For a Greener Holiday, Don't Let the Present Out of the (Reusable, Upcycled, Cloth) Bag

Sometimes environmental actions lurk right under your nose and you feel kind of stupid when you realize they were there all along. That's what happened with Sherri Oswald and Bente Barton.

I had met Sherri years ago at playgroup when her granddaughter and my daughter started playing together. I had enjoyed chatting to her off and on over the years at our kid's dance classes, yoga classes or when we bumped into each other around town. I'd had some political conversations with her and I guess I knew her environmental views. But I had no idea how actively she was working towards helping the earth. Until I saw a Facebook post (I grudgingly admit that Facebook does have its uses).

Last summer, I was looking for a way to contact Sherri, when I saw it. The post, from last holiday season, was about selling reusable present bags that Sherri's mother, Bente, had made from upcycled (previously used in one way or another) fabric.

Wow! Here, in my town, two women, were starting the great green gift wrapping revolution (I don't think I was overreacting...).

So what did I do? Did I contact them and tell them how awesome they were? No. I should have. Did I forward her post to everyone I knew? Again, I should have. I didn't actually do anything, though; I promptly forgot all about it. Yes, sometimes that happens when you have a young family. Your brain is so full of playdates and soccer practices, hydro bills and groceries, “What's for dinner, Mom?” and “Where's my sock?” that you forget anything that doesn't immediately impact your family. I'm not complaining. It's just a fact that sometimes, as a mother keeping track of everything, your brain feels like it's going to explode.

Thankfully the information wasn't permanently lost (sometimes it is). When I started thinking about holiday related environmental tips for this website, Sherri and Bente popped back into my head. I immediately, so that I wouldn't forget yet again, sent them a message.

I was hoping that they were still making and selling their bags but, what I actually discovered when I spoke to these women, was even more inspirational.

When I arrived at their home, Bente Barton was sitting on the couch, sewing. The bag making was in full swing. Over tea and cookies (lucky me!) we started to discuss the details of their bag making project. I refrained from asking whether this was truly the beginning of the great green gift wrapping revolution- I thought it would have made things awkward. But I had many other questions.

The obvious first request was to see the bags. Sherri dragged out a huge tote full of bags and other upcycled crafty projects.

There were big bags, little bags, fat bags, thin bags, bags that kids would like and bags for more mature tastes. All of these beautiful bags were made from upcycled fabrics: mostly festive holiday prints and luscious upholstery.

They were finished off with a drawstring or used ribbons, one of which, Sherri informed me, was from a liquor bottle (you can find a use for anything if you try). I discovered the bags are amazingly well priced: from $5- $10 each. These women try to keep their prices low (thrifted materials help with this) but Bente does need to be fairly compensated for her lovely work. Bente told me that the smaller bags actually take longer to make because she needs to hand-sew the drawstring.

As we chatted, I learned more and more, not just about the bags but about the environmental way these two women live their lives. As a young woman, when Sherri left home, she made a conscious decision to try to leave a smaller environmental footprint (impact).

Since then, she and her mother have been on a journey to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible. They talked about buying less, buying second hand, reusing all that they could, proper recycling and even dumpster diving.

Can you picture Sherri and Bente diving into dumpsters?

As cool as that sounds, they didn't mean it literally. They were talking about pulling perfectly good stuff out of the dump to prevent waste. They use what they can and give the rest to family, friends or the thrift store. In fact, when someone in their family needs something, more than likely Bente and Sherri find it at the dump! Buying at a thrift store or an online garage sale is another way they frequently acquire what they need. Only if they can't find something used, will they consider buying it new. Bente was proud to point out, that only one piece of furniture in their entire house had been purchased new.

What struck me most as these two women spoke, was their passion. I could tell that they care deeply about the earth and and our future.

Sherri talked about her mother's bags being, yes, a way to make a bit of money, but more importantly being a way to expose others to a different, environmentally friendly, way of living. She made the point that we do what we know and so we can't expect others to live in an earth friendly manner if they haven't been exposed to it.

Her hope is that selling the bags and other upcycled crafts will allow environmental ideas to spread within our community and create a ripple effect.

I was inspired by my conversation with Sherri and Bente and impressed with their awesome, beautifully made and reasonably priced environmental products. But a question still niggled: do their products actually sell? So, I was excited to learn that, although last year was their first year making and selling them, the bags were very popular. Sherri and Bente sold them at several local craft sales and even in the school as part of the school's holiday food drive (10% of what they earned went to the food bank).

Last year's success is certainly encouraging and I would argue, possibly delusionally (hopefully not), that it indicates the beginning the of the great green gift wrapping revolution.

Each of us can help this revolution happen, and help Sherri create her ripple effect, by buying and giving reusable bags this holiday season.

Thank you to Sherri and Bente for providing an alternative to disposable wrapping and for being all-around environmental rock stars!

Sherri and Bente's upcycled crafts (and Bente's homemade jams!) will be available at their open house on December 7th and 8th from 11-5 each day. Check out the Facebook page for details. https://www.facebook.com/events/1051234311888877/

If you do contact Sherri to buy their bags, ask about hand-knit avocado socks. Yup, it's really a thing! I couldn't make something like that up.