Moonrise project
A New Legacy: American Boro
Follow us on Etsy
We still have past Moonrise releases available in our store below, but all new releases will be launching first through our Etsy shop.
American Boro
These products include reused fabric remnants from the factory cutting room that are stitched back together in the tradition of Japanese Boro, a practice of mending garments out of necessity.
Behind the seams
Take a peek behind the curtains to see our process.
shooting the moon
You see, sustainable daydreams can come true
For years, we’ve saved every scrap of waste from our cutting floor for a rainy day, knowing that we can do something with it. That time has come, and to be honest, the results are blowing us away. We are proud to introduce our new line of bags made 100% from scrap fabric. Mark your calendars, because on May 26th, we’re dropping the first release of items from this warm and fuzzy journey. The best part?
With each purchase of this artisan-made gear, you’ll be offsetting waste from a landfill.
Let’s take a step back
Why do we have all of this scrap material?
Check out our infographic below for a deep dive into how we got here.
As you can see, the idea of tackling all of this waste might seem like an impossible task, but it’s one we’re dedicated to. We hope you’ll join us in taking on this Goliath. Keep reading to learn more about how we got here and where we’re going.
IT Starts with a tent
We could tell you about how we’ve been making canvas products for over one hundred years, but we think that’s less interesting than what we’re doing today. We’re tent makers. But we aren’t content to contribute to the dump truck of textile waste1 that is generated every second around the globe.
A scrappy history
- 2015: The era of the “art-school CEO” commences as John Delaloye takes the helm of the company, bringing along some radical new ideas. We’re making the assumption that Mark Rothko doesn’t come up that often in other companies’ business meetings.
- 2017: We introduce the Rescue program and begin accepting retired tents back from our scout customers with the idea of turning them into something new.
- 2018: The big change came when John came across the Cooper Hewitt “Scraps” exhibition and the traditional Japanese boroboro technique of for mending clothes. He made the connection, “we can do this with our scraps!”
- 2019: Nellie Cohen, the former manager of Patagonia’s “Worn Wear” program is tapped to provide direction on what would become our sustainability framework.
- 2020: Back to school! We work with Professor Carol Hee of Chapel Hill to conduct lifecycle assessments of key products to better understand our impact.
- 2021: The Moonrise Project launches.
We are always changing the way we look at cutting fabric, and we strive to build in patterns into every square inch of the process to avoid creating scraps. When scrap material does accumulate, it’s put right toward the Moonrise Project. Here’s an example of how it works: large scraps from tents become tote bags, scraps from the tote become a small pouch for electronics, the smaller scraps are used to product boro fabric, and anything smaller gets turned into filler for padding…get where we’re going?
Tent Rescue
Includes products crafted from worn-out tents that are sent to us by their former owner. For our business customers, we offer to send half of the products we make with the materials back to them to be used or sold at their discretion.
tents with a retirement plan
A new tent is crafted in our Asheville, NC factory.
That tent enjoys a lifetime of adventure.
Our artisans turn retired tents into new pieces of craft gear.
American Boro
These products include reused fabric remnants from the factory cutting room that are stitched back together in the tradition of Japanese Boro, a practice of mending garments out of necessity.
We don’t know what you mean by waste
The cutting of our wall tents yields scrap fabric remnants.
Those remnants are collected and sorted for reuse.
New bags are created from what could have been “waste.”
Specialized skills & Equipment
The Moonrise Project team utilizes much of the same gear that is used to craft our canvas wall tents, with the addition of a few really cool machines and some fancy handwork.
the moonrise ethos
We want the process of making this special gear to be as honest as possible. Using the scraps from our primary product lines, our artisans also use much of the same equipment, with the introduction of a few really cool specialized machines and a lot of hand work.
Rescue fabric is hand-selected based on wear, interesting seam qualities, and any other outstanding characteristics. Leather and notions are hand-cut and hand-punched. Ultimately, we don’t want to purchase any materials, so whenever anything is needed, we dig into the Diamond Brand archives, spanning the history of our long manufacturing history, work for hardware and anything else that can help us bring beautiful things to life while offsetting waste. What will happen when we run out of scraps? The good news/bad news is there’s currently no shortage out there.
the spirit of Collaboration
There’s absolutely nothing stinky about conscientious canine comfort
We’re proud to announce we will be partnering with Smartwool as the primary cut and sew facility for a new line of sustainable, sock-stuffed dog beds. These products, using 100% reclaimed materials, are part of SmartWool’s Second Cut Project, which focuses on building systems and experiments that will lead the company toward their goal of 100% circularity by 2030.
Dave, a Moonrise Project craftsperson, created the first sample dog bed for this project.
Perhaps You’ve Noticed
But, we’re a little different…
We like to explore big ideas and see where they take us. Inspired by Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (one of our favorite films, partially because it’s bursting at the seams with wall tents) our Moonrise Project will drop their finely crafted bags every full moon, and generally taking guidance from the mighty light of the night.
Russell Shurtz manages the Moonrise Project and serves as the lead designer, bringing over 15 years of experience sewing everything from jeans to button-up shirts.
join the moonrise project
When it comes to creative reuse, our philosophy is “the more the merrier”
We are currently looking for sewers to join this specialized team of skilled and creative artisans. You will fit in great on the Moonrise Project if you:
Know
- Have a moderate level of sewing skill: You can learn many things on the job, but you must have experience.
- Love to find work in a zone: we welcome our team to listen to podcasts, audiobooks, and music on the job (just keep one ear open 😊)
- Are OK failing: be comfortable dusting yourself off and trying again, as well as lending a helping a hand to others.
Sew
- Take pride in a job well done
- Thrive in a focused role that contributes to a larger team effort.
- Appreciate the balance between creativity and goals/objectives.
- Are comfortable working in a factory setting with some consistent (not loud) noise and varying temperatures.
Grow
- Love trying new things and all of the problem solving that comes with the territory.
- Having your morningss and weekends free to live your best life.
- Feel comfortable receiving and giving constructive feedback.
Moon Fun
Just a few tunes and videos we think are cool. It’s like we’re hanging out, huh?
Moon-Themed Video of the Week
This one keeps making us laugh.
The Moonrise Playlist
Get in the spirit with tunes picked by our very own artisans
Go back to the source
Own a piece of the journey with a canvas wall tent
