FROM THE FIELD: We visited our friends Polartec last week as they set up shop in Harvard Square. On a sunny Saturday in Cambridge, all signs pointed to Eastern Mountain Sports, where Polartec was busy making a fashion statement. The task at hand? “Trying to get people to care about what they wear.”
Throughout the sidewalks of Harvard Square, brightly-colored, spray-painted arrows and text beckoned passersby to EMS, and more importantly, to think twice about the waste we produce and the clothing we wear. At the store itself, Polartec set up signs throughout the store, all reminding shoppers of the components of the clothing on display.
Polartec has long been committed to the process of their product: fabric that goes into much of the clothing found at Eastern Mountain Sports, as well as many other big outfitters. As they explained it: “We make the fabric, and we start with recycled material.” Just as consumers are now paying closer attention to the food that they eat and the ways it is produced, Polartec is eager to grow consumers’ awareness about their apparel. Their campaign in Massachusetts is just one of many events they will be organizing in the next months to bring consumers closer to their clothing and the “future of recycled fabric.”
You can catch up with Polartec at the American Field Pop-Up Markets later this month in D.C., Atlanta, and Brooklyn. It’s a good time.
Margaret Scott is a writer, researcher, city planner, and athlete. She is our resident expert on all things New England.