People around the country are sewing masks. And some hospitals, facing dire shortage, welcome them

"Ghost gear" are nylon nets and other waste left behind in our oceans by fishing boats - they cause massive environmental damage, releasing toxins in the water, ensnaring wildlife, and clogging up beaches. Now one organisation, the Healthy Seas Initiative, is working with fishermen and a sportswear company called ECONYL to retrieve abandoned nets from out of the ocean and convert the materials into clothing, carpets, and more.

After Nepal's 2015 earthquake, many village women were left in financial devastation and struggled to support their families. The earthquake destroyed up to 90% of small enterprises and markets, so the United Nations Development Programme trained women how to weave. As a mode of recovery, the weaving industry has helped rebuild the economic and social structures through the Panchakanya group.

After serving time in prison, finding a job can be a major challenge. Road 22 aims to help. The luxury clothing brand employs eight formerly-incarcerated women and plans to hire more as business grows.

The expansion of intellectual property laws to cover ancestral knowledge can help protect indigenous people from economic exploitation. Indigenous women in Guatemala are working to pass a law similar to one used in Australia and South Africa to protect the use of textile designs.

A growing body of research suggests knitting and crocheting can be used to teach math. It could also be a way to bridge the gap between men and women in the STEM fields, and make the subject more approachable to young girls, who have higher levels of math anxiety. KnitLab project does that, and teaches middle school students, particularly girls, to knit and crochet in order to understand complicated math subjects. Already, more than 50 students have been taught.

As the Palestinian-Israeli conflict continues, peace and hope breaks out in unexpected places. People are bridging religious and cultural divides at a backgammon parlor, a school, a fashion company, and during peace talk simulations.

On one floor of an affordable housing building in Washington, D.C., the NonStop Art Makerspace has made creativity more accessible. The makerspace was a group effort between Capital One, the Community Preservation and Development Corporation, and NonStop Art. Nehemiah Dixon, CEO of NonStop Art Makerspace and a D.C. native, hopes to replicate this model throughout the city.

In a mountain village in the north of India, a women’s knitting group formed five years ago to help women reach for financial independence. The group ended up breaking stereotypes, building confidence, and creating lifelong bonds along the way. Many women in the knitting group are now able to support themselves and their children on the money they make from selling their knit products.

Making fashion sustainable requires a shift in the culture of the industry. Several brands and organizations are already working to change the unethical and unsustainable practices in fashion. From mobilizing hashtags to pressure brands into increasing transparency, to inventing new fibers that are less water intensive, these ethical approaches to fashion promote alternatives to the wasteful norms of the prevailing consumer culture.

Founded on addressing the lack of properly fitted workwear for women in the labor industry, SeeHerWork sells designed and tested products like gloves, safety vests, and backpacks specifically for women. In doing so, the company hopes to provide women with the safety, equipment, and confidence they need to do their jobs and stay safe.