Three childhood friends have put aside playing Manhunt or Capture the Flag for now, and instead have put the strength of their friendship together to launch an environmental clothing line: A Peaceful Stance, sold at Mixture and Sacred in downtown New Paltz or at www.apeacefulstance.com. Brandon Storms, 24, Jeff Paine, 26 and Jason Valentino, 27 unleashed their peaceful clothing line this past spring, and it has taken off ever since. “I’ve always wanted to start a lifestyle company: one geared toward people who were active, environmentally conscious,” said Paine, who graduated from Marist College with a degree in Digital Media and Graphic Arts. He began to talk to his childhood pals Storms and Valentino about his vision, and they too agreed that this was a positive, creative and local lifestyle company on which they could commit to working.
They began researching various recycled products, both in the region and on the Internet, and selected what they deemed to be the best “recycled clothing” distributor after testing many products. They learned about eco-friendly inks and dyes and set up a workshop in Valentino’s basement, where they do most of their producing and printing. “If it’s a large order, we have to ship it out to a friend who prints,” said Valentino. “But we try and keep everything as local and environmentally friendly as we can.”
To that end, their tee-shirts and hoodies have various peace slogans including “Peace before Everything,” “There is Never a Good or Bad War — Peace,” [a Good War or a Bad Peace?] an image of a cassette tape reel unraveling and forming the word “Peace,” and then the very basic “A Peaceful Stance.” The colors are earth-toned, the designs powerful in their simplicity and the shirts and hoodies among the softest materials with which one might want to adorn oneself.
“That’s the difference,” mused Valentino. “Someone could drive to a mall, buy a Gap shirt or an Aeropostale shirt, and yet the profit those mega-companies make off each shirt is astronomical. And you don’t know where your money is going to — it’s not staying local — or who is making it, what types of products are being used. We make a very small profit off each item of clothing, because we make less; we choose the very best recycled material and eco-friendly dyes, and we make them ourselves.”
Beyond the clothing line, adding to their idea of a “lifestyle” company, the three young man have created a Peaceful Stance “flying disc” — a Frisbee™ made out of recycled water bottles — as well as “Koozies,” a drink-warmer or cooler made out of recycled wetsuits.
“We like the idea of growing from the center out, keeping it local, so that whatever success we have, we can put right back into the community,” said Valentino, who was getting ready to meet with one of the New Paltz Farm and Flood Aid victims’ fundraising coordinators to see what they could do to assist them in this event.
The young men said that they were honored to have their clothing line showcased at Mixture, which replaced My Towne at the corner of Main and Chestnut Streets and sells a wide variety of New Paltz clothing gear, locally made items, funky gift cards and unique gifts as well as A Peaceful Stance. The owner of Mixture, Chris Fahrbach, has been “a great support to us,” said Paine. “He’s a businessman and understands retail and graphic design and marketing, and we’ve learned so much from him.” They said the same of Sacred, the skate and snowboarding shop on Church Street that also showcases their line: “Cliff Glover, the owner of Sacred, is also a great go-to guy for us.”
Not only do they sell their product in local stores and online, but also at local festivals like the Rosendale Street Festival, the upcoming Highland Hudson Fest and the two-year anniversary and celebration of the Walkway Over the Hudson opening. “We do really well at regional festivals, because we have such a local connection,” said Valentino, who noted that a certain percentage of every item sold from A Peaceful Stance goes toward “carefully selected charities that you can learn more about on our website.” One is Protect our Winters, an organization that combats global warming. The second is Bag It, which started with a documentary on the hazards and destruction that plastic bags create, and now goes from community to community helping them to pass laws that ban the sale of plastic bags and instead encourage consumers to use recycled canvas bags or other, biodegradable carriers.
They’ve also used their website to help highlight local artists. “We had a big summer artist contest, and published the work of the winner online: Jim Brennan,” said Valentino. “And we keep doing competitions like that, where the winner is not only highlighted on our website, but we present A Peaceful Stance ‘CARE package’ prize too, with tee-shirts and hoodies and flying discs et cetera.”
The Peaceful Stance crew said that they’ve been “well-received” by customers, the community, friends and family as well as strangers who come across their line. “Everyone has been so enthusiastic and positive and supportive,” said Paine. “I think it’s because not only is our product good and unique and local, but we’re passionate about what we’re doing. We really believe in it, and that catches on quick.”
Now they’re working hard — at night, as they all have day jobs — to launch their winter line, which is slated to be released on Nov. 1. To learn more, write to info@apeacefulstance.com, visit their website at www.apeacefulstance.com or stop in to see their products at Mixture or Sacred. ++