Living-at-home includes attending the festivities of the town. Last evening I wandered about the 'Marche Francais"in the Piazza of Santa Maria Novella, with locals and tourists alike enjoying food and wine.
I didn’t buy anything. I wasn’t hungry, and after purchasing alpaca yarn to knit an afghan, there is no room in my suitcase. But there is more to this refraining. I love salty, greasy food, but I try to say away from indulging. I also try to stay away from buying. There is too much stuff in the world, more than we need, but not distributed equally or fairly to the world’s people. In buying a piece of clothing, I add to the greed of the privileged by encouraging the fashion industry to manufacture more than we can physically use. Go into any store, in the U.S. or in Florence, and see more pieces of clothing than will ever be purchased. No problem, get rid of the excess somehow: change the current style, market using young bodies to express hope of a rich, carefree life, one that will forever remain young and sexy.
And then there are leather stalls in Florence? If all those purses and coats are genuine leather, what about the animals? Where are they raised? How are the slaughtered? How are their carcasses disposed of? Sorry to burst your bubble, but all of this has to do with saving the environment.
For the past seven years I have bought new few piece of clothing or other household items. Most of the gifts we give are from the put-and-take at our town dump. I travel instead. I am a little sorry that I bought that yarn for the afghan I’m knitting. There must be folks out there with stashes of yarn to share, and I can do with out alpaca. I’m learning.
I didn’t buy anything. I wasn’t hungry, and after purchasing alpaca yarn to knit an afghan, there is no room in my suitcase. But there is more to this refraining. I love salty, greasy food, but I try to say away from indulging. I also try to stay away from buying. There is too much stuff in the world, more than we need, but not distributed equally or fairly to the world’s people. In buying a piece of clothing, I add to the greed of the privileged by encouraging the fashion industry to manufacture more than we can physically use. Go into any store, in the U.S. or in Florence, and see more pieces of clothing than will ever be purchased. No problem, get rid of the excess somehow: change the current style, market using young bodies to express hope of a rich, carefree life, one that will forever remain young and sexy.
And then there are leather stalls in Florence? If all those purses and coats are genuine leather, what about the animals? Where are they raised? How are the slaughtered? How are their carcasses disposed of? Sorry to burst your bubble, but all of this has to do with saving the environment.
For the past seven years I have bought new few piece of clothing or other household items. Most of the gifts we give are from the put-and-take at our town dump. I travel instead. I am a little sorry that I bought that yarn for the afghan I’m knitting. There must be folks out there with stashes of yarn to share, and I can do with out alpaca. I’m learning.