SAVE OUR SEAS (m)

SAVE OUR SEAS

"Nature once determined how we survived, nowwe determine how Nature survives"

David Attenborough

This is a band which shouldn't require much explanation - sea temperatures are rising, the polar caps are melting, sea levels are rising, thousands of marine species are being made extinct, coral reefs are dying from the rising sea temperatures, and, according to some experts, there will be more plastic in the sea by weight than fish by 2050 - what's not to save!?

What many don't fully appreciate is that around half of the oxygen we breathe is recycled from carbon dioxide by Phytoplankton in the seas; and research shows that by about 2012 we had destroyed about 40% of them.

We've created a one-off special band to save the seas in a royal blue with two colours of glass beads in red and gold. This is a band for those who truly care about our oceans. The band is a much needed SOS in red - 'Save Our Souls', a call for help which originated with mariners and their ships on the world's oceans. It's now time to save the oceans themselves!  

Size & Fitting

The organic fabric band measures 33cm / 13 inches in length. To fit to size, the length can be trimmed with scissors.

Worn on the wrist or ankles, it is double tied at the back to hold the band in place. The organic nature of the material means it stays put. The band can be sown onto clothes or onto soft furnishings or used as a decoration. 

The Fabric and Yarns 

The processes for making the yarns and dyes for our Bands of Courage date back over a thousand years using authentic processes and ingredients which are not just natural, but highly medicinal.

The fabrics and yarns are certified organic cotton used in the manufacture of clothing and our bands begin as greige or unfinished fabric which pass through 5 stages before recycling:-

1. De-sizing, washing the greige cloth with natural mineral-rich water and sea salts to remove sizing, gums and oils.

2. Bleaching, using direct sunlight, and a combination of natural grass and animal manure.

3. Mordanting, to make colours bright, they are impregnated with mordants such as myraballam, rhubarb leaves, oils, minerals, alum, iron (no heavy metal mordants are used). 

4. Dyeing, using rich herbs to dye the fabric by immersing the plants themselves directly into the dye bath - the dyes are listed below.

5. Finishing, by sprinkling the fabric with water and aloe-vera and stretched using hand-rolls; and, finally . . .

6. Recycling all the solid and liquid wastes, which are used for farming, water the fields and manure.

The dyes used are:-

Haritaki - natural green in colour, it is only grown in parts of the Himalayas and is known as the King of the Herbs. It is a highly potent herb for treating many serious diseases;

Turmeric - a yellow dye, also called 'Indian saffron', it comes from the ginger family and is great for skin complaints;

Indigo - a blue dye from the leaves of the Indigo tincoria, and cures gout amongst other things!

Madder - a red dye known as the 'king of dyes' as it contains alizarin, it is also used as a treatment for pain;

Pomegranate - an ocher-yellow dye which improves colourfastness and as a medicinal herb is great for the heart!

Onion - is used to produce dye colours in shades of orange, yellow, rust and brown, and it's especially good for treating serious skin diseases like Leprosy.

Hand Embroidered Finishes

There are three hand embroidered finished used to create the inscriptions on our fabric bands:-

- Japanese Glass Beads;

- Indian Cotton Thread;

Every band is lovingly made by hand and has its own unique little differences so no two bands are exactly the same.

Shipping

Your order will be processed within 48 hours of receipt. Shipments are tracked and your tracking number will be sent by email confirming posting of your order.

The shipments details for the delivery service you choose are shown on checkout.