【推荐1】“Few articles change owners more frequently than clothes. They travel downwards from grade to grade in the social scale with remarkable regularity,” wrote the journalist Adolphe Smith in 1877 as he traced a coat’s journey in the last century: cleaned, repaired and resold repeatedly; cut down into a smaller item; eventually recycled into new fabric. But with the improvement in people’s living standards, that model is mind-boggling in the era of fast fashion. The average British customer buys four items a month. And it is reported that 350,000 tonnes of used but still wearable clothes go to landfills in the UK each year.

Yet the gradual revival of the second-hand trade has gathered pace in the past few years. At fashion website Asos, sales of vintage clothes (古董衫) have risen by 92%. Clothing was once worn out of necessity, and now it is simply a way of life. Busy families sell used items on eBay, teenagers trade on Depop and some fashion people offer designer labels on Vestiaire Collective. Strikingly, it has become big enough business that mainstream retailers (零售商) want a slice of the action.

For some buyers and sellers, the switch to the second-hand is born of financial difficulties. Only a few have become worried about the impact of their shopping habit on the planet. But the shift is only a partial solution. Some people worry that some mainstream brands may “greenwash” — using second-hand goods to improve their image, rather than engaging more seriously with sustainability.

However, the biggest concern may be that people keep buying because they know they can resell goods, still chasing the pleasure of the next purchase but with an eased conscience (愧疚). Boohoo, a powerful fast fashion company, has seen sales and profits rise, despite concerns about environmental problems in its supply chain that led to an investigation last year.

A new Netflix series, Worn Stories, documents the emotional meanings that clothes can have: Each old item is full of memories. Actually, a handbag from a grandmother and a scarf passed on by a father are both valuable for us. A love of style is not a bad or an unimportant thing. But a committed relationship is better than a quick flash. Can we learn to appreciate our own old clothes as well as others’?

【推荐3】For the first time in more than 60 years, firearms and motor vehicles are killing Americans at an identical rate, according to new death data. The death rate for both firearms and motor vehicles stands at 10.3 deaths per 100,000 people. The result was produced primarily by a sharp drop in the rate of motor vehicle deaths since 1950, while over the same period, gun deaths rose.

The steady decline in motor vehicle deaths can be attributed to (归因于) a combination of improved technology and smarter regulation. The federal government commanded the presence of seat belts in the 1960s. The 1970s brought anti-lock brakes. The 1980s brought an increased focus on drunk driving and seat belt use. Airbags came along in the 1990s. More recent years have seen demands on electronic stability systems, increased penalties (惩罚) for careless driving and other improved technology used to meet safety requirements.

However, the history of American gun control regulation has been more erratic (不稳定的). Restrictions past in earlier times have been undone recently. Technological advances, like smart-gun technology that prevents people other than the owner from firing a gun, have been blocked by opposition from the National Rifle Association of America and many gun owners.

The result? The gun death rate is slightly higher than before. Particularly annoying is that there may be ways to improve gun safety and reduce firearm deaths. But innovations (创新) in gun safety are hard to come by, in large part because of Congress’s longstanding ban on many types of federal government research. The ban badly affects academic researchers. One well-known researcher, Garen Wintemute of the University of California at Davis, had to donate $1 million of his own money to keep his research going. He clearly tells his students not to join the field because of the severe difficulties that researchers face in obtaining funding and publishing their results.

Gun deaths and vehicle deaths are in many ways two different problems. Gun deaths are typically on purpose, but motor vehicle deaths are usually accidental. And cars are much more complicated machines than guns. Still, we’ve been able to make driving much safer. We could potentially do the same with guns.

【推荐2】I set up the organization, LitWorld, to provide every child with knowledge to create their own future of independence.

Now the HerStory Campaign, supported by LitWorld, will hold its 2^nd anniversary. Teams of women and girls from communities around the world where we work will come to New York City as HerStory Ambassadors. Together, we will spend the week developing community action plans to make positive changes driven by women and girls in their home communities.

The movement will be a happy one, full of storytelling and arts courses, chances to build new friendships and deepen the HerStory network and connect with other changemakers, as well as visits to famous places in New York City.

One of the student leaders in Kenya, Winnie, is the oldest child in her family and has been caring for her family after her mother died five years ago. Though she has faced many difficulties, being part of the HerStory Campaign for the past two years has given Winnie the courage to go ahead and hope for the future. Winnie started “I Read, I Lead”. In her community, there are few ways to get information about women’s health. She understands that education is powerful and teaches girls to make wise choices for themselves.

Winnie is our future. She is learning and working to make her community in Kenya a better place for herself and others. Her story is just starting, but it is one of strength. Through our work, we are proud to make her voice and her spirit strong.