Is anyone trying to be a eco friendly in anything they do in their shop and what kind of things do you do?
I do try my aim is
a) as little waste as possible so that means using up all my material scraps.
b) Either hand sewing or using my hand cranked sewing machine rather one of my electric ones.
c) recycle as much paper as possible including making my own hand made recycled paper.
d) finding as many ways as I can think of to make items via recycling/upcycling.
e) Re using clean good quality recycled packing were am able to.
What other things do people try to incorporate in their crafting?
Like you I recycle packaging where possible and use as much of my silver as possible (and keep anything else to go back to the bullion dealer to be melted down and reused). Budget doesnāt currently allow for me to use eco silver which is mined in a more environmentally friendly way but maybe when Iām more established Iāll switch over. I break up old jewellery to recover and reuse the beads and findings (and do repairs if people ask me nicely) and once dismantled a set of wind chimes so that I could clean up and use the chimes in necklaces.
My favourite way of being eco is in some of the āstonesā I use - the lapidarist I use got hold of some old bowling balls that were no longer fit for purpose and cut them into cabochons, they make for quite a talking point with their sparkly vibrant colours. Another material Iām very fond of is Fordite - its layers of cured car paint that had to be removed from the spray booths at the car factories, most of it ended up in skips (and then either landfill or incinerated) but some enterprising souls rescued lumps of it that are getting cut into cabochons and beads. A much better use than it ending up in landfill.
The environment is central to our entire business so everything we do in our shop is aimed at making our business as eco-friendly as possible. We have many up-cycled products and we always use recycled paper and card for other products. We re-use as much packaging as possible and, where we have to buy new products, we buy recycled or eco-friendly. Itās nice to read that others are also thinking about the environment in their businesses!
All my cards are made from recycled card, with recycled paper envelopes and I pack them in cornstarch biodegradable clear sleeves. I try to be eco friendly wherever I can in my life and business! I also use rescued vintage fabrics and remnants from old projects to create my fabric pieces too. I love to create using what I have - its a lovely organic design process!
I use recycled card & glass jars- my glass jars are really easy to upcycle now the labels peel off easy. I try to order from local companies. Things like bubble wrap are re-used. Suppliers who ship with polystyrene nuggets are boycotted. I use organic ingredients where possible. I hate any waste but friends & family are happy to use up anything we canāt. I may be poor but a least I can have lovely baths & super soft skin
The whole ethos of my art is based upon recycling and upcycling. Each piece is either constructed of a āusedā substrate and/or āusedā tessarae. I reuse as much packaging as possible including wrapping my items in tissue paper that has been used to protect my workspace when using alcohol inks. They are much more beautiful than any tissue paper I could buy. My boxes and bubble wrap are those which some of my purchased supplies come in and the boxes are wrapped in paper Lidl bags, turned inside out. I think I keep things pretty green and I am proud of this fact and pleased that my fellow sellers do too!
My whole ethos is around recycling. I use vintage maps, keys, lace, ribbons and buttons in my designs. My packaging is either reused or biodegradable. I am always trying to think of other ways to recycle - for example if I need more Hessian I will go on auction sites and buy someoneās destash or offcuts.
I try to use fabric from discontinued fabric books for my purses and sewn items. It is a good way to recycle beautiful fabrics that are no longer needed. I also try to use British products too where I can, to cut down on airmiles and support local farmers. I also save little scraps of fabric to use where possible and recycle any no longer usable. Its great to look after our beautiful world.
Sounds lovely. I bought some pretty ditsy floral fabric from the charity shop the other day that Iām making into a dress too. Itās great when you can give something a new lease of life.
