You should buy a shirt. You should tell others to do the same. And then you should make your own shirts with OSHKI.
I first met Jackson Riegler on the banks of the Baldwin River in Michigan, where convoluted family connections dropped us on the same porch for an apres fish cocktail gathering. I learned about his fledgling business enterprise called “Oshki” (a native word meaning “fresh”) which collects plastic waste from the Great Lakes and turns that into fabric… some of which can be used to make cool (literally) and highly functional, durable fishing shirts.
Jackson started this when he was still in high school in Muskegon, Michigan, and carried the project through his years at the U. of Michigan in Ann Arbor (he graduated last spring).
We featured a story on Jackson and Oshki in the current issue of TROUT magazine. More importantly, we created a limited number of shirts with a custom design by young artist Jimmy Cobb. They cost $45. Proceeds benefit Trout Unlimited to make fishing better. Moreover, your $45 that gets you a shirt, will be matched, so another $45 goes toward making fishing better. On top of that, the material comes from Great Lakes plastic, which will make the largest concentration of fresh water on the planet better.
If that isn’t an all-around win, I don’t know what is.
And, if you’re thinking about making cool shirts… you might give Jackson a shout. Check out www.oshki.us.
- K. Deeter
