“Right now, I am making a beach cover up,” Green said. “This is actually like going to be the back panel of it, but I had some extra yarn in this color, so I thought it would be like a cute little beach dress.”

She’s the maker behind Atomic Tangerine, a company that uses vintage blankets to make crotchet clothing and accessories.

“I source these blankets, a lot of (times), I do a lot of estate sales," she said. "I do a lot of looking on Facebook Marketplace, a lot of thrift shopping, a lot of like markets of vintage sellers. Then I kind of source all the blankets, bring them home, wash them, and then take them apart and make different clothing out of them."

Green added that she has a goal to give unwanted textiles a new life. It’s a side hustle that she started pursuing seriously after she left her former job with United Way.

“I worked with the kids for their after-school program for three years," she said. "When (COVID-19) hit, we went remote, and it was virtual, and everything started slowing down and it was hard to find a virtual job."

Green said she began selling the clothes for fun before finding a new virtual job with Remake, a nonprofit dedicated to education, advocacy and accountability of the $3 trillion clothing industry. 

At her virtual job with Remake, Green said she advocates for fair pay in the fashion industry. It’s another way she’s contributing to the slow and sustainable fashion movement.

“Sustainable fashion is really any type of garments or accessories that isn't causing harm to the environment or to the people making it," she said. "It's sustainable. It's something that we can keep doing without ruining our resources or not going to have a problem with if we keep making it over a long period of time."

Green said this goes beyond just the materials but includes fair pay and safe work environments. She goes beyond to ensure even her shipping products are sustainable. 

“All of my packaging, all my foam and everything is biodegradable," she said. "I have these boxes and I put tissue paper in there as well. That's all recyclable. I try to keep everything like as good for the environment as possible."

Conserving the environment through her crotchet items is what Green said she hopes connects her customers to the company. 

“When you're buying less fast fashion than you have, a lot of those companies will have to start producing less, which will be better like for their workers and for the environment as a whole," Green said. "They won't be producing as much or wasting as many clothes and as many textiles won't be going to the landfill, as there are right now."

To learn more about Green's products, click here.