plastic bag art
Bloggers who write earnest posts celebrating their political correctness or lecturing on what car to buy, where not to shop, etc., can be communicating an important message, but it's usually preaching to the choir. Just read the comments. I seriously doubt that my neighbours across the street who still refuse to recycle are going to read these posts. (That means they'd also have to learn to read, har de har.) What I do love to come across, however, are great ideas that put idealism into action.
The above video comes from a site that I stumbled across by accident (see, there are benefits to being a web whore). Yes, that's Daryl Hannah (I had no idea she was such an environmentalist) and the whole site is worth exploring. This particular episode of her video blog caught my attention as I love the idea of making art from recycled non-biodegradable material. I am always looking for ways to reduce our plastic consumption and reuse what we have, but this is the best I've seen. After all, I no longer need plastic bags to scoop dog poop. :(
Another great idea was recently published on the Storque. If I had a clue how to sew I'd be giving this a whirl. This shop has some great fused plastic art and stuff.
Now, I seriously risk my reputation by admitting I shop at Superstore. Around here that's like admitting you live south of the Fraser River or drive an American-made vehicle, none of which I do, of course! :) I figure it's worth the risk to my good name, though, to point out these great tote bags made from recycled plastic, just because they're the most practical, attractive .99 bags I've seen for hauling groceries yet.
PS A quick thank you to those who took the time to respond to my last post. I'm glad I wrote it now as it really helped clarify things for me and god knows I could use some clarity.
posted by andrea at 7:40 a.m.
20 Comments:
Very cool! I once made a fab bus pass holder out of a Europe's Best frozen fruit bag.
Oooo... I think I'm gonna try fusing some plastic bags! Thanks for the inspiration! It sounds like a great thing to do with the girls. The only problem is I hardly ever have bags around the house anymore, since I always bring my own bags to the store - or carry things home without bags. I'm still surprised how many store clerks look at me funny when I say "no bags please".
Very interesting video. It is thought provoking and eye-opening and beautiful all at once. Some people when they walk up here on the roads carry a long stick to protect from mountain lions. My first thought was to get my long stick and decorate it with colorful plastic. I'm thinking that might be more effective at scaring off a wild animal than just the stick itself--I might not even have to use the stick-- the color and noise might do the trick! I took my trash down to the road today for pick-up. The can was about 1/3 full. That's for 5 people. My neighbors with 3 people have three cans. If I pass nothing else onto my kids, it will be to compulsively recycle, like me.
OK here I go..
One of my least favorite places on Earth is the STUPIDstore. I don't know what it is about the place or if it is just horrible here but the only thing more obnoxious and snarly than the bag it yourself gumchomping clerks are the frickin' rude customers!
Here the great unwashed collects to perfect being rude. Actually I won't even go there anymore..during a strike here in whateverpeg the workers were screaming at moms pushing strollers into the store..if I had my druthers I would have collected about 50 thugs and re-enacted a scene out of Gangs O New York and gone medieval on their asses!
What can I say I absolutely hate that place because it was a horrible experience every time. I take my little black recycled bags to Safeway and pay the extra cents just to shop in peace and in a friendly environment....ooh I have to stop..
I love those bags and carry them with me everywhere. Even if I have to buy something other than groceries.....they are fabulous
well, i have been known to step inside a superstore on a rare occasion and have to admit that i actually made a special trip to buy those bags after seeing someone elses ... they are pretty fabulous :)
and hee hee ... we call it stupidstore too ...
Kikipotamus: You should do a tutorial for us!
Heather: I go shopping with three large plastic bins and two of those black bags and they still ask me, too!
Molly: Just like us and the non-recycling neighbours across the road. They often have three bins out there for two people while ours is usually about half full.
HE: You sound like my mother! :) Seriously, though, I shopped at Safeway for years and grew up in Canada's richest municipality so I have no false pride. Would I rather shop at Safeway still? You bet. But with $250K debt and one income for a family of four (two of them 6' teenage boys!) I buckled when I discovered that with creative shopping I was saving $50 a week at Stupidstore! That's a huge savings for a family that needs to count every penny. Not only that, they've been only civil to me there, so I'm more than happy to join all the social undesirables (my North Shore snob friends and family's biggest problem with the place) and heft my flats of canned mushrooms by myself, thanks, load it into my tacky American car and drive home to that undesirable suburb south of the river where the average house price is still $450K. You do the math.
Melody: Aren't they? And I like the way they look, too.
Daisies: I think its nickname is Canada wide! :)
I'm guessing the Suoerstore is one of those barns where you pack your own and where the very low prices are on the generic labels ? There are such places in this country, but not locally.
Recylced plastic? Yes, when I can do it. But I'm still concerned that the bags come from Chinese factories. Last week, needing a new cardboard bnox for my root vegetables, I asked a storehand for a box. "Ooh! We don't get many cardboard ones now cos everything comes in these fold-down plasctic crates, but I'll see what I can do"
Two aisles on, she caught up with me and gave me a mushroom flat. Nice girl!And my potatoes are happy.
I adore this blog that is devoted to highlighting recycling materials for utility or art purposes.
http://www.housewife.splinder.com/
jafabrit
ps. somebody has to be the web whore and bring us this cool stuff :)
Is the Superstore like WalMart?
I like environmentla posts because even though they are preaching to the choir, they help keep me on track and encourage me.
super cool bag. i like your blog.
x
Sounds like H.E. has got a gripe with Stupidstore! Love your answer, Andrea.
And as for your market research, call me boring, but I like what most of the other bloggers like. Bloom, Birdland, Stations and Desert.
Must be the vivid colours.
Cream
Fused bags? Who knew!
Maybe that sewing machine I got for Christmas 2 years ago will get some action now. I wonder if you could slip in a sheet of tissue paper and fuse it between boring white bags? An experiment to be done me thinks.
Thanks for the great links :-)
PS I read an interview with DH years ago about her and her horses. I think they were rescues and she never rides them. Just hangs out in fields and goes for walks.
ahem.
yes, superstore, and yes, I stuff my minivan full of cheaper groceries there as well, plus plenty of vector, crackers and honeynut cheerios for the daycare...
love the etsy connection. Wish I knew how how to fuse plastic...
I have been meaning to fuse some plastic ever since I read that storque article!
I sometimes shop at the Super Target...shhh - despite my recent rants.
Dinah: I actually don't use plastic bags if I can avoid it, as I have these large plastic bins (and black bags) for hauling groceries, so sometimes I find I'm scrambling for bin liners!
Jafabrit: Took a look and bookmarked. Love the name!
CS:Superstore is like a cross between Safeway and Costco. It's like a big supermarket with a phramacy, home section and their own line of clothes. I avoid Walmart for ethical reasons, but find I'm in there a couple of times a year anyway. :(
Jennifer: Thanks for visiting.
Cream: HE is in very good company. I'm the only person I know who shops there. It's kind of like a badge of honour to NOT shop there, hence (a) the disclaimer in my post and (b) my belligerent enjoyment in not conforming.
Nadine: I want to visit *her* house. I bet it's a study in environmentalism and animal compassion.
Joyce: Shucks. And I thought I was being an individual! :)
Cynthia: We don't have Target -- or Super Target -- here in Canada. It's not as bad as Walmart, though, right?
Down here, Thrget is pronounced
" tar-zhay" to "fool" people into thinking you have an exclusive boutique line! It's still too dear for moi.
It would help if they taught the baggers at the grocery store how to bag. I dont know how many times I have found only one item in a bag. --- of course I could go off on a rant of how many times they put heavy things on top of bread, bananas and bagged salad. Well, that is another subject.
the plastic bag art is brilliant!
SF has outlawed them - after China, Rwanda, Eritrea, and South Africa. A great environmentalist movement coming from the developing world!
Dinah: I hear my American friends calling it Tar-zhay, too.
Jan: Something you don't have to worry about at Stupidstore! :)
Hayden: Vancouver is talking about it now, too, though it's not the first Canadian city to do so. I hope it passes!
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