The problem I am attempting to address in my investigative report is waste water from the textile process, specifically from the dying and finishing processes. The market reading showed me some ways that this problem could be better regulated by the government and the free market. One method that sounds very promising is the cap and trade method. If I understand this theory correctly, if it is implemented, then government regulations can put a “cap” on the amount of waste that a company can produce and they can also trade licenses to be allowed to produce certain amounts of waste. This could be one solution along with the treatment of the waste water that is produced that could have a positive impact on the industry. Using current state is also a way to alleviate my problem from my investigative report, but also most problems. Using current state requires us to envision where our habits will lead us to. Sometimes it can be difficult to estimate the future affects of our mistakes, but after researching my topic I have a more clear understanding of the future that will come from textile production.

After reviewing the wicked problems website, I learned what exactly social entrepreneurship entails. Social entrepreneurship means working in the context of a humanitarian problem, while assuming the risks associated with entrepreneurship. One company that I personally purchase from is Thrive Causemetics. Here’s what makes Thrive Causemetics so great and socially responsible. Their products are all vegan and cruelty free. These two facts are enough to make me want to purchase from them, as I am always a fan of products that are vegan and cruelty free. But, the big part of Thrive Causemetics mission is that for every purchase, the donate to women to help them thrive. For every product purchased, they donate one product and also financial contributions as needed. Sometimes they will donate all profits from certain days to organizations, like in 2018 when they donated to help wildfire relief in California. Their causes include donating to women fighting cancer, women surviving domestic abuse, women emerging from homelessness and also women military veterans. I love this company because they don’t only make sure that their customers are receiving high-quality products, they work to make sure that women in need can do the same.

One thing I have learned in the past week is that people want to be more sustainable than I give them credit for. I am the sustainability chair for my sorority, and the sustainability committee has worked in the past year to boost our amount of recycling in our house. We also just recently got out house to switch from Styrofoam cups to reusable cups do reduce our waste of Styrofoam. I was at first worried when we brought up this solution to Styrofoam waste because I was worried the rest of my sorority house would not be happy with the change because they think Styrofoam cups are so much easier because they can just be thrown away after one use. This was not the case though. We have gotten very positive feedback from everyone in my sorority on the reusable cups, and this gives me hope that by working together, we can all encourage each other and learn from others to work towards more sustainable lifestyles.