Clothes with a History

By Barb Horner

I first met Pat Birchall and her unusual wardrobe in Toronto last August, at a conference which brought together family members from across Canada to talk about issues and concerns that affect our children and lives on a daily basis -- the beginnings of a national family network.

I watched Pat arrive each morning bursting full of energy, always wearing a different, weird and wonderful vest or outfit. She carried a curious-looking briefcase that looked like it belonged on someone’s couch. I later found out that, indeed, that was where the material had come from.

By mid-week, we were strangers no more, after sharing our family stories and having incredibly healthy "bitch sessions" -- so I just had to ask Pat about the vests.

Pat Birchall and Lynn McGonical of Moosomin, Saskatchewan, had been involved in a Healthy Communities project as volunteers. As such, they had had the chance to survey the concerns of their fellow citizens. The three main areas of concern were the need for employment opportunities, the recycling issue, and the need for a creative outlet for those who were "housebound."

Armed with a vision and seeing this as an opportunity, Pat and Lynn, with partner Shirley Mulvena, developed an idea for a line of recycled clothing. Re-Wear was born: "Clothes with a History." It incorporated the three R’s -- re-using existing materials, reducing waste, and recycling.

The partners envisioned an enterprise that would provide productive and creative challenges for women working from their own homes. Pat and Lynn both enjoyed sewing, and they recognized that large amounts of materials, buttons and old fabrics such as drapes and denims were being thrown away all the time. Re-Wear’s environmentally friendly ethic means that the only new material they purchase is embroidery thread to make and sell their products. No metal or plastic is used, not even in packaging. When you order the clothing, it arrives through the mail in its own cloth bag. The Re-Wear line includes reversible vests, jackets, hats, briefcases, purses and other items made entirely from used cloth and buttons.

A significant component of this innovative company is that it provides opportunities to people with disabilities. The used fabrics and buttons are gathered and sorted at workshops by people with intellectual disabilities. Then, students with disabilities at Jean Vanier School in Regina clean and further sort the buttons, which are used to create decorative designs. (According to Pat, who is of British heritage, the inspiration for using the buttons comes from the "Pearly Kings and Queens" of England, who wear outfits covered in buttons.) Students at the Glen McGuire Residential School for the Multiple-Handicapped in Oxbow, Saskatchewan, make covered hangers to accompany Re-Wear’s unique fashions.

The company applied for, and received, a loan from the Partnership on Rural Development Program to support the creation of a business and marketing plan. Now the partners watch their business expand before their eyes. A proposal has been submitted to the Saskatchewan Association of Rehabilitation Centres (SARC) to negotiate work contracts, raw material supply/processing, and marketing ventures.

The company’s vision is to create opportunities for people with disabilities either in their own homes or attending activity centres or training programs. The manufacturing process uses many skill levels and is very labour intensive, and they see many possibilities for involvement of individuals with intellectual disabilities, all of which enable people to develop skills and creativity.

Future plans include the training and hiring of job coaches to further develop the skills of the worksers, and the company is investigating a "party plan" program to provide self-employment options and Canada-wide marketing.

Pat Birchall is a determined and resourceful woman. Part of Pat’s personality is certainly inherent, but the rest no doubt erupted after the birth of her daughter, Nicola, who has cerebral palsy. Pat spent a great deal of her life learning about and caring for Nicola and her disability, challenging the system on Nicola’s behalf, protesting the government over issues that are close to her heart, and encouraging Nicola to conquer obstacles.

Nicola, now 26, has overcome many challenges. Most recently, she needed to rethink her future after injuring her back at work as a rehabilitation therapist. But she is determined, like her mother, and will persevere. Nicola talks about writing a book about her life, and figures: "At best, it would be a showstopping mini-series." Nicola is now considering a degree in social work, and continues to model for Re-Wear fashions.

Pat’s personal experiences, combined with her professional background in special education and years of volunteer work, provided the concept and spark for Re-Wear designs and its original purpose: "to provide meaningful, exciting work," says Pat, to "an otherwise underemployed and unemployed population" -- people with disabilities whose skills are often overlooked because they carry a label.

Pat often drops by to visit the students who are involved in the initial sorting process, to show them the finished products for which they have been responsible. To them, she is known as "the button lady."

"Our designs are fun," says Pat, and they are. No two garments are alike, although there is a portfolio of specific designs. They are also open to suggestions and requests. When I ordered the fish-design vest for my daughter, who uses a wheelchair, I asked if it were possible to "delete" the fish on the back of the vest and have more decoration on the front. "Absolutely," said Pat, and when the vest arrived by mail, she referred to it as the "mucho-fish" vest. It is delightful, and always generates conversation.

With a catalogue due out soon, the women behind Re-Wear should be proud of their creativity, economically and socially, especially in their vision of inclusion in the development of productive job opportunities for people with disabilities. Imagine the job options and supported work choices that could be available within our communities if the entire mainstream business sector shared this same responsibility and attitude. All people would have the opportunity to prove their worth.

For more information about Re-Wear, write to P.O. Box 204, Moosomin, SK, S0G 3N0 or call (306) 435-3570.

(Barb Horner is a freelance writer and mother living in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.)