
Donate Now, Be A Part Of The Solution!
Disrupting The Cycle Of Waste In Fashion- Waste As A Resource
Magpies & Peacocks 501(c)3 non-profit design house rallies fashion + arts & culture community behind arts and sustainability, we have created numerous programs designed to reach out to the young designers, artists, industry professionals and marginalized communities.
We are able to accomplish this largely by maintaining a facility in Houston's thriving Greater East End Cultural District to accommodate our programs like our MAKR Collective workshops, classes, a textile resource library and design studios – a collaborative workspace for arts, culture and sustainability.
Our programs and charitable giveback are only possible through the generous donations of our supporters and those who believe in the future and sustainability of arts education and fashion.
As the global consensus on climate change rises so does the urgency and scale of action required to keep our planet safe. Immediate action is demanded of the fashion & textile sector as major contributors to the problem, calling for fashion stakeholders – from raw material producers, textile & apparel manufacturers and fashion brands – to identify areas for action, to develop a coherent and unified position on climate change mitigation and to scale up their initiatives in support of a more robust sustainable and ethical industry.
Magpies & Peacocks is actively part of this movement because a concerted effort across this sector can; significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing mass production and transportation; reduce resource depletion and landfill volume by creative circular reuse of existing materials; reduce land and waterway pollution from pesticides, micro fibers and factory run off by rigid supply chain transparency; and reduce human/animal rights abuses by enforcing a living wage and ethical oversight.
We now buy 400% more clothing than we did a decade ago, keep it for a third of the time and send 85% of it to landfill. Almost all of that material can be reused. It is essential that it be separated from the waste stream and be re-manufactured in to new products. Waste as a resource – just as it is with glass, plastic and cardboard, so it can be with textiles. Help us lead the way in circular textile design – to facilitate environmentally friendly manufacturing locally and stand with us as an advocate for your planet!
Your donation is greatly appreciated and will:
- Help fund our workforce development program the MAKR Collective. The MAKR Collective is Magpies & Peacocks formal workforce development training program to provide underserved community members with the tools and skills to help them become successful independent makers, business entrepreneurs or attain gainful employment. The MAKR Collective trains life-long skills for employment, not only within fashion but throughout the design, manufacturing and retail industries. With a focus on the therapeutic aspect of hand skills, training includes sewing, pattern cutting, alterations, and sustainable design – based on a client’s interest and organic skillset. We also train clients on the business and organizational processes of working within our non-profit design house and retail concept – introducing opportunities in retail, warehousing + inventory control, and barista cafe. Previous skillsets or experience are not required for program participants in either the making or business administration areas
- Transition 4-5 MAKR Collective graduates who are trained and employable to work with us in one of our four tracks for at least one solid year of employment with us.
- Pay for the training cost of at least three participants to participate in the MAKR Collective program which includes sewing machine, sewing station + tool kit, and needed consumables
- Help set up and fit out one industrial sewing station for our MAKR Collective Alumni production team
- Partially fund the cost to run our post-consumer textile library – collecting, curating and sorting textiles for reuse, presenting a major resource to designers, artists and MAKR Collective participants + graduates in our creative community
- Fund one week of community sewing classes for underserved and marginalized communities
- Partially fund our internship program which employs students from local universities who want to have a career in sustainable fashion and art
- Help partially fund salaries for our program coordinators and instructors (we couldn't do this with our awesome tribe!) plus general operating expenses of our non-profit and its program.
- Help fund our workforce development program the MAKR Collective. The MAKR Collective is Magpies & Peacocks formal workforce development training program to provide underserved community members with the tools and skills to help them become successful independent makers, business entrepreneurs or attain gainful employment. The MAKR Collective trains life-long skills for employment, not only within fashion but throughout the design, manufacturing and retail industries. With a focus on the therapeutic aspect of hand skills, training includes sewing, pattern cutting, alterations, and sustainable design – based on a client’s interest and organic skillset. We also train clients on the business and organizational processes of working within our non-profit design house and retail concept – introducing opportunities in retail, warehousing + inventory control, and barista cafe. Previous skillsets or experience are not required for program participants in either the making or business administration areas