I spent some time on the couch this weekend reading Hot, Flat, & Crowded: Why We Need A Green Revolution- And How it Can Renew America, a book written by Thomas Friedman in 2008 and then expanded by him in 2009. It was dense, full of economic terms and events that sit outside of the things I normally read. I think my time with it was important though- Friedman made conclusions that I knew to be true- essentially that we've overvalued financial gain and grossly undervalued our greatest resource- the environment. This explains I believe, in least in part, why we continue to borrow & steal from it, why we continue to squander its limited resources.

Dear, dear neighbors, this single planet is all we have. And it is the only planet our children & their children will have. For their sake, we must do much, much better. If we don’t examine our consumption- our purchases big & small nothing will change, and even that is only one part of a much larger “treatment” plan. But it’s one of the things we can control. We’ve got to start thinking about where the things we buy actually come from, how they’re made, how long we’ll use them, and what will happen to them when they have lost their usefulness for us. Our fate and that of our immensely beautiful oceans, our fertile soils, our air- is tied directly to these kinds of really inconvenient choices.

We must choose to become more conscious consumers, which means we gotta think bigger. If we are to outlive the elephants, and the rhinos, and the polar bears, whose fate are signs of our own- if we are to survive as a species, we must restrain ourselves from buying so many of those things that don’t hold value: things on sale, things built to be discarded, things built to be quickly replaced. We must pause before we make a purchase. And there is nothing easy or cheap or fast about it.

We face an incredibly high stakes challenge on that gets more difficult with each passing day, but like it or not, if we don’t start making consistently, thoughtful choices about what we buy, the fate of elephants, and rhinos, and polar bears will quickly become ours as well.

This is our planet, our inheritance, and its health is the most important legacy we’ll pass along to generations of humans we’ll never meet. This musing is dedicated to them.

xo, 

Kimberly

For us, reform in the most straightforward terms, is best defined as substantial change. Specifically, criminal justice reform (and we mean meaningful reform) must include changes in how our criminal system functions, from: how arrests are made, to how bail is calculated & collected, to how trial proceedings are communicated, to our rate of incarceration & sentencing guidelines, to how we equip people to return to their communities.

Yup- all of it.

From another, completely different lens, reform means changing our relationship to consumption and convenience. It’s a change in how we get what we need, who we spend our hard earned dollars with, and what we give value to. Reform looks like changing who we do business with and what we expect from them in terms of their transparency and impact. It means discovering the importance of sustainable practices and holding ourselves to a higher standard when it comes to our individual consumption.

That said, we see the future of the fashion bending itself more and more towards the need to recognize the perilous state of the planet. And I see this happening as a result of consumer demand and we hope, a growing and shared acceptance of what science tells us about not only the future, but the here and now. The same is true of our thoughts on mass incarceration. We think more and more Americans, across lines of race & class, are waking up to the human and civil rights horror that is the age of mass incarceration. We think this is in large part to pop culture conversations that have grown visibility around our justice system. And our hope is that this energy, the momentum of this moment, will produce the revisions our future so desperately depends on.

Ultimately, it's time to change the metric.

Kimberly McGlonn, 
CEO & Founder, Grant Blvd

One of the questions I'm frequently asked is what inspires our approach to fashion design. And I want you to know, that more than anything, we are led by our understanding of how innovation can look in the world of fashion, namely the power of fabric reuse or repurposing. In fact, all signs point to the importance of playing with reclaimed and deadstock fabrics, of not using fertilizers, of avoiding new water usage. This ideal is our guiding star when it comes to sustainable style. This is why we choose to use reclaimed materials as our sole choice for fabrics. This is why we place all of our screen prints on reclaimed tees & sweatshirts. 

In looking back, our SS18 collection drew pretty heavily from the flirty, feminine energy of the 50s. This fall we’ve shifted our gaze towards the grit and grind of the 90s- still full of fun, still crazy, sexy, cool- but definitely a different edge. This season we’re paying homage to Janet & Aaliyah & Gwen & Chili. And here’s why: Sustainability requires enthusiasm for experimentation & play, and for respecting what still has undeniable value.  But it also requires persistent mindfulness about how our decisions impact the health of not only our planet, but of our communities. Sustainability is about shifting our metric and thinking more strategically.

Can’t wait to keep showcasing all the ways we can transform what we already have into something absolutely one of a kind!

XO, 

Team Grant Blvd

Does criminal justice reform, specifically the fight to end mass incarceration fit into the world of sustainable fashion?  For us, and women like us, the intersections are clear. Here's how: the American criminal justice system currently holds nearly 6.5 million people in its claws. That metaphor is not hyperbolic. Sadly, it's both purposeful and accurate. Our criminal system imprisons more people per capita than any other country in the entire world and it, this system of warehousing humans, costs our country billions of dollars.  And more often than most of us know, incarcerated people create millions of dollars for corporations, sometimes, ironically enough- in manufacturing.

That said, when these citizens return to their (our) communities after having served their time (and 95% of them will), many of them can’t get jobs. There are a number of reasons for this and one of them is simply employment discrimination. Many employers are suspicious of the character of formerly incarcerated people, and others are disinterested in dealing with the traumas some of them have to overcome. 

I, for one, am particularly concerned about what this means for other women, 80% of which are mothers. This has created a complex set of struggles for returning citizens, creating obstacles when it comes to finding employment, finding housing, and being reunified with their children. My ambition as CEO is to provide these folks with more of what they need, first by creating jobs in sustainable manufacturing and then by supporting them in the ways that research and wisdom say are best. 

I am so excited about the unique vision I have for creating a company that works for them, as well as for designing stylish, sustainably sourced garments that work for YOU and women like you- women inspired to take action, women inspired to be the change. 

Something tells me that this is going to be a win-win-win...

XO,

Kimberly McGlonn, 

CEO& Founder, Grant Blvd

Hello!

In thinking about Grant Blvd's very first blog post, I decided it was really important to introduce myself to you. After all, it's rather rare that we know who we are shopping with and what they value. 

I have always been a teacher. In fact, for 15 years I loved working as a teacher. Recently people want to better understand how, and when, and why, I decided to make the leap from being a being in the classroom to building a sustainable apparel brand. In truth, my journey of conceptualizing Grant Blvd began 2 years ago when as a high school teacher, I was working harder than ever to get my students to understand the complexities of the American criminal system. About the same time I was also becoming more and more concerned with the state of the planet. So, I spent a full year investigating the fashion industry and the prison industrial complex from a systems level. The more I discovered, the more I felt compelled to move beyond shock & anger to wanting to create meaningful solutions.

I know we need companies brave & bold enough to create space for returning citizens, companies willing to train them, and excited to employ them. We need companies willing to do the hard work of experimenting with the kind of multilayered, multifaceted approaches necessary for addressing the challenges we’re facing. 

In looking back, I’ve always wanted to do my part to recognize and resist imbalance. Mostly because of Grant Blvd, the block where I grew up on the north side of Milwaukee. When my parents weren't at work, they were fighting for the things they believed in. My dad wanted to make sure that people living in poverty had access to healthy food, and my mom spent time on weekends at Taycheedah, a women’s correctional institution, counseling incarcerated women. As kids, my sisters and I, we knew these things. And as an adult, those family memories have always been my guiding lights- my northern stars. 

I know so many women who like me, want to wear garments that are stylish & affordable, garments that are sustainably sourced & ethically made, and garments that speak to their commitment to social justice & reform. If this is you, look no further.

I'm so glad you found us.

All the best, 

Kimberly McGlonn, Ph.D. 

Founder & Creative Director, 

Grant Blvd