Co-Founder of Create and Sustain
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Three quilters; Patty Murphy, Kristi McDonough and Jennifer Sampou came together with an idea to help our communities become more sustainable through education and organization. Create and Sustain is the first non profit organization dedicated to greening up the quilting, home sewing and fiber arts industries. We want to learn how to take better care of our planet and understand that lasting change happens one dedicated stitch at a time. We invite you to join us. 

I want to go Green

Going Green

Packaging

Studio Sampou now sends most mail orders using EcoEnclose products, a leader in sustainable packaging. It costs more, but its worth it! 

The EcoEnclose products we use include:

• 100% Recycled Boxes
• 100% Recycled Paper Apparel Mailers
• 100% Recycled Tissue Paper
• Water Activated Tape made of 50% Recycled Paper

When shipping out orders, sometimes you will see plastic in your package. This happens when we ourselves have received plastic from suppliers and are upcycling it to you, such as bubble wrap. Please reuse it again! 

Digitally Printed Textiles

Jennifer's SKY fabrics are digitally printed which is better for the planet. We are working with Robert Kaufman Company to increase the use of this process as well as introduce more organic cotton options. Digitally printed fabrics are more sustainable than traditional printing because it uses 90% less  water and 30% less energy. Less dyes are used and are 100% biodegradable and vegan friendly meeting both the Oeko-Tex 100 and Global Organic Textile (GOTS) standards. (Innovations of Textile Digital Printing International Journal of Science, Technology and Society 2019)

The quality of digitally printed textiles is amazing. It captures designs with hundreds of colors, the hand is soft and designs are detailed. It's opened up tremendous possibilities for making gorgeous prints. 

At the Studio​

At the Studio we are do our best to instill sustainable practices. Some changes we have made are:

• Using all LED and Natural Lighting
• 100% of our annual energy used is 100% regional renewable energy
• Donating Scraps of Fabric- every single bit!
• Recycling and Composting- no food, fabric or other compostable products ever go in the trash
• Mixing up cycled textiles in sewing/quilting projects
• Kin Quilts- Making modern heirlooms with worn textiles
• Electric car usage
• Financial donations to NRDC, Sierra Club, BIPOC Funds, Elephant Nature Park, Ocean Conservancy, California Whale Rescue, Hands in Outreach and  more. 
• Jen is mostly vegetarian. Flexitarian :) 🌎Changing life habits takes time, but significantly reduced animal product consumption. We all  start somewhere! 

Call to Action

We love new fabric and know you do too. However we can be more mindful in how we collect and build our maker stash. 

• Buy quality over quantity - for all your supplies
• Support people/businesses who support the environment​
• Add used clothing and textiles into your projects
• Contact companies to ask them about their enviromental impact. Here is a list of 13 questions to ask
• ​Sew your stash
• Is that plastic gadget really a good idea? 
• Does it have an afterlife, compostable or become garbage? 
• Join CREATE and SUSTAIN :) sayin' it again y'all! 
• Educate yourself on various environmental issues- my favorite climate activists include Greta Thunberg and  Genesis Butler. 

Hands in Outreach. Nepal

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Everyone is at a different point in their sustainability path. As we strive to do better, we learn more and increase awareness. We are not into shaming or blaming. We are into solutions and progress. We applaud every little change one can make that brings about a greener day. It's a patchwork of facts, science based research, green education, understanding and collaboration which becomes a colorful quilt stitched and created by all of us. ​    -j sampou