Try Handmade

Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.

Green Groceries

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I’m so excited to introduce the latest Try Handmade columnist: Liz Grotyohann.

You may already know her as a co-founder of cosa verde, but I know her as our new Going Green columnist!

Please welcome her to Try Handmade, and let her know what concerns you have about leading a greener life. Are there issues you hope she addresses? Speak up in the comments.

[hLiz]

We’ve all heard how bad plastic bags are for the environment. As many as 500 billion to one trillion bags are used worldwide each year. Some cities have outlawed them. Many people have switched to carrying their own bags to the store—an easy way to do something good for the environment. Every major chain now has stands of “eco-friendly” totes available—cheap!—so that you can do your part.

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But, while carrying your own bag is definitely better than using new plastic, those bags at the store aren’t as “eco-friendly” as they claim to be. Many of those bags are made from virgin materials. Studies have been done that say that those reusable bags need to be used 100-300 times before they make up for the impact of their own production. So, why carry a bag emblazoned with a store logo—do you really want to advertise for them?—when you can buy a responsibly-produced, stylish, low-impact handmade bag from an independent artist? There are so many options out there made from organic cotton, sustainable fibers like bamboo or hemp, or vintage or recycled fabric.

Shown above is a bag made from old sailcloth by reiter8, a recycled canvas tote by forestbound, and a hemp market tote from olivebrown.

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Or go for an organic cotton bag like this one from moop, or a bag made from repurposed or vintage fabrics like these two from VOLK and bananasaurus rex.

And remember the plastic bags that you use at the store aren’t just the ones at the checkout counter. There are more and more options available now for lightweight, durable handmade bags to carry your produce and dry bulk goods.

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Kootsac offers inexpensive, lightweight produce bags in a number of sizes and fun colors. Little Green Pea has cotton bulk food bags, and adorable reusable sandwich bags. And wonderthunder sells these adorable screenprinted vegetable bags that are so much more fun (and green!) than plastic.

Recycle, Repurpose, Refabulous

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April 22nd is Earth Day. For 40-years, activists and non-activists have been using it as a platform to raise environmental awareness. It has evolved over the years into a month-long event, where on any given weekend in April, you can volunteer to help clean up the parks, beaches, forests, any green stretch of earth; or plant new earth.

Here at Try Handmade we have our own resident Going Green guru, but in the spirit of Earth Day, I decided to find out for myself what fabulous things other people do in the spirit of recycling and renewing.

The most popular act (aside from separating recyclables) that anyone can do is to bring your own market bag shopping with you, passing on plastic bags whenever possible. There are so many options to choose from, like this cool, upcycled coffee bag tote from Its Our Earth. Similar to Sea Bags (one of my favorite shops, located in Maine; they create bags from discarded sails), Its Our Earth uses discarded burlap coffee bags to create everyday bags.

If you want something less earthy, but still 100% repurposed, there’s a bag for you, too, like this tote, that uses a vintage army laundry bag, repurposed leather straps, and vintage blue and white cloth.

Some people happily recycle their trash, but aren’t as quick to buy recycled and refurbished products because they think they look used. Some of the most fabulous finds are these exact products. These white baskets from Tuuni are one example.

Some items aren’t what they seem at all, but still exquisite. This stunning chandelier from Metamorphosi is made of recycled plastic.

Crafters are some of the best resources you can find for people who creatively repurpose, recycle, and recreate. I’m repeatedly amazed at the outcome.

Why do you buy Handmade?

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Why do you buy handmade? Is it a priority for you? In the past, to be honest, I bought from Etsy sheerly because of the amazing variety and the affordability of certain items.

Over the years my thinking changed. Before starting my blog I did a lot of research and it gave me the hard facts I needed to shift my spending patterns. I read in article after article from mainstream and well respected newspapers about continued concerns with the conditions for workers in overseas factories. Further to that it was noted that many factories do not have appropriate environmental standards.

The transition to shopping handmade hasn’t been perfect for me. Overall I find myself shopping a lot less generally. This probably isn’t a bad thing – but I do find from time to time that I buy things at the mall that could be found on Etsy or at smaller shops here in Vancouver that carry clothing and other items that are manufactured in North America.

Scoutie Girl wrote an interesting post the other day and one point in particular that she made really hit home for me. To really increase my spend on handmade products – I’m going to need to plan ahead.

So – I started tonight. I need a good messenger style bag – and sure I could find one at pretty much any mall location. And it would probably be cheaper than the gorgeous grey letter bag that I found from Moop. And I’d be able to get it tomorrow and not wait a few weeks to receive it. But since I can wait, and because I want to support handmade and everything it stands for – this is the one I’m planning to get.

I’d love to hear your story and how buying handmade fits into your life!

A Greener Birthday Party

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Today is my son’s twelfth birthday and I can’t help but to reflect on how things have changed in the time that he’s been on Earth. Back in 1997, I gave little thought to things like carbon footprints and e-waste. Deforestation was probably the furthest thing from my mind and I’m pretty sure that the term “upcycling” hadn’t even been invented yet.

Looking back over all of our birthday parties, it makes me cringe to think about how many decorations, trinkets and disposable tableware items I have sent to the landfill. Each of my son’s parties had a theme, and with each theme came a whole slew of coordinated plates, cups, tablecloths, napkins and banners purchased from the discount party or dollar store. As soon as the guests had departed, everything was quickly gathered into a black garbage bag and taken to the curb with little regard for the environment.

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