I recently went on a shopping trip to Chinatown to stock up on Asian cuisine for school. I bought $50 worth of food and one of my purchases was half of a peking duck. Peking duck is a famous Northern Chinese dish originated from Beijing. The Peking Duck dates back to Ming Dynasty, about 600 years ago, where top chefs would visit the Emperor and cook for him. When the Qing dynasty fell in 1911, the court chefs left the Forbidden City and bought the Peking duck recipe and other delicious dishes to the public. The preparation of the Peking Duck is an interesting one. According to my research, air is pumped into the duck to separate the skin from the fat. Then the duck is hung to dry in open air before being roasted in an oven until it’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. In most places in Chinatown, the duck is served with rice and vegetables, over noodles or in a lotus bun with scallions and hoisin sauce. People can buy a whole or half of a duck, pork, or chicken. They can ask for it to be roasted or fried before it is to be cut into thin slices. A whole duck has to be sliced into 120 pieces and can be served with all sorts of sauces and sides at different restaurants.

After some more research on where the duck came from, I found a website called culturetrip.com about white-feathered ducks that are raised in a free-range environment for 45 days, after which they are force-fed for 15-20 days. According to Britannica.com, this duck isn’t any ordinary duck, but specifically the Imperial Peking. Britannica also includes that the duck’s head and neck is left intact as the bird is killed at about six weeks old. Once they have been killed, plucked, gutted, washed and boiled, then air is pumped into the duck. The duck can be roasted in two different ways: traditional closed oven or the hung oven method developed in the 1860s. I did not know that they would go through such a horrible process but I love the dish so much, I never looked into how it was made. Peking Duck has been around for so long that it also participated in Chinese international relations through the 20th and 21st centuries. Political leaders and diplomats such as Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon and Fidel Castro have all been wined and dined by the Peking Duck.

I was introduced to Peking Duck when I was in China nine years ago. My grandparents took me to this restaurant for dinner and they served me peking duck in a fluffy, white, wheat bun with lettuce and scallions. I had never tasted something so delicious and flavorful. It was so simple but it was very filling. Ever since then, Peking Duck has become one of my favorite dishes to order when I visit the city. It’s hard to find Peking Duck up here in New Paltz and even though Hasbrouck has tried to replicate this dish, that’s loved by many people, they just can’t do it justice.  

Hats, for me, serve as an essential accessory in my wardrobe. Beanies, specifically are one of my favorite subcategories. This week I will be exploring my favorite beanie that I own. This beanie, burnt orange in color is by the brand BURTON. Burton is a company that emphasizes how their process “started in the mountains.” Their goal is to innovate and change the way people experience the outdoors.

This beanie like I previously mentioned is burnt orange in color, has a folded brim, a slouchy fit and a small black label stitched onto the brim that says BURTON Durable Goods Since 1977 Burlington, Vermont. This specific beanie is labeled by Burton as their “Burton Kactusbunch Tall Beanie.” This material is made from 100% acrylic.

This beanie would not exist without the founding of Burton itself. Burton was founded in 1977 by Jake Burton Carpenter, who is now 64, has dedicated his life to snowboarding. Burton itself has been held in high regards for being innovative and transformative in the snowboarding community, changing it from a backyard hobby to a serious recreational sport.

Burton as a brand is going through a transformative period that is highly geared towards taking greater strides in sustainability. Their 2020 sustainability goals are to have 100% Fair Labor Association compliance in their factories. This means every person working and creating their products will be working in safe, healthy and environmentally friendly conditions. I cannot say with absolute certainty that my beanie specifically was made in these conditions, wishful thinking says it was, but I know going forward Burton as a brand is fostering an environment behind the manufacturing of their products that aligns nicely with my morals for where my consumerism is directed, that especially in cases of mass production workers are being treated fairly and ethically.

Burton’s main headquarters are in Vermont, but they also have offices in Australia, Austria, Canada, California, China, Japan, and Republic of Korea. I didn’t think I would be able to trace where mine originated but then I remembered I had the shipping information from when I purchased it. I ordered it on January 25th, and got a shipping confirmation email on January 29th. Upon inspection of that, the first place of origin listed is Columbus, Ohio, on January 29th. I cannot say this with absolute certainty, however, I do believe my beanie was manufactured in the United States. If I am wrong about this, I can say with greater certainty that it at the very least resided in the United States when I purchased it. I believe I can make this claim because generally it takes more than four days to ship something overseas.

Burton uses highly technical life cycle assessment (LCA) software. This software gives a detailed look at their full product cycle, from extracting natural resources through manufacturing, to transport and end of life. They place a great emphasis on how their materials are ethically sourced. Burton has a publicly accessible comprehensive list of restricted substances so they only produce products that are safe for their customers and the environment. They also have a partnership with bluesign, which ensures that the inputs into their products are made with the safest chemicals, as well as the air and water emissions from their processes are clean. This allows me to conclude that my beanie has been crafted with minimal adverse effects on the environment, which makes me feel better about wearing it. Concurrently, Burton’s commitment to fair labor for their employees makes me support their brand and the items that I own from them.

Additionally, Burton has a commitment to minimizing the packaging of their products. Their goal by 2020 is to have packaging that is 100% compostable or recyclable, 80% post-consumer recycled content and lastly that their packaging is the right size so no excess is ever used. My beanie came in a package that fit these characteristics, came just big enough to fit the beanie and was 100% recyclable. This is just another reason I support Burton as a brand and feel confident about my purchase.

Ultimately, while my beanie did not at first glance have a whole lot to discuss because it was only made from one material, tracing how that material was sourced was an interesting exploration that led to many discoveries about the entire process of it being manufactured through it arriving to me in the mail. Unveiling all of the positive characteristics Burton has and is working towards as a brand, such as fair labor for their employees who manufacture these products, ethically sourcing their materials and up-cycling them when possible, and putting an emphasis on minimal and recyclable packing makes me feel that much more love for my beanie and respect for the minds who had a hand in putting it together.

References

https://www.burton.com/us/en/sustainability-people

https://www.burton.com/us/en/sustainability-product

Click to access Burton-Supply-Chain-Sustainability-Policies-and-Standards_V1-0.pdf

Click to access bluesign-RSL-v8_0.pdf