many great things about your own kids being your business inspiration. You get a great sense of the problem--the giant pile of torn pants showed me quite clearly where there are issues with kids' clothes. And as we moved into product development, it became clear that one of the best benefits of having my kids be the inspiration was product testing.

I have the benefit of an in-house product tester who truly puts each article to the test. He climbs, hikes, plays soccer, and occasionally trips and falls in his Jackalo™️ pants. Each activity (and accident) helps me see where our products are passing the test, and where things need to be changed. With this latest set of samples, I'm loving seeing each pair find a spot in his wardrobe.

After three days (yes, three) in our jersey cotton-lined Ash pants, Elias said he liked them as much as his "other" pants (that is, sweatpants from name-brand companies), he was sheepish and embarrassed. He added, "Is that a bad thing?" Not at all! It's a great thing. I've been very successful finding pants that meet his comfort standards. What's impossible is finding pants that meet that standard and mine: pants that last, look good, and are produced ethically and sustainably. Now, we've got pants that meet both his standards and mine. And I can't wait for your kiddos to put them to the test. 

More soon,
Marianna