Jane Addams Tea Towel

$22.00
100% Organic Cotton
Made in the UK
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  • Sturdy half panama unbleached US cotton (19" x 27.5")
  • Our special inks mean that colours last in the wash
  • Includes hanging loop
  • Shipping nationwide with USPS, free on orders over $35
  • 100-day money back guarantee if you change your mind

‘Civilisation is a method of living, an attitude of equal respect for all men.’

Like many wealthy and privileged American women at the time, Jane Addams set out on a two-year tour of Europe in 1883; a rite of passage. Aged 23, she travelled the across the continent, spending several months in Dresden, Berlin, Paris, and London. Unlike others, however, Addams came back a transformed woman. She was appalled by the poverty and squalor she witnessed in her travels, and when she came back she fell into a deep depression, unable to accept the conventional lifestyle expected of a woman of her wealth and status.

Reading voraciously, writing extensively, and her dreams of helping those in need, gave her direction. In 1889, her and her partner, Ellen Starr, co-founded Hull House, a settlement house in Chicago. Addams’ social work there focused on education, employment, and empowerment for the city’s diverse immigrant community, providing daycare facilities for the children of working mothers and English language as well as citizenship classes. She also became a women’s suffrage campaigner, arguing that women needed to have a political voice so that they could bring their domestic expertise into the public sphere and assist with key areas of government, such as sanitation to schooling, as well as promoting pacifism. In 1920, she founded the American Civil Liberties Union, and in 1931, four years before her death, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

So, a pacifist, feminist, and social worker… that’s no plain Jane.

Half Panama unbleached cotton (heavy weight, textured finish). Stitched on all four sides. Includes hanging loop. Measures approximately 19in x 27.5in. Machine wash at 110 degrees max. We recommend that before you use your tea towel for the first time you wash it at least once to soften up the material and make it more absorbent for drying dishes. Please note size can vary slightly.