October 2011:
It's not easy being green, when it comes to doing your very best at reuse and recycling. It sometimes takes great imagination and dedication. Fashion student Rebekah Kirkland of Leicester College recently won first prize in their Sustainable Design Award for her dress made entirely of used Crisp Packets. (potato chip bags) It took Rebekah two months to assemble the dress using "fabric" three bags thick to avoid tearing. (click for Article) Who can forget the Paper Dress from 1966 priced at $1.25 made by the Scott Paper Co.?
In 2005 my son graduated high school and off to Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii, 2,500 miles from home. It took several visits home and the two us to sort through all that he no longer found necessary. This made for bundles and bundles of clothes that had either fallen out of favor or fit, and many that were too worn to donate.
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| Hula, Abby & Lulu |
Let me first say I am not a natural-born recycler but I don't like waste. I ask my dry cleaner to omit using plastic bags on my order, I won't subscribe to newspapers when stories are available online and I sign up for every list I can find to eliminate junk mail and unnecessary telephone directories. When challenged with the thought of wastefully filling the garbage bins for the next several weeks of old clothes I thought there has to be an alternative. I remember an old Simplicity puppy dog sewing pattern tucked away in my closet and and off I went sorting through old clothes looking for fun features within his t-shirts, denim and swim trunks such as pockets, labels and school logos. Even his plaid boxers made interesting ears and noses. Cute, don't ya think? They're really adorable up close.
Recently my office mate Joanne shared a greeting card made by her friend Linda with the envelope constructed entirely of colorful calendar pages.
Ever hear of "Swaps"? Swaps are huge in Japan, especially catering to designer labels.(click for Article)
Perhaps my article will inspire you to look at your purchases and throw aways in a new light.
