Tag Archives: Brisbane City Council

Sew 217 – Shift thinking on textile waste

Jake makes tshirt ribbonThe funny thing about this Sew it Again project in which I set out to reduce my clothing stockpile is that I seem to be accumulating more! There is so much surplus clothing in the world, that people either give it away, donate to charities or dump it to reduce the burden it has become.

Because I see waste clothing as a resource, I’m spending this year coming up with ways individuals can reuse it and sharing them on this blog, at workshops and talks. Around the world, there are other thrifty, resource-savvy people reusing waste clothing too – just google upcycling or refashion. We are part of a DIY refashion revolution exploring more sustainable, mindful and resourceful ways of living.

When I reflect on progress to date, I’m excited that local government authorities are inviting me to demonstrate what can be done with old clothing – via the t-shirts reworked workshop last Sunday at Redcliffe City Council’s What’s Cooking in the Gardens event, and a similar activity planned for Brisbane City Council’s Green Heart Fair at Carindale on October 12.  Continue reading

Sew 42 – Go Green for greater good

upcycled cotton muumuuResewing adventures are a way of creating and sharing ideas to magic discarded clothing into something else – long white cotton skirt turns muumuu by cutting armholes.

Our fashion habits and mores have led the world to the point where mountains of perfectly good clothing are being shipped around the world or sent to landfill.

This year I’m investing time, energy, creativity and skills to devise ways to refashion 365 outfits from old stuff in my wardrobes (yes, that’s plural) with the Sew it Again project.

The project is an initiative of the creative business/social enterprise Textile Beat, which made a splash last year at Brisbane’s Green Heart Fair. Notification came yesterday that the next Green Heart Fair run by Brisbane City Council as part of our city’s sustainability agenda is on June 1 and I’m looking forward to that.

Meanwhile, it’s Go Green Week in the United Kingdom (Feb 10 – 16) and I enjoyed these comments from University of the Arts London’s new Chair of Art in the Environment Lucy Orta. Continue reading