Artisan T-shirts spread awareness, compassion

For two area women, T-shirts are one way to promote a better world by spreading awareness and compassion while also contributing to organizations that support human rights and the environment.

In the fall of 2016, Joyce Hastings sent her friend Ginny Green a text stating ‘omw’ - short for ‘on my way’ - to let her know she was heading over to pick her up for dinner. When she arrived, it was raining.

“I didn’t want to leave my car, but I didn’t want to be impolite and honk,” Hastings said. “I was still thinking in terms of text language like ‘omw’ so I texted ‘hiih’ for ‘hi, I’m here.’”

Hastings said she liked the mirror image of the letters ‘hiih’ and envisioned them in an oval bumper sticker. Over dinner, she and Green, whom both describe as the deep thinker of the two, started discussing how the simple phrase ‘hi, I’m here’ could have a more profound meaning.

So much division and hatred were resulting from the 2016 presidential campaign, Hastings and Green said. The pair imagined someone from a marginalized group driving a car with an "hiih" bumper sticker.

“The sticker would be saying ‘hi, I'm here,’ like, I have a right to be here, but not in an adversarial, divisive way, but as a message that we're all in this together and we're all connected kind of way,” Hastings said.  

Hastings sketched out a logo, added a smile under ‘hiih’ and that's when the cute face appeared. The first T-shirt they designed incorporated the image of a loose figure 8 knot, which Hastings called the most secure nautical knot sailors use, along with the phrase ‘we’re all in this together.’

For Earth Day 2017, Hastings said she planned to attend the Washington, D.C. March for Science and wanted to wear a shirt acknowledging the importance of focusing on climate change action, so she devised the wording ‘cherish or perish’ and paired it with simple graphics of an elephant, giraffe and polar bear.

“Polar bears are sentinels, like canaries in a coal mine,” Hastings said. “If they’re not going to make it, we’re not going to make it.”

More designs and pointed, simple messages flowed from there, including ‘home’ and a sketch of the earth on an apple-green colored shirt, and ‘empathy is my superpower’ in a red and yellow diamond resembling Superman’s shield. 

‘Living DE Life’ is the latest design creation, inspired by Hastings’ youth growing up on a farm in Laurel, where she learned to never waste food and to conserve energy, and developed a concern for the earth.

“Each of us has a vision for a kinder world,” Green said.

Green grew up in suburban Wilmington and later moved to an organic homestead in Cochranville, Pa., where she lived for 13 years in a simple, self-sufficient lifestyle in harmony with the earth. The pair later met at a natural food store in Newark, and both found themselves drawn to the Cape Region.

Hastings and Green sell their products, including baby onesies; long and short-sleeve T-shirts for children, men and women; and tote bags, at vendor events, block parties and Pride events.

“There’s a lot of joy in these shirts,” Hastings said. “People stop and smile, and love the message. Even if they don’t buy anything, they take in the message and it seems like it makes them happy.” 

Hastings and Green donate a portion of proceeds to organizations that support human rights and the environment, including the ACLU, Rainforest Alliance, Nature Conservancy and the Human Rights Campaign.

To order, go to hiihtees.com or call 302-841-3797 for local orders with free delivery in the Rehoboth/Lewes/Milton area throughout December.