Posted on 05/13/2008 9:49:41 AM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Fashion designers are giving new life to worthless candy wrappers, newspapers and plastic bags; turning trash into trendy tote bags, purses and jewelry.
From "post-consumer and industrial waste" comes durable, funky accessories reportedly worn by celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Cameron Diaz and Petra Nemcova.
One self-described eco-fashion label, Ecoist, has partnered with Coca-Cola, Luna Bar, and Aveda to create handbags made from misprinted and discontinued packaging.
"We tap into that source of waste because it is reliable and unfortunately it's abundant," said Ecoist co-founder Jonathan Marcoschamer. "We believe that for the next few years there's going to be a significant amount."
How about 7.6 billion tons of waste? That's how much trash American companies toss each year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
During the past four years, Ecoist said, it has sold more than 100,000 accessories created by its designers in Peru and Miami, Florida. The bags -- some of them one-of-a-kind -- are priced from about $30 for smaller versions to about $180 for larger ones.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
I recently met a woman whose handbag was made out of two North Carolina car license plates. Very well done and she said she can swing it at an attacker if necessary.
We used to make purses out of gum wrappers when I was in grade school. I don’t think I could still make a gum wrapper chain (the material out of which the purse was woven) but I bet one of my younger sisters could.
We bought some tote bags made from coffee bags at the street market in Lahti, Finland last year. The layered plastic is very strong and durable. It is a family project and they usually sell out by the end of the day.
Would like to see someone make purses out of Starbucks and soft drink cups....what is with people who just throw them down....
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