STORY SKYRTS MISSION STATEMENT

VISION: Bring mood lifting, vibrant images of nature into everyday experiences.

MISSION: Offer a multi-purpose clothing design that wraps you in the benefits of being outdoors and starting conversations.

VALUES: Follow principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

BENEFITS OF NATURE

  • Physical interaction with and visual immersion in Nature is good for our health. We benefit from all interactions with the outdoors.

  • A 2014 study showed plants in an office boosted productivity by 15%. Images of Nature in work spaces have the same positive effect.

  • Looking at both real world trees and images of trees reduces our level of the stress hormone Cortisol.

  • Research shows that being exposed to natural environments improves Working Memory, Cognitive Flexibility and Attentional Control.

THE CONSUMPTION PROBLEM

  • The United States represents just 5% of the world's population and consumes 23% of the world’s energy!

  • There are more shopping malls than high schools and every day an estimated nine square miles of rural land in the U.S. are lost to development.

  • 50% of the wetlands, 90% of the northwestern old-growth forests, and 99% of the tall-grass prairie have been destroyed in the last 200 years.

  • The average individuals daily consumption of water in the U.S. is 159 gallons, while more than half the world's population lives on 25 gallons.

  • The average American generates 52 tons of garbage by age 75.

THE FASHION PROBLEM

  • The U.S. generates 17 million tons of used textile waste annually. Every year, the U.S. exports more than a billion pounds of used clothing and 64% of the total amount of garments produced each year end up in landfills.

  • The fashion industry is one of the biggest causes of water pollution and wastage. For instance, it takes more than 5,000 gallons of water to manufacture a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. The fashion industry accounts for 20% of global wastewater.

  • The production of Polyester requires nearly 70 million barrels of oil a year and Polyester takes more than 200 years to decompose. This contributes to the fashion industry accounting for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

SOLUTIONS

STORY SKYRTS ROLE: REDUCE, REUSE, REYCYCLE

REDUCE: We are following the No Inventory model. That means when you order Story Skyrts, they are custom produced and shipped directly to you! Not carrying inventory means we can keep our skirts out of the waste stream. Even Ford Motor Company is now following the No Inventory model of custom ordering rather than filling miles and miles of parking lots with automobile inventory.

REUSE: We request when you want to pass your skirt on, you donate it to your favorite local thrift store or give it directly to someone in need. Story Skyrts will never fade and they look great on whoever wears them!

RECYCLE: Our skirts are made from 92% recycled plastic. There is enough plastic in the world! Our carefully sourced fabric makes Story Skyrts perfect for high activity and travel wear. They are breathable, anti-bacterial and moisture wicking which allows for quick air cleaning and drying.

GABRIELE’S PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT

VISION: Live in a way that supports creativity and the planet.

MISSION: Using creativity and my camera, strive to record experiences in the outer world and interpret their influence on my inner world. Send a physical expression of my inner world back to the outer world in an endless reciprocal cycle.

VALUES: Story Skyrts depict the things in nature I cherish and want to share. Skyrts are a billboard-like reflection of what is important to us all!

A NOTE FROM GABRIELE

“I want to take personal responsibility by being part of the solution in the planet equation. As a 17-year organic farmer, I have followed the principles of replenishing the soil with composting, minimal tillage and producing high vibrating nutrient dense food. Being a vegetarian, since the age of 16, has allowed me to reduce my carbon footprint. The decision to become vegetarian was influenced by the book Diet for a Small Planet where the premise is that an acre of land can feed up to 5 times more people that the grain from that land being fed to livestock, in addition to the deforestation, erosion and pollution that raising livestock creates. In these food conscious ways I REDUCE. Before making my own skirts, I borrowed most of my clothes from thrift stores - my favorite form of REUSE. My RECYCLE bin contents are always greater than my trash bin contents - I even recycle and compost when traveling in my van where I have a garden of microgreens and a composting toilet. All this is to maintain the cycle of giving back and taking less.”

We can’t as individuals solve all the problems of the planet, but we can solve some of the problems by our individual actions!