Do you have clothes in your closet that you once loved, but you no longer reach for when you get dressed? Maybe a stain, a tear, a loose button, or general boredom with the item has made you fall out of love?
Bring these garments to The Outrage on April 24th and you’ll learn a variety of skills to renew these items. We’ll have patches, needles, thread, and sashiko sewing patterns.
We’ll have a handful of sewists on hand to share their skills with you – no matter what level you’re at in your mending journey. Whether you’ve never picked up a needle and thread before or if you’re more experienced and interested in adding to your skillset, we invite you to join us!
REMAKE
Holly has her own upcycling business where she turns dresses into jumpsuits. She has a knack for looking at garments with her imagination and completely transforming them.
Wendy makes and mends her and her children’s clothes and will teach you traditional mending techniques she’s used for years to extend the lives of items in her wardrobe.
Carly will show you the ease and endless possibilities of sashiko mending techniques. With only a needle and thread and a pattern transfer, you can add strength and delicate, but eye-catching stitches to any garment in need of stabilizing.
THE OUTRAGE
Kerry has been embroidering and mending her own clothes for years, embracing the imperfections to get a little more life out of favorite pieces that might have seen better days.
We aim to make this event as inclusive as possible by offering sliding scale tickets. If you would like to participate and don’t have the capacity to pay, please email us at community@the-outrage.com for free entry.
This project was supported through the Donation and Reuse Program with funding provided by the District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment.
With momentum surging in state legislatures to tackle the growing waste crisis, we face a pivotal opportunity to catalyze the new reuse economy. Join Upstream and friends for our first livestream of 2023 as we explore how best to incorporate waste prevention and reuse into one of the most popular waste policies — Extended Producer Responsibility. Strong EPR policies should support a just transition to a circular economy that prioritizes reuse.
Upstream’s Policy Director, Sydney Harris, will provide an overview of our new Principles for Reuse/Refill in EPR and DRS and host a conversation with special guest panelists who craft and support EPR legislation – including Jennifer Navarra, Program Director for Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island; Will Grassle, Associate for Policy & Programs at the Product Stewardship Institute; McKenna Morrigan, Policy Advisor at Seattle Public Utilities; and David Allaway, Senior Policy Analyst at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Materials Management Program.
Wednesday, March 15, 2023 11am PT / 2pm ET
This program will run for one hour, with an additional, optional 30 minute “speed networking” event at the end.
This event is free, open to the public, and will be recorded and shared with all registrants (whether you can join us live or not).
Kareena Desai is a Plastic Pollution Coalition Youth Ambassador, age 11. She recently went on a trip to Switzerland & France and wanted to share her experience and highlight the effective ways both countries are reducing their use of single-use plastic.
Hi! I’m Kareena Desai. I am the founder and CEO of Perform For Change, a non-profit organization that raises money for important environmental causes through projects and performances. I recently went on a trip to Europe. On that trip, I saw many simple things that Switzerland and Paris, France, do to reduce the use of single-use plastic that we could also do in the United States, where I live.
While I was walking around town in Lucerne, Switzerland, there were vendors selling chestnuts. The chestnuts came in compostable bags that had little pockets where you could put the shells in and compost the whole bag later.
In a window of a clothing store, there was a sign that said, “Be aware of what you wear” with a plant symbol next to it. It was nice to see that there were messages reminding people to be environmentally friendly with their clothing.
One day we went to eat at a cafe called Velo Cafe. They had reusable utensils in a reused can and napkins made from 100% recycled plant material.
On a train in Switzerland, there was a sign saying, “If you don’t preheat your oven you will save 20% of energy.” There were also water faucets that dispensed water and soap at the same time, saving 90% of the water you would have used to wash your hands! These types of signs and information were everywhere to remind people to do what they can to keep the planet healthy.
In Paris, France, at the Hotel Novotel, there was no single-use plastic at all used by the hotel! In each hotel room, they had reusable shampoo bottles. They also had shower caps in compostable packages that said “let’s act together to reduce plastic.” They also had completely compostable cups, and the room keys were also made from recycled wood!
For breakfast, there was milk in glass jugs. All the fruits were in wooden crates, and you could cut them yourself with a reusable knife. There were condiments and yogurt in little glass containers along with a butter stick on a cutting board.
When you entered the hotel, there was a glass jug with water in it and little glass cups on the sides.
One place we visited in Paris, called the Shakespeare Cafe, had cups made from recycled coffee grounds.
At a park, they had compost signs and bins to help people compost in the right places.
In conclusion, I saw some really great and simple things in Europe that could help stop the use of single-use plastic in the U.S. as well. I hope that we can start to shift to some of those ways of doing things.
To accelerate solutions to plastic pollution, the UN Environment Programme, World Wildlife Fund, and the World Economic Forum announced the launch of the “Reuse Portal,” a global collaboration platform to engage innovators, businesses, policymakers, activists, experts, consumers, and people to build tools and networks for shifting from single-use to reuse.
To prepare for the Reuse Portal’s public launch in early 2023, this workshop will begin the process of building a leading community of reuse stakeholders across sectors and add early reuse resources, networks, and initiatives to the Reuse Portal.
Become a part of the Reuse Portal community and participate in this first onboarding workshop. Email info@reuseportal.org with any questions. RSVP by Friday, September 23, 2022.
It’s World Oceans Day, and we are spotlighting our Coalition member Pirani Life, a company on a mission to end single-use and help everyone party sustainably. We spoke with Pirani Life’s founders Brandegee Pierce and Danielle Del Sordo to learn more about the story behind their reusable cups and tumblers.
How have you seen your beaches change over the years growing up in South Florida?
Being on this beautiful planet and in South Florida 35 years, we’ve seen a steady increase of coral reef bleaching, eroding coastlines, and trash scattered across the sand and in the ocean from both littering beach goers as well as marine debris that washes ashore after storms and on a regular basis. Brandegee on his 30th birthday was stuck with a needle that washed up on the beach (fortunately after a doctor’s visit, there was no issues but still really scary!) Sadly, it got to a point where I (Danielle) could no longer go on a jog in the sand without getting infuriated with all the trash on my path. It would end up turning into a cleanup vs a peaceful workout. We became a part of the #LitterFreeFlorida movement filled with organizations and individuals who are cleaning the coast on weekly and often daily basis, educating beach goers, students and citizens of South Florida to do better, choose reusables and take action for a better planet.
We have recently expanded to the mountains in Asheville NC, where we see significantly less trash, and different types of litter, although it still exists and all streams lead to the sea. We can see why not seeing trash directly entering our oceans could be a disconnect for people to think that it’s not that big of a deal to change their lifestyle and choose reusables over single use. That’s why we are here to continue to create awareness!
How did you come up with the Pirani Party Tumbler?
Stepping outside of our comfort zones was never a challenge for us. We are designers with a passion to make a difference. In 2013, we quit our Corporate America careers in Industrial Design (Brandegee) and Costume Design (Danielle) to travel the world. We lived out of a backpack for 18 months looking for inspiration to start up an eco-friendly company together. Ideas ranged from sustainable swimwear to a healthy food truck, and the list can go on. Fast forward 6.5 years and Pirani Life was born!
Most of our sports take place in the ocean, and we were lucky enough to live one block from it. As South Florida native water babies living an active outdoor lifestyle, we grew tired of seeing litter scattered across our beautiful beaches. One of the biggest offenders was always that iconic red party cup. This fueled Brandegee to design the first vacuum insulated version of it. After countless 3D-printed prototypes created in our home studio (a.k.a. the living room), he was determined to create the last party cup you will ever need and help put a stop to the billions of single-use plastic cups that are tossed every year.
Pirani’s mission is to empower everyday heroes in safeguarding our planet through raising eco-awareness and creating sustainable solutions. The biggest sense of accomplishment is when people tell us that through our messaging and brand, we made them think twice about using single-use items.
What does #PartySustainably mean to you?
#PartySustainably is what makes Pirani Life, Pirani. We want the party to carry on without the waste we’ve seen in order to take better care of our beaches, forests, and the planet as a whole. You may see #PartySustainably and wonder where to even begin. Honestly, it’s anything that involves living the good life and taking better care of the environment to help the lives of others and for generations to come. To Party Sustainably means thinking about what you can do better to live your best life without relying on single-use plastics or overlooking picking up after yourself during a good time.
What plastic-free living tips do you have that people might not have thought of?
At Pirani Life, we like to spread the message that living sustainably is not about being perfect and every small action makes a difference. Here are some of our favorite ways to #LiveSustainably at Pirani Life:
· Forgot your reusable bags? Wheel your groceries out of the store and bag at the car!
· Got your favorite pho takeout but it comes in plastic? Keep the container and use it as Tupperware! Giving plastic a second, third, or fourth life is much better than single-use!
· Don’t be shy! Ask every barista, bartender, smoothie or juice maker to pour in your Pirani! You will be surprised at how many say yes.
· Don’t “Wishcycle” and NEVER RECYCLE THIN FILM PLASTIC! We spent some time visiting recycling plants and the most important thing we learned is recycling will never be viable if its cost outweighs the benefit. Thin film plastic like shopping bags clogs facilities and increases the cost of recycling a lot.
We can go on and on with this list, but those are our top 4!
If you could tell the world one message about plastic pollution, what would it be?
Imperfection in masses is better then perfection by a niche group. Although we respect the zero-waste community a ton, the cold hard truth is the vast majority of people on this planet will never be zero waste. Instead of shaming people for using a straw, commend them for using a Pirani Tumbler 😁 or a reusable bag or skipping the plastic water bottle. Eventually as this message disseminates to the youth, we will hopefully have an overwhelming majority of people that care for this planet and be in powerful positions to make legislative and corporate decisions that are needed to improve the health of our beautiful and hopefully forgiving planet.
Happy Earth Month! This month, we at Plastic Pollution Coalition are spotlighting members with innovative solutions to plastic pollution. First up, is Coalition member business Plaine Products. Founded by two sisters, Lindsey and Alison Delaplaine, Plaine Products began with a dream to have less plastic waste in the world. Today, they run a successful refill-based business. Read on for our Q&A with CEO Lindsey McCoy and learn how the system work and about their new unscented line.
What was the inspiration for starting Plaine Products?
For 10 years I lived in The Bahamas doing environment education work. On a small island there’s no infrastructure to insulate you from the piles of plastic we are creating. You see plastic bags, bottles, and flip flops on the beaches, in the water, spilling out of the landfills, along the side of the road. There’s even a place so full of plastic it’s called Junk Beach. The message that plastic lasts forever, no matter how long we use it, is much more obvious living there than it is here.
I wanted to start using less plastic in my life. I started taking action: carrying a reusable water bottle, reusable grocery bags, skipping the straw at restaurants and bars. I looked for other ways to use less plastic. But I couldn’t figure out how to get those plastic bottles out of my shower. I couldn’t find any alternatives that worked for me and my hair.
As we contemplated a move back to the States, I realized that I might be able to solve my own problem. Even better, I might be able to help other people use less plastic in their lives. I pulled in my sister, Alison Webster, who has a design degree and strong opinions about the quality of her products. Together we spent two years working hard to make it easier for people to get quality products without having to buy single-use plastic bottles. We launched Plaine Products in February 2017.
How exactly does your refill system work, and do you find that it is easy for your new customers to adjust to this model?
We designed the system to be as convenient as possible to fit the needs of busy people who want to have smaller plastic and waste footprints. Here’s how it works: You order your preferred products for our website PlaineProducts.com. When your bottles are low you order a refill, or you can subscribe and we’ll send the bottles automatically. When the refills come you’ll switch the pumps over and send back the empty bottles in the refill box, Plaine Products covers the cost. Then we clean the bottles, refill them and reuse them. We’ve invested heavily in personal, responsive customer service to make sure we’re there to help if people have questions or want to make changes to their subscription.
Some businesses offer product refills in plastic containers. Why did Plaine Products opt for refillable aluminum containers rather than plastic?
We went with aluminum for two reasons:
One, aluminum is infinitely recyclable, which means we can reuse our bottles as many times as possible, but when they have outlived their usefulness they can be turned right back into more bottles. However, when plastic is recycled it is downgraded and can only be used one, maybe twice, before it goes to the landfill, or worse the ocean.
The other reason is concerns about the chemicals that are in plastics. When I started doing research for Plaine Products I learned how many chemicals were in mainstream beauty products. It was an eye opening experience to read about the toxins, detergents and pollutants I was putting on my skin and in my body. It just didn’t make sense to me to offer this amazing, environmentally friendly packaging and then put chemicals that were harmful to people, animals and the environment inside. And again, it didn’t make sense to ensure our products are toxin-free and then put them in plastic bottles, when there is increasing concern around the chemicals that are leaching out of the plastic bottles and into the products inside.
What benefits does your new unscented line offer/who did you have in mind when you developed the unscented line?
Unscented products were the most requested item from our customers and would-be customers. While our scented products only contain essential oils, not synthetic chemical-based “fragrances” in many products, they are still too much for some people and their skin. Those with sensitive skin, preexisting skin conditions, allergies, or even a hypersensitive sense of smell can get very irritated by the ingredients in fragrances or even by essential oils. Even for those without preexisting skin conditions there is one common condition many people experience from fragrances or essential oils: contact dermatitis. This is a form of eczema, so after prolonged use of a product, your skin may start to develop an eczema-like rash. Many times, essential oils or the unknown ingredients in “fragrances” can be the culprit for irritation, which is why an unscented or fragrance-free product may be the best option.
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