As a former student and member of the Fighting Irish football team, I experienced firsthand how powerfully The Shirt unifies the Irish faithful. As the students and alumni of our great school have done in the past, when called to action, we respond. The hallowed halls of Notre Dame echo: God, Country and Notre Dame.
This year, we can create something better to represent our values through The Shirt.
We can make The Shirt in America to help create jobs and keep people off unemployment during these turbulent economic times. Poverty and unemployment are real in the U.S.A. now more than ever; we can be a generation of action and not just of talk.
The Shirt can be made from 100 percent Recycled Materials to avoid the use of more virgin resources. This innovation can be the key to redefining our manufacturing sector, one that is in need of stimulus. You may be concerned with environmental issues or not, but the U.S.A. represents five percent of the world's population and produces 25 percent of its waste.
The Shirt has done much good in the past: The Shirt Charity Fund, the Rector Fund and the Twelfth Man powerfully embody the philanthropic spirit of our University. Unfortunately, the garment that finances these efforts has not always stayed true to those values. The Charities benefiting from The Shirt would be much better financed through a non-exploitive product, something consistent with their mission.
In complete honesty, if SustainU was to make The Shirt, it may cost two to three dollars more at the register. Using American Wages and materials that are progressive carry a direct cost that maybe more now, but a greater payoff in the end. SustainU is not some "Better Option" leg of another company or owned by a larger conglomerate. We are not segmented in our approach in what can be real steps to helping our country and world.
I am willing to answer any questions through my personal email and cell phone: chris@sustainuclothing.com or 574-514-3694.
Serious Questions/Comments/Inquiries only please.
Chris Yura
alumnus
Class of 2003
Nov. 21
