Ethics & Ways of Being

Hi. If you're on this page, it's because you care about how things are made.

Values are the heart of this entire Duskshaped endeavor. To create something new and send it out into the world is a blessing. But to do it using normal manufacturing modes, with all the human and environmental abuse that entails, was unacceptable.

Decorating one's home and space is one of the most basic and ancient biological drives. We were determined to create, for ourselves and others, the opportunity to do it ethically.

We undertook a slow and deliberate development process to allow ourselves the space to get each aspect right. Deciding to fabricate in the US was a hugely important decision. With that choice, we would know the workers making our products were being treated with a basic level of fairness. The most challenging portion of Caliper's creation was the requirement to fulfill every piece with the least environmental impact possible -- the only ethical way to create a product at a time when our planet is in real and imminent danger and when we are all in danger because of it.

We had substantive discussions with over a dozen fabricators and carefully selected a fabricator that runs entirely on solar power and who understood our high product demands.

Our packaging was equally challenging to create. But we came out with a gold-standard cardboard-only package. It breaks down over about one season (2-4 months). (It goes faster if you wet and shred it.)

Environmental justice goals are social justice goals. These things can't be separated. We have unequivocal support for the Black Lives Matter movement and for native and indigenous peoples. Our country should be proud to be in the midst of a moment where we are facing and addressing the shameful legacy of slavery and trauma that held resources, support, and respect away from so many groups, and that saw them as casually expendable. The people leading these movements, and all who question abuses of power, are the most patriotic among us.

Thanks for reading.