MOOP-Free Playa Wear

I am on a mission to inspire and educate people about MOOPY playa wear.

Blingy HatDon’t get me wrong, these festival hats are amazing. However, glued-on bling is potentially MOOPY, regardless of what industrial glue is used. Yes, some are well-made and are more expensive. The problem is, newbies (and some vets) don’t know the difference, and will opt for cheaper stuff that falls apart on the playa.

Part of the problem is, blingy stuff is sold as “Burner” wear, so it’s confusing. Some makers justify it by saying, “jewels are not banned by Burning Man, so it’s okay”.

Read the Restoration Reports and you’ll see that this micro-MOOP is an increasing problem. It endangers the Burning Man Organization’s ability to pass the BLM inspection and get the land use permit.

I believe we can do better. I’m challenging makers to take the high ground, make things responsibly and find alternatives. Thoughts about how we can shift our intention? A good start may be including disclaimers with potentially MOOPY playa-wear, suggest wearing only in daylight so folks can see if stuff is falling off?

Join the conversation on the MOOP-Free Playa Wear Facebook page.

The Feather Debate

Burning Man is the largest LNT (Leave No Trace) event hosted in a National Conservation Area. LNT  basically means don’t leave a trace of your existance. Don’t leave things there that are not indigenous to that area. Trash, oil drips and feathers fall into this category.

So why are feathers bad on playa? They are difficult to permanently attach, they pull-off and snag on things, they blow away immediately in the wind, they are hard to pick up, they become imbedded in playa and Restoration teams have to pick them out of the crusty playa.

burning-man-feather-costume

As an Earth Guardian, I am dedicated to the LNT principals. As a playa-wear designer, I am passionate about style. As a member of Gate/Perimeter, I am hard-core about following the rules, especially LNT. Because I am a writer, Earth Guardians asked me to write some LNT blogs for JRS (Jack Rabbit Speaks).

Here is the blog I wrote about LNT Playa Wear

Here is BMORG’s stance on feathers. 

 

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