Welcome to loose ends University

Loose Ends = Sustainability

Loose Ends is an environmentally responsible and “green” company. At least 80%, or more of its product line is made from either recycled or “waste” products (such as leaves, bark, grasses, etc.). We also work intensively with sustainable materials, such as bamboo. Additionally, we are committed to sustainability in the following ways:

…Sustainability of Spirit:
Loose Ends brings products, ideas and concepts to the marketplace that the individual can use to enhance their personal living environment (you create your environment, then it re-creates you). Our focus is on stimulating the imagination and creative spirit that we believe everyone has.

…Sustainability of Environment:
Products made from environmentally responsible and sustainable materials are a primary focus for the company. Internationally Loose Ends works with organic materials (like bamboo) that are a responsible alternative to hardwoods and other forest products. The company also works with many recycled, by-products and/or “waste” material (leaves, grasses, bark, etc.) that would otherwise be discarded.
Locally (on campus) we are actively involved with stream bank enhancement (Pringle Creek) to help bring back native vegetation and fish population (including native steelhead migration). Loose Ends is the first private company in the state to voluntarily work with Oregon watershed to enhance Pringle Creek.

…Sustainability of Community:
Internationally, Loose Ends works directly with local artisans in their home villages, as opposed to working through trading companies in the major cities. This creates a strong sense of personal worth and responsibility and also helps to maintain a strong family structure within the village environment. Because no trading companies are involved, our purchases provide for a reasonably stable income.

Locally we are involved in a number of community activities. We work with our city’s Art Association, helping them to raise funds for the arts. Loose Ends assists fund raising for the Boys & Girls Club and the Boys & Girls AID Society. In addition, the company is involved in both higher education and K-12. We are particularly interested in helping develop an awareness in the children of the plant, animal and insect life along creeks and rivers, and to foster and appreciation of nature and the environment for its beauty, not just its utility value. Because so many of our products are handmade, educating and developing an awareness of how this type of village industry fits into a society’s evolutionary path and financial and cultural survival is, we feel, highly important.

For more information please call:
Susan Smith, Media Relations,
503-390-2348 ext.305.

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