Follow blogger, Angela Stefano, in this GrowWNY feature series, called Sustainable Shopping. Here you'll get the inside scoop on the local products and businesses to look for to truly shop green.
“Art has to be cheap & available to everybody. It needs to be everywhere.” This is according to the enfamous Bread and Puppet Theater’s Cheap Art Manifesto. Tanya Zabinski and Joe DiPasquale, of Planet Love, made this 1980's declaration an important part of their business philosophy.
“Tanya believes that art should be part of everyday life and affordable to all,” says DiPasquale. “The bottom line is not our first focus. Creating art, enjoying our work and not harming others to make a living all come before profit."
Zabinski founded Planet Love in 1986 after studying textile design in Buffalo, New York City and Japan. DiPasquale is the company’s business and production manager, webmaster and consultant.
From t-shirts to baby rompers, the company's tagline boasts that all of their clothing are “Hand-Printed Clothing with Positive Vision”. Planet Love clothing is printed locally in one of the former Pierce Arrow factory buildings. About 30 percent of the fabrics used are organic and the company hopes to be 100 percent organic in three years.
All of the materials used come from fairly traded sources, and all of the inks used to print the clothing designs are water-based and contain no PVC compounds or hydrocarbons.
“The inks are much harder to work with than standard screen printing inks, but the ecological and health benefits are worth it to us,” said DiPasquale. “We believe that looking at all of our practices in a holistic manner is the only way to go.”
Zabinski and DiPasquale carry their eco-mindedness into their daily lives as well. As co-founders of the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, they have promoted their philosophy of environmental awareness and sustainability in planning the festival. At their urban home, they grow fruit trees, care for a large garden, raise chickens and find many other ways to make and harvest their own food.
Planet Love clothing is available on the company’s website and at Thin Ice, a local business located at 719 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo.
You can visit Planet Love at the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts
