Zero or low waste s/o: interesting article

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, popmom said:

That’s amazing! I’m wondering if my climate (humid subtropical) makes us more vulnerable to getting moth larva in the house. 

I grew up near the equator, hot and humid. The sun is your best friend for wool, leather and other stuff. In my childhood home, the clothing items (and leather bags) with the most issues are in closed wardrobes. Those on racks or with wardrobe/closet doors left opened were okay. We would vacuum pack the less used winter coats/gloves/beanies before putting them in the closet top rack or under the beds. My mom would send our more expensive wool coats to the dry cleaners when I was a kid since we rarely wear them, it was an affordable expense.

[SKL]

1 hour ago, Teaching3bears said:

Yes, I wish we could give them back to the organizations after they were outgrown but most kids would want a new t-shirt.

A lot of activities will give the kid 1 shirt for a 5 day activity or whatever.  When practical, I used to buy a 2nd shirt rather than do laundry every day.  The zoo volunteer thing is 3 days a week, and they give you 1 t-shirt, so I think participants would appreciate having one or two extras, even if not brand-new.

I've also donated used t-shirts/sweatshirts back to my kids' elementary school, for the pre-first-day "take what you need" clothing event.

Anyhoo.  I think this discussion has inspired me to request a t-shirt opt-out for things like community races next year.  These are usually charity drives, so hopefully the organizations would be glad to have more $$.

[SKL]

So I emailed the company that organizes most of the charity races around here, and they say they are already starting to make t-shirts optional for most races, and will expand this in 2024.  So that should help a little bit.  🙂

[regentrude]

15 hours ago, popmom said:

How do y'all store your wool clothing?

We used to have a lot of woo growing up. It was stored in a wardrobe, with strips of moth repellent paper.

[fairfarmhand]

On 11/8/2023 at 6:41 AM, Emba said:

Another thing that doesn’t help is the popularity of buying jeans with holes already in them. I know I sound old and cranky here, but if you buy your jeans half worn out, of course they don’t last, and create more waste.

I'm right there with you. I can't stand the ratty jeans. When my girls wear theirs (bought from thrift stores) I look sideways at them and say, "You get in a fight with a bear?" They grin. They refuse to buy new things that are pre ripped.

On 11/8/2023 at 10:26 AM, Faith-manor said:

Here is an article on fabric recycling through Goodwill. It is HuffPost which is NOT a normal source of info for me, but I think on this particular issue, it seems to be just a nuts and bolts facts based article.

goodwill-do-with-your-clothes_n_57e06b96e4b0071a6e092352

I bought an article of clothing today. First one since the summer cocktail dress I bought for a wedding back in July. It is mostly cotton, a cotton blend but more cotton than poly. It was on the clearance rack at TSC when I ran in there for some cat food. 75% and I really like it. For the most part, any women's clothing I ever purchased from TSC has been higher quality by far than anything from Walmart, Target, Meijer, Old Navy, JcPenney, or Kohls. Our CarHart coats last ten years. But, I don't by t-shirts. I do think across the board, T shirts are some of the lowest quality clothing across the board no matter who manufactures them. Stretch units these days are crap, and get holes so easily, and often in places where they can't be readily repaired and look decent. So I am trying to get Mark to move with me to get away from knits.

Tractor supply clothing quality is excellent. Iv'e bought tops there, sweaters, jackets, etc. Their stuff ALWAYS holds up for years and we're very hard on clothing.

23 hours ago, SKL said:

Right, there should be an opt out.  For 5Ks that we run, there is always a t-shirt and most of them are too ugly or weird to ever wear.  It's not like we're even wearing them for that day's race.  We've come dressed, often in layers so you wouldn't know if we were wearing the t-shirt or not.

The idea was cute at first, but after your first few, you're over it.  😛

I will say that my kids like to wear some of their "been there done that" t-shirts.  I guess it's a way for them to communicate their interests in a crowd.  But the shirt needs to fit right and not look too weird.

YES! It would be different if the shirts were pretty or clever or interesting but usually they're ugly.

The camp my kids attended hired a real life graphic designer to create the image for their camp tees and wow, finally. The kids would wear their camp tees through the rest of the year after that.

[Innisfree]

Here’s another article that seems related, on the right to repair manufactured goods instead of having to replace them for minor problems.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/what-on-earth-right-to-repair-canada-1.7023762

[Faith-manor]

22 hours ago, Innisfree said:

Here’s another article that seems related, on the right to repair manufactured goods instead of having to replace them for minor problems.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/what-on-earth-right-to-repair-canada-1.7023762

Along these lines, I would be all for some sort of penalty tax on manufacturers over the "planned obsolescence " that forces all of us to buy appliances over and over again. Call it a carbon tax or whatever. If they are going to use up valuable resources to create these machines, then they should have to work for a minimum 10 years, and I think 15-20 should be more like it. My grandmother's close dryer ran for 40 years without repair. Meanwhile, I have had to replace dryers 3 times in the last 15 years because either repairs could not be made or the cost to repair was higher than purchasing a new one. I just feel like we need penalties for creating crap or legislation to at least force warranties on appliances that cost more than $100 to last long enough that companies must repair. The cost to be constantly repairing or paying penalties for crap might increase their incentive to make quality items since it would hopefully not be cost effective to maintain a massive fleet of repair persons, parts, and then all the travel expenses. The cost of manufacturing to the planet is just too high to not do something about this.

Of course, I have zero expectation of the United Oligarchs of America to do anything on behalf of planet and peasants.

Edited November 11, 2023 by Faith-manor

[Carol in Cal.]

I actually have a plan for all those ‘extra’ t shirts.

You know how you can chain rubber bands together?  My plan is to cut the tshirts in big loops, and chain them together, and knit that into mats, like bath mats or other floor mats.  We don’t have wall to wall carpeting so our floors are hard and throw rugs and mats are pretty helpful.  Plus we should be able to just throw these in the wash.  My guess is that they would make good outdoor placemats, too.

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Can’t recall whether I’ve mentioned this here before, but American Blossom Linens makes sheets and blankets from entirely American grown and processed wool and cotton.  I have some of their sheets, and they have worn extremely well.  Plus as a weaver I love that some of their stuff is made from color grown Fox Fibre.  

[Faith-manor]

31 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Can’t recall whether I’ve mentioned this here before, but American Blossom Linens makes sheets and blankets from entirely American grown and processed wool and cotton.  I have some of their sheets, and they have worn extremely well.  Plus as a weaver I love that some of their stuff is made from color grown Fox Fibre.  

Thanks, Carol! I need a set of new sheets, so I will be looking at their stock.

[Faith-manor]

34 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I actually have a plan for all those ‘extra’ t shirts.

You know how you can chain rubber bands together?  My plan is to cut the tshirts in big loops, and chain them together, and knit that into mats, like bath mats or other floor mats.  We don’t have wall to wall carpeting so our floors are hard and throw rugs and mats are pretty helpful.  Plus we should be able to just throw these in the wash.  My guess is that they would make good outdoor placemats, too.

 

Fun idea! 

[Kuovonne]

4 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

My plan is to cut the tshirts in big loops, and chain them together, and knit that into mats, like bath mats or other floor mats.

I’ve seen people do that with plastic bags, and crochet instead of knitting. The results are pretty, but it takes a lot of bags.

Do you have to do anything to prevent the cut edges of the t-shirts from raveling?

[busymama7]

11 minutes ago, Kuovonne said:

I’ve seen people do that with plastic bags, and crochet instead of knitting. The results are pretty, but it takes a lot of bags.

Do you have to do anything to prevent the cut edges of the t-shirts from raveling?

Knit won't ravel. Irs perfect for this kind of thing because of that.  It will roll on itself if it's jersey.  

[popmom]

14 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I quoted the wrong post lol. This is regarding the American Blossom Linens. 🙂

 

That's really cool about the brown fox fibre cotton! 

I'll offer up another one for consideration: Red Land Cotton. 

My current sheets are okay, but the second I have an excuse--these will be my next sheets. I would fully expect them to last a lifetime. I bought yardage of their blue fabric to make the tablecloths for dd's wedding, and I was blown away at the quality and feel of the fabric. Nothing I have ever bought (bed linens) compares to the weight and silky/soft feel their fabric has. 

They "reversed engineered" a bed sheet that was made in 1925 and was still in excellent shape as of 2015. They use an "open weave with a substantially (larger) size yarn" to get that heirloom quality. No planned obsolescence in their products. No excessive fuel costs/emissions from shipping product all over creation because everything is done in AL, GA, SC, MS, and TX from seed to last stitch. I think that's pretty awesome.

Edited November 11, 2023 by popmom

[saraha]

22 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I actually have a plan for all those ‘extra’ t shirts.

You know how you can chain rubber bands together?  My plan is to cut the tshirts in big loops, and chain them together, and knit that into mats, like bath mats or other floor mats.  We don’t have wall to wall carpeting so our floors are hard and throw rugs and mats are pretty helpful.  Plus we should be able to just throw these in the wash.  My guess is that they would make good outdoor placemats, too.

 

I have done this! I crocheted a mat for the bathroom using all of dh’s worn out white undershirts and random blue tshirts I gathered up from the kids. We have been using it for at least four years everyday and it is holding up beautifully! Since that was so successful, I made one for inside the fro t door in an oval shape made from a set of cheap sheets that the fitted one had worn out in the middle. I do t wash it in the washer like I do the bath mat, just shake it out because I think it would unravel.

17 hours ago, Kuovonne said:

I’ve seen people do that with plastic bags, and crochet instead of knitting. The results are pretty, but it takes a lot of bags.

Do you have to do anything to prevent the cut edges of the t-shirts from raveling?

Both dogs have plastic mats in their dog houses and I have a big oval one on the back porch! It did take a whole lot of plastic bags, but everyone I know was happy to give them to me. The rugs do wear out and end up in the trash, but that is where they were headed anyway, so glad to have free dog house mats. Our local grocery just started finding out bright blue plastic bags for some reason, so I have people saving those and the gray Walmart bags so I can make a prettier rug for the porch than the one I have now

[Faith-manor]

12 minutes ago, saraha said:

I have done this! I crocheted a mat for the bathroom using all of dh’s worn out white undershirts and random blue tshirts I gathered up from the kids. We have been using it for at least four years everyday and it is holding up beautifully! Since that was so successful, I made one for inside the fro t door in an oval shape made from a set of cheap sheets that the fitted one had worn out in the middle. I do t wash it in the washer like I do the bath mat, just shake it out because I think it would unravel.

Both dogs have plastic mats in their dog houses and I have a big oval one on the back porch! It did take a whole lot of plastic bags, but everyone I know was happy to give them to me. The rugs do wear out and end up in the trash, but that is where they were headed anyway, so glad to have free dog house mats. Our local grocery just started finding out bright blue plastic bags for some reason, so I have people saving those and the gray Walmart bags so I can make a prettier rug for the porch than the one I have now

I seriously need to learn to crochet!

[saraha]

2 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

I seriously need to learn to crochet!

Joanne fabrics sells these gigantic crochet hooks that are perfect for rug making. I literally only know one stitch but it works!

[Faith-manor]

49 minutes ago, saraha said:

Joanne fabrics sells these gigantic crochet hooks that are perfect for rug making. I literally only know one stitch but it works!

I was thinking that at my best, I could manage the single stitch chain thing. LOL, no idea if that can be used to make a rug or if I have to learn something else. For a pianist, it is just a little bit ridiculous that I never seemed to manage the coordination of crochet and knitting needles! 🤣🤣🤣

[saraha]

I do a chain for the first row and then a single stitch for the rest. I can’t seem to manage anymore than that 🙄 but it makes a rug!

I forgot, I also made some sit upon sized plastic rugs for the ladies at the library, they wear nice clothes but like to eat lunch out in the picnic table, but it was leaving dirty marks on their clothes so I made a couple they could set down to sit on. They also use them to kneel in the flower beds

Edited November 11, 2023 by saraha

[Quarter Note]

On 11/10/2023 at 8:10 AM, Carol in Cal. said:

Can’t recall whether I’ve mentioned this here before, but American Blossom Linens makes sheets and blankets from entirely American grown and processed wool and cotton.  I have some of their sheets, and they have worn extremely well.  Plus as a weaver I love that some of their stuff is made from color grown Fox Fibre.  

 

13 hours ago, popmom said:

I'll offer up another one for consideration: Red Land Cotton. 

Carol and popmom, just want to tell you thank you for letting us know about these companies!  I'll use my towels and sheets until they fall apart, but I'd really like to support these two companies when I have a chance.

[Quarter Note]

About crocheting items from old t-shirts:  I've also done this to make grocery shopping bags, too.  But wow, I have so many shopping bags that I don't need another, and the t-shirts keep piling up...

I also try to make handkerchiefs from old clothes - but again, the clothes get old faster than we need new handkerchiefs!  

I really try not to throw away a piece of clothing until it has at least become a gross hole-y rag.  

For another use for old jeans (not new!) check out this video:

10 Min DIY Tote bag made with unused Jeans  (The title says unused jeans, but what's the point of that?  I'll just make the bag up to the point where there's a hole in the knee.)

[Quarter Note]

Oh, one other thing to encourage those of you who sew:  The last time that we had some flannel sheets that got worn out in the middle, I realized that there was enough strong fabric on the edges to make myself some pajama pants.  They're comfy!  Yes, some people might think that that's way too Depression-era to make clothes out of what others would think of as rags, but I was pretty proud of myself!

[saraha]

6 minutes ago, Quarter Note said:

Oh, one other thing to encourage those of you who sew:  The last time that we had some flannel sheets that got worn out in the middle, I realized that there was enough strong fabric on the edges to make myself some pajama pants.  They're comfy!  Yes, some people might think that that's way too Depression-era to make clothes out of what others would think of as rags, but I was pretty proud of myself!

I have a nightgown I wear all summer that I made from a stained tshirt and the tail of one of dh’s dress shirts. He had ripped the sleeve in a way that was a noticeable fix and he didn’t need anymore working around the farm shirts. So I cut from the second button from the bottom off all the way around and sewed it to the hem of the tshirt. Then zigzagged over the join and have worn it for three summers now! All those premade seems made it easy.

I took a couple pairs of worn out flannel sleep pants and made them into cloth napkins. I just used the parts that weren’t too thin. I love to figure out how to take worn out things and turn them into something else! 🥰

dh has a pair of jeans that has patches on patches. Everytime I see him wear them it makes me smile. I’m not a sewer per se, I dont make clothing or anything, but I use my machine to make repairs or remake something into something else. The best part of working with old clothing is if you mess it up, no big deal!