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sewing in the window' Seamstress converts Ts made of synthetics Oct 9, 2009
The woman sits behind a sewing machine, pumping the foot pedal as she hems the sides of a garment. As she works, people stop, and in time a small crowd gathers. The seamstress, a pretty, dark-haired woman wearing a green hat, is working on a T-shirt of the sort runners receive at the end of a race, those flimsy things made of synthetic fabric. As she works, the garment is transformed into a bag. It's part of a campaign for Icebreaker, a company that produces sustainable outdoor and exercise clothing. The woman is working in the window of Paragon Sporting Goods on Broadway and 18th Street. The campaign, tied to the upcoming New York City Marathon, is inviting runners to bring their old T-shirts to the store, where the seamstress will recycle them into a bag meant to store their running shoes. The seamstress began her stay this past Monday, and initially it was to be a one-week event, but Icebreaker received so much interest that it extended it a day, until this Tuesday. "It stemmed from an idea that we had for a campaign that ran in Oregon, where our U.S. headquarters is," says Icebreaker's Molly King. "It was our 'bagging cotton' campaign. We encouraged people to bring in cotton T-shirts, and we turned them into reusable shopping bags and eco-friendly totes." Icebreaker is made from merino wool, whichwicks sweat away more quickly than synthetic fabrics. That campaign was such a success that Icebreaker decided to take the whole thing to New York for next month's marathon, which draws thousands of runners, and the logical place was the window of one of the city's most visible sporting goods stores, where passersby could watch the seamstress sew and street teams could hand out Icebreaker pamphlets. The emphasis this time: synthetic materials. The company advertised on Craigslist for a seamstress and received dozens of responses. The woman sits in the small (roughly 8 feet wide and 6 feet deep) window front from 11 a.m. to 7 a.m. daily. King says it takes the woman 20 to 25 minutes to finish each bag. Passersby can leave their shirts to be picked up later or wait and watch while they are transformed. The seamstress interacts with the pedestrians, waving and making faces at children. The bags are free, and recipients get a 26.2 percent discount on Icebreaker purchases, as well as a free pair of socks.
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