Waste Knot Fabric Kintsugi

Toilet rolls used to just be toilet rolls. But now they are getting smaller and smaller. This is how this economic system works....sell less for more money. It is a kind of sublte thieving. Robbery from the poor to make the rich more wealthy.

And then all the packaging. Each small roll has the same packaging as a large roll. So this becomes double or even triple the amount of packaging.
AND PACKAGING BECOMES WASTE

We need to rethink our economic system

I am old enough to remember when every bolt of fabric had a measure strip in it so that one could tell how much was left to sell. Attention to details and care. Minimum waste.

This must be very old fabric. It was tucked into a bag of scraps that someone gave us to use. It brings back memories of shopping with my Mom at Department Stores in the centre of Durban.

Caring seems to have become old fashioned

Mending is an act of protest against waste
A generation or two back collars on shirts were attached with little buttons and could be replaced. Very sensible.
Here is an easy way to repair a frayed collar. Use a piece of old T- shirt fabric on the fold and cut slightly smaller than the collar shape. Then hand or machine stitch to the collar stitching all the way around.... so easy😄

Today we are sorting buttons
Have you ever considered how many buttons are made in the world? Small plastic shapes.
And what happens to all of them?
These are some that have been donated, you could say they were gifted, and we might find new homes for them....

Tradition mats were made from circles of plaited grass but suitable grass is no longer readily available. This mat is made by Florence Malinga using the traditional method but grass is replaced with fabric strips. Gives the old design a new colourful look and it is washable.

We get donations of fabric and yarn from people who are throwing out or moving home. Sometimes it is all neatly sorted. Other times it is all mixed up and tangled. It can take hours to sort and order ...never being sure if the bits will be useable. It is a metaphor for the way we live...all tangled and with lots of waste.

Imagine the waste from factories!!! I have seen some of it.. bags and bags that go to landfill every day from even the smallest factory. When will we choose to change?

Another idea to replace plastic plant pots. This is an old faded cushion cover paded with other fabric pieces and offcuts. A new home for the mint

Waste paper bin https://www.instagram.com/p/CKv0rB7BjRS/?igshid=20ybdxcgtw88

The waste paper bin! My husband was clearing out paper from work that he will no longer be doing and I was cutting back the overgrowth after our much summer rain. We were trying to decide what to do with all the paper..... and the waste paper bin was born. A garden sculpture. A tribute to work that has supported us for the past seven years and the beginning of a new phase. Hopefully the organic matter compost will form in the middle and the paper will become a kind of paper maché container. Not quite circular economy and not quite recycling...reusing perhaps. #wasteknot #paperwaste #wastepaper #newways #circulareconomy #recyclingideas #gardensculpture #reusereducerecycle

Meanded jeans inspired by and Mending Matters. I bought the book and was so inspired. It adds a whole new dimension to the Waste Knot upcycling of fabric that we already do.
I even replaced and mended the pockets which is a mission all of its own!!

Waste Knot is at Shelley's Shop today

One week's cleaned and sorted waste from a two adult, two dog family. In order to eat we have to buy the packaging - mainly plastic. Paper, cardboard and tin is recycled... but we have no plastic recycling.

Come on South Africa. Producers need to take responsibilty. We need a circular economy where 'waste' returns to the manufacturer for recycling.

I will wash and sort but everyone in the chain needs to play their part