I keep coming across recommendations for the little 20-minute video "The Story of Stuff" but I've never gotten around to watching it, till now. I just watched it and appreciated it enough that I thought I would recommend it here. Check it out:
www.thestoryofstuff.com
If you're not already on the same page as the creator of this video, Ms. Leonard, you might not like everything that she has to say, but it's worth a watch anyway. The most surprising tidbit, to me: only 1% of stuff purchased in the United States is still in use 6 months later. The rest has been consumed or trashed. Yikes!
The older I get, the more of an environmentalist I become (tho the seeds were sown by Mr. Blok, a science teacher from long ago). My latest "eco-nut" project--crocheting a re-usable shopping bag out of strips cut from disposable plastic shopping bags. I get such a kick out of knowing that I'm taking something disposable and petroleum-based, and turning it into something re-useable and not half bad-looking, either. I promise to post a picture when I get it finished--but it might be a while before it's done, because it will take like 50 bags to make it, and I only have a dozen in the house, so I'm collecting them from friends (trying to get all matching bags, LOL).
On a semi-related note, I've decided that my sewing projects from here on out will be made from recycled clothing. I have a chest full of denim cut from old jeans that is designated for rugs and quilts. Denim makes a very heavy and warm quilt, quite nice for cold Indiana winter nights, especially when the mama of the house keeps the temperature quite low (to save on both energy and $$$). If any of my Indiana readers (do I even have any?) have any old/holey/stained jeans to pass my way, I would be happy to recycle them into something useful. :D
Well, three of my children are asleep, and the other has been kidnapped (kidding, kidding) by his dad for a walk, so I should use this rare quiet moment to get some housework done.
oh what a neat idea to crochet bags together - you'll have to let me know how sturdy it is. A lot of the supposedly "reusable" bags that the supermarkets sell for 10p or so don't last long at all. Have you ever made any fabric ones? They're quite a popular thing for people to make in the UK (well, for the people who are environmentally friendly! :)), they call them Morsbags, which you can see here: http://www.morsbags.com/
ReplyDeleteI've never actually made one, though it seems a neat idea! We've got several cloth bags that were given away by organizations and also bought some large tough bags from a local German supermarket which hold *lots* of shopping! :)