Sustainability from the Ground Up.

 Today is Earth Day, and I always have mixed feelings about that. When I was younger - a high-school student, starry-eyed and idealistic - each year was a new chance to rally people to the cause. A few years on cynicism and it's a day of green-washing, lip service, and singular feel-good activities. How does an activist spread the ethos of care into the other 364 days of the year?

Pictures from the first Earth Day, 1970

If I had the perfect answer to that I would be out on the streets, leading the charge. Instead, I am here to encourage the makers, the creative types, to think sustainably in their creations. Here's the simple, easy things to think of for sustainable design.

 1.)What is it made from?
        Obviously, this is where it starts. Let's say you have a great product idea, and it's gonna help people save water/conserve energy/not waste food etc... but it's made out of plastic and packaged in styrofoam. New materials are helping to solve this problem, but I opine that returning to simple natural materials is always the best choice!

2.)What happens when it breaks?
        Is the item made to last? Can it be fixed? Can it be repurposed? Seed paper cards are an example of an item that has an explicit second life.

3.)Where does it go to?
         This is where that nasty plastic causes problems, but any material can be a problem if there's nothing to do with a broken or worn-out item but throw it away! Can it be reused or recycled? Composted? Cradle to Grave is the ethos of designing an "afterlife" for an item.

4.)Does it work?
     This can be overlooked by a greenwashing company. Story time - back in the late 90s when the first bioplastic were appearing on the market my mother bought a few packs of corn plastic pens and permanent markers. How proud we were! Early adopters who are reducing our impact! Of course, the pen part didn't work for crap. So concerned, was that company, with making and marketing the bioplastic outers, that the insides of the pen were shoddy and non-functioning. If the product doesn't work very well or breaks right away, then no matter what it is made from it is not sustainable!

5.)How is it made?
     The other downside of those early bioplastics (see why I prefer natural materials?), was the manufacture. It involved toxic chemicals, those chemicals were not always handled properly, the energy required to manufacture was much higher than petroplastics. Problems like this lead to the idea of sustainability as a complex system! If an item pollutes when it is made, that's the same as if it pollutes when it is thrown away!

6.)Who makes it?
     Here's the tough part for many big companies, we handcrafters got this down pretty well. If an item is not socially responsible then it is not sustainable. This is not simply a matter of morality - oppressive systems are not stable or sustainable. And pushing people into poverty often forces them to make choices that are environmentally harmful and destructive to their culture and society. But handmakers must also be responsible about this! What are we outsourcing? What processes are they using? Are we charging enough for our time and talents?

7.) How is it used?
     Let us not forget the most important aspect of design - is it useful? What do we use it for? It drives me crazy to see the piles of "recycling" ideas that turn a throwaway item into a nominally decorative piece of bric-a-brac. I mean, sure, a few decorative vases is fine, and a pen cup or two made from old containers covered in pretty paper or such... but how many can you have in your house? And the item that is only decorative? That's like a garbage denial system, we store it on the walls and shelves awaiting it's inevitable doom. Good sustainable design make useful items that we want to use in environmentally responsible ways!

Happy Earth Day everyone! From a crabby environmentalist, and Crafty Bitch.

Five Awesome Upcycling Projects for Sewers

 I am always on the lookout for good ways to make use of old materials. Unmatched buttons, bits of fabric, broken zippers and old notions. The best of the goods get rolled into my upcycled bags, but let's face it. I have a lot of fabric. A. Lot. 

So here's a sampling of good ways to upcycle those crafty bits, like into something exciting! Like purdy hangers, good for those of us with exposed closet spaces. Also, slippery clothing won't fall off.

From Corrieberry Pie

Or a cute little tree! Perfect for lonely little buttons, and that neat wood spool! (Let's not talk about how many empty spools I have in the craft room...)

From Kitsch and Curious

 Several ways to use old zippers? Yes please! I have an alarming number of busted zippers, and plenty of nice metal ones are available from the fly of old pants.

From Passion Make on Instructables.

Mmmmmm, little wee scraps! Stitching onto paper to give fabric a new life and purpose, and trees! (I really like trees, in case you didn't know.) One could of course branch out into any designs that suit the message... but trees are the best.

From Stitched in Color

 And here's the most practical of upcycling projects for the seamstress - a sewing kit! I find that us four-eyes tend to accumulate old glasses, and as I donate old frames I often keep the case, now I know why. See, just planning! I'm totally not a hoarder...

From Tea Rose Home

Now get out there and re-make cool things!

Spring Strawberries

Aw yisssss... homegrown strawberries! It's the season for first fruits from the garden, I've already enjoyed my radishes, spinach and arugula are gracing the plate, and now the crown of early foods.

No matter how misshapen, no matter if they are still white on the bottom, no matter that they are small and bear the marks of hungry birds; homegrown strawberries are the sweetest nuggets of goodness on the gods green earth.

This, I feel, is the truth of local, seasonal foods. I have grown used to enjoying many crops for only a few short weeks each year. I do it to support local growers, and to know where my food is coming from. I do it to reduce my environmental impact. It's a win-win to avoid those tasteless plastic packs from California and Mexico.

But mostly, I do it for the taste. Sure, I can enjoy strawberries 12 months of the year, and I do at restaurants and friends gatherings. But I don't truly enjoy strawberries until they come from mother's yard, warm from the sun, ripe on the vine. The same is true for Palisade peaches and Rocky Ford cantaloupe, accept no imitations, wait for the real thing.

What's your favorite seasonal treat? What do you wait all year to enjoy?

Salve Making

 I've been exploring herbal medicine for a few years now, and my repertoire of useful items keeps expanding, as does the cupboard space I keep them in...

After last summer's intense heat and bad sunburns I decided it was time for something a little more soothing than the aloe, I'd use it with aloe of course, but when I burn I need some serious moisture! I infused chamomile and rosemary in olive oil, letting them sit in the sun of my kitchen window for a few weeks.

 The other ingredient is beeswax, all natural with that slight whiff of honey to it! I used about one cup infused oils, and one ounce beeswax. You can add 20-30 drops of essential oils or a tablespoon of vitamin E oil as well.

 Melt the wax in a double boiler, make candles, then pour into a container. Note that once a container is used for wax related stuff it's tricky to clean it all the way, so just dedicate those jar to ever be for salve making and wax melting.

I stirred the salve while it was cooling to make a light fluffy concoction, better for smearing on sensitive burns and rashes. Simple, effective, wholesome and free of unknown scary long -named chemicals!

Do you make body products for yourself at home?

Tea Time

Every morning my "Mr Coffee" bubbles and steams, but it doesn't have roast beans inside. Personally I've never like coffee, and the caffeine doesn't seem to make me more productive.

I prefer to fill my carafe with herbs and spices, and let the infusion wake me up by scalding my tongue. (Pro-tip, not actually a good way to wake up.) Officially any soaked herb water other than Camellia sinensis is called a tisane, and I prefer the herbal stuff. It may seem rather daunting and complex to find good, inexpensive, delicious herbal concoctions, but you may be able to start in your kitchen and backyard.

Photo - http://www.thehomeherbalist.com/roman-chamomile-essential-oil/

Chamomile is a common tea, but it need not be relegated to bedtime! Besides calming, it helps fever, upset stomach, and menstrual cramps. It is antiseptic and makes a great external wash for wounds, bug bites and rashes. I find it likes to mix with many different flavors, thyme, berries, lemon balm, and rose all mix nicely with chamomile.

Photo - http://semiswede.com/2011/06/09/elderflower-liqueur/

Elderflowers are delicate enchanting blooms with a heady scent and light flavor. Many a fine liquor and jam is flavored with elderflower. Elderflower bushes are said to host fairies, and you should always ask the Elder plant's permission to pick anything from it. The flowers help with fevers and lung problems, and sore throats. I like Elderflower by itself for the delicate taste.

Photo- http://theherbgardener.blogspot.com/2007/11/sage-is-good-for-more-than-stuffing.html

Sage is truly an unappreciated herb, it belongs in more than sausages and stuffing! It is antiseptic and drying, so it can be used to calm sweating and mucous. It's a wonderful gargle for sore throats. It helps slow diarrhea. I like it best with elderberry or rosehips to give it a fruity edge.

Photo - http://juniperdesert.com/beauty/lavenderforburns

Lavender is a classic culinary and medicinal herb. It's calming and soothing effects pair nicely with it's musty heady smell. The oil is slightly antiseptic and soothes cuts and burns. As a tea it calms and relaxes, allays headaches and nausea. I like it best with other flowers, like chamomile and rose, but lavender shines quite well on it's own!

The best herb teas are made with water just under boiling, and left to infuse for quite a while. Use a little local honey if you like it sweet, the medicinal effects of honey will enhance the medicinal effects of most herbs. More importantly it's tasty! What is your drink of choice in the morning?

Earth Day!

As I did my daily blog reading yesterday, and skimmed an entry on The Wild Hunt, I mumbled something about Earth Day. The Boyfriend looked up
"Oh! When is Earth Day anyway...?"
"It's today." I replied nonchalantly
"Ooooh... are we doing anything special?"
"All the hippy-dippy stuff we do everyday."
This is the crux of Earth Day really, it isn't a single day to look at the world around us that sustains us. It's a single day to learn more, to become personally involved in the care of the planet. What good is one day a year of tree planting and organic foods, if the rest of the year is spent consuming mindlessly? It's like "those" religious people who are good one day of the week when at church/temple/mosque/circle etc. and a total lying asshole the other six. Weekend environmentalism made smaller.

The tradition of Earth Day as an educational time has been lost, but we can reclaim it. Don't think of it as a single event, it's the New Year's Day of sustainability. Make a slew of resolutions - turn off more lights, use less water, buy local, recycle more, get outside - and stick to them year round. The biggest impacts in creating a sustainable future do not come from governments and corporations. They come from individuals changing their lifestyles. From entire cultures changing their lifestyles. Companies sell us what we demand, so demand local sustainable goods, efficient appliances and vehicles, and soundly raised foods. The government must bend to the will of the people, make your voice heard to protect wild lands and agrarian systems, support small businesses, and improve water and air protections.

I will continue to post about environmental issues from time to time, all year! Because April 22nd isn't the only time you can buy CFL bulbs or fix a leaky faucet. What are your Earth Day resolutions!