Coinciding with the launch of National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Grace Farms Foundation and Herman Miller have announced the launch of a limited-edition face mask with sales supporting Design for Freedom, a multifaceted initiative formally launched by Grace Farms last October aiming to abolish forced labor in the built environment.
The Design for Freedom movement can be traced back to the fall of 2017 when Sharon Prince, president and CEO of the New Canaan, Connecticut-based Grace Farms Foundation, and Bill Menking, the late co-founder and editor-of-chief of The Architect’s Newspaper, convened to discuss ways in which they could raise awareness of the staggering global presence of modern slavery in the building materials supply chain and, most importantly, methods in which they could help eradicate these abuses within the AEC community.
Now ubiquitous the world over, protective face masks are, of course, a key tool in helping to reduce the spread of the coronavirus through communities large and small. All proceeds from the sale of the ethically manufactured Design for Freedom face masks, available exclusively through Herman Miller’s online store for $30 with free shipping, are directed toward the funding of Design for Freedom’s research and programming efforts. As Debbie Propst, president of Herman Miller Retail and a member of the Design for Freedom Working Group, noted in a statement: “We’re proud to be associated with Design for Freedom and are committed to working with our stakeholders to ensure the development of an ethical supply chain, within the ecosystem of the built environment.”
Commissioned by Grace Farm Foundation’s creative director and chief marketing officer Chelsea Thatcher, the masks were designed by Shohei Yoshida, principal of shohei yoshida + associates / sy+a and formerly of SANAA, and Peter Miller, founding partner of Palette Architecture and formerly of Handel Architects. Both Miller and Yoshida worked on the design of the River building, the landscape-integrated built centerpiece of Grace Farms’ 80-acre campus and the first U.S. project to be helmed by Tokyo-based SANAA after winning the 2010 Pritzker Prize. (Handel Architects served as executive architect on the project.)
The undulating roof of SANAA’s River building inspired the design of the mask of itself, which as described in a press statement, features a custom outer layer nylon fabric “woven with silvery-like thread in KIRYU-ori brocade style, a Japanese textile tradition cultivated over more than 1,000 years. The artisanal weave creates a subtle gradient pattern and soft luminescent appearance that shifts according to light, direction, and the texture of the fabric.”
The masks, which feature a GOTS-certified cotton twill lining and the use of vegan water-based inks, were made in Puerto Rico by fair trade circular fashion platform Retazo L3C. The elastic webbing ear loops are sourced from Italy while the aluminum nose clips are Connecticut-made. All scrap materials left over from the production process will be reused.
“The components of the mask represent complex raw material supply chains that the architecture, engineering, and construction industries navigate at scale,” added the statement.
Miller and Yoshida created the design pro bono in support of the Design for Freedom movement while early-in sponsorships were provided by Antonio Rillosi (Extravega), Joe Mizzi (Sciame), Andy Klemmer (Paratus Group), Chris Sharples (SHoP Architects), Rick Cook and Jared Gilbert (COOKFOX), Jing Liu and Florian Idenburg (SO—IL), Ann Rolland (FXCollaborative), and Bill DuBois.
“The Design for Freedom face mask shows what’s possible when visionary leaders—like Herman Miller, Shohei Yoshida, and Peter Miller— bring their expertise to the table and collaborate to advance good,” said Prince. “Human life and human dignity are at risk every day, and most people are unaware of the forced labor in the building materials supply chain. It is our hope that those who wear this face mask will shine a light on the issue of forced labor and create opportunities for change.”
In addition to the sale of the masks via the Herman Miller webstore, the Design for Freedom movement will enjoy additional visibility as they will be donned by performance specialists in Herman Miller’s new brick-and-mortar stores in Austin, New York City, and Los Angeles and by account executives in Design Within Reach stores.
You can learn more about Design for Freedom’s mission and read Grace Farm Foundation’s groundbreaking report on the chronically-overlooked crisis of systemic forced labor within the building materials supply chain here.
