the Painting Activist

It’s too easy to stroll into Pier One, TJ Maxx, or Target and pick up an expensive, knockoff oriental rug. Trust me, I’ve dug through the clearance pile myself looking for the cheapest one to just to cover that stain in my living room. As I’ve become more involved in the behind-the-scenes workings of the retail industry, my conscience has demanded that I be a more informed consumer. Mega-giant, chain retailers sing like sirens to our impulsive and thrifty sides, but even an inkling of thought invested into the impact behind your purchases will bring you to your socially responsible senses.

I am a new board member of the fair trade retailer, Just Creations. Yesterday, I watched a brief informative video about the long and laborious process of making oriental rugs, three times before spending a few hours at the store for our Oriental Rug Event. For those of you in a position to invest in such a purchase, here are a few things to think about before you cut corners at the discount store:

1) Artisans receive 60% of the sales price, compared to 10-20% with other retailers.
2) A price tag of several hundred to several thousand dollars may catch you off guard, but keep in mind it takes approximately 4-5 people, working at the same time, 6 hrs/day, 6 days/wk, 14 months to complete a 9′ x 12′ Persian rug at 500 knots/sq inch.  How much do you and 4 of your co-workers make over that amount of time?
3) Many alternative rugs are made with materials of lesser quality by workers who are essentially forced to work in poor conditions for wages that keep them impoverished.
4) Even an abbreviated version of the process is enough to make you want to frame a rug behind glass instead of walking on it:

• Sheering local sheep, spinning the wool, making the dyes, dying the wool
• Creating the design, painting a key of it, making a grid of the painting, then writing a color sequence for the knotters
• Building a loom
• Tying 500 knots/sq inch, by hand!
• Cleaning the rug (actually “burning,” washing, rinsing, and color-safe bleaching it multiple times)
• Sun drying, stretching, and sealing the rug
• Tying and trimming the tassels

Even writing about it exhausts me!  The sale ends tomorrow, so go buy a rug, or go here to look online.