Living & Crafting Sustainably [Pt 3]: Donating — Good or Bad?

How to sew more sustainably...

Are we doing good by donating stuff that we no longer need or is it really a way of averting our eyes from a bigger problem?

Ponder that thought, if you will, while I draw your attention to National Sewing Month's (i.e., September) rather appropriate theme for 2023: sew sustainable.

As you can see from the graphic below, we can do a lot with what we have and we can learn to make decisions wisely when it comes to purchasing new.

image courtesy of National Sewing Month...

Over the past couple of years, I've become even more focused on reuse, repurposing and upcycling, but they are concepts that have been important to me from the very beginning of my sewing journey. (There's even a fairly large label on my sidebar that you can use to find posts relating to that topic.) Back then, it was not so much a case of not being able to afford supplies as much as it was a problem of where to find them.

When I decided to be creatively frugal about my sewing choices – because that's just my nature – I knew that the approach would appeal to others as well.

By the way, you can find previous installments of my "living & crafting sustainably" series here and here.

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Here's a brief rundown of the ways in which I've incorporated some of the twelve ideas into my sewing.

Mend

Just last week, I had to repair hubby's sandals again. (I first showed you the problem in this post about specialty sewing needles.) This time I got smarter. Rather than struggle with trying to poke the needle through layers of leather and plastic, I enlisted the help of a pair of pliers to push and pull.

Sewing with pliers!

Turned out to be a breeze, and I'll remember for next time. (Because for sure there will be a next time.)

Oh, and if I can "mend" sandals, you bet I'm also mending clothes and such.

Reuse

One could say this is similar to repurpose, but if I take it to mean using something again for the same purpose, in sewing, I have reused zippers since forever.

Reclaimed zippers on my proof of concept MIY Bag...

In fact, I'm quite thrilled that I had the foresight to harvest stuff like buttons, zippers, connectors and magnetic snaps from bags that were past their prime, for reuse.

Upcycle

To me, an upcycle refers to taking something that is potentially a throwaway item and making use of it in a way that is superior to the original.

Upcycled CD coasters...

Some time ago, I turned some old CDs into coasters and baskets. I can confirm that they have been used a lot more than the original CDs!

Organic, Fair Trade & Zero Waste

I admit to being not as knowledgeable in the first two areas as I could be when it comes to sewing. As far as (sewing) waste goes, I haven't reached the zero level, but it's potentially doable, particularly with these techniques.

Repurpose

I love thinking up ways to repurpose things. One recent example are these outdoor seating cushions made out of donated tote bags.

Tote bags into seat cushions...

Didn't need the tote bags to be tote bags, but these are quite useful. I also liked repurposing an old skirt into a bag.

Refashion

I don't do a lot of sewing of clothes, but I did attempt a clothing refashion a couple of years ago that was surprisingly successful.

This still hangs on the back of my chair within easy reach...

Taking something that you don't wear and turning it into something that becomes a favourite item is a total win.

There's actually a part two to this story. My other half also gave me a thin, short front/long back style cardigan that I subsequently chopped and evened out in length (to thigh level). Had never really worn it before, but it now also hangs within easy reach, just like the vest. It's my go-to topper if I want a quick cover up during the summer.

Natural Fibers, Chemical-Free, Less Hardware, Botanical Dyes

I'm not sure how much or how many of the substrates that I use are made out of natural fibers and/or are chemical-free, but I see the need for us to be more aware. And of course, the idea of botanical dyes is wonderful if you can get the colours that you want.

Less hardware? Maybe this can fall under the reuse idea. Closures, buckles and rings can easily be reused from one project to the next. I must admit that – for me personally – some things wouldn't look as nice without appropriate hardware.

The bottom line when it comes to sustainability or any other environmental concern is that we can't all do everything, but we can all do something.

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And now, to circle back to the title of this post: is donating good or bad?

There are people who think that donating unwanted items to "those who need it" is a way to live sustainably.

It's arguably not, because it gives us an "out" when it comes to buying more than we need; i.e., I can always donate it if I grow tired of it. Not to mention that it's well documented that many donated textiles wind up as scraps destined for third world countries. (Look it up.) Nevertheless, those of us who donate give ourselves a pat on the back for a good deed performed, allowing us to feel virtuous for giving to those who are less fortunate.

Dish drying mat from Tale Handmade...

I was involved in a YouTube "conversation" a couple of weeks ago that I'd like to share, because I want to put out the idea that reuse and repurposing should be considered before donating. (The person behind most of the comments on the thread in question seemed to have a definite need to have the last word, so I didn't bother to expand on the discussion there.)

The situation arose after the crafter behind Tale Handmade uploaded a video where she took some fabric and an old towel and transformed it into a dish drying mat. While all other comments were overwhelmingly positive, one person contributed the following:

image courtesy of YouTube...

She then followed up with her two respondents, first this:

I do not know how to use a sewing machine and I do not have extra fabrics lying around the house, I would have to purchase, which is more expensive on my end.

Then this:

It is not really recycling because even if we have old towels, not everyone like me will have fabrics lying around the house. It would still be cheaper to buy at Dollar Tree rather than buying new fabric. And I am speaking for myself not to you nor anyone else.

Since she highlighted her perceived lack of fabric twice – and because I have always seen "fabric" take on many forms around the house that may not be obvious – I took this moment to enter the fray with, "I totally understand your point. For many others of us, however, we do have old towels and old "fabrics" – old bedsheets or even clothing are fabrics – that we can recycle to make something like this. In that respect, we're repurposing things that might otherwise be discarded. A video like this gives us ideas."

She replied to me with the following:

I am sorry, but I would rather donate my old clothes, towels and bedsheets to people who need them most which would be more practical, rather than cutting them to pieces wherein you can buy this things at dollar tree for $1.25. And you cannot buy even old towels and old bedsheets for a dollar. Just my two pence.

When one of the previous commenters added a thought about how it appeared that this video was really just not her cup of tea (I'm paraphrasing) and that it was okay, she chimed in with one more observation:

I love diys, recycling, upcycling but yes I did not really like this video because for me it was a waste.

It certainly is not a waste, but since this person didn't seem inclined to consider another point of view, I didn't engage further. I would have liked to point out that some of us use our household linens (and even certain articles of clothing) down to near bare threads — I believe I've previously explained how our bath towels are repurposed into vehicle washing towels before they are eventually not usable as towels, period. (They're what I stuffed into my tote bag turned seat cushions.) It would be an insult to donate such items. People who "need them most" should not be given linty, ragged towels. But those same towels could very well be put to use in something like this dish drying mat. Ditto for sheets and pillowcases that have been through too many wash cycles. I'm quite sure the donation places aren't going to lament not having those items for resale.

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The point being, if we reuse and repurpose within our own households first, we ultimately reduce (which is the first of the original three "R"s: reduce, reuse, recycle). When we donate things that may not be acceptable – on the pretext that we're doing good for society – we're merely shuffling a problem on to someone else. On the other hand, if we are constantly donating things that are almost new, we should seriously examine our consumption patterns. Either way, it's easy to fall into a habit of "do good by donating" because it literally enables us to start the entire cycle all over again. Rather painlessly, in fact.

So glad I did not donate these jackets!

Being able to buy things for $1.25 does nothing to deter overconsumption, either. We all like to get a good deal, but when some of us purchase simply because it's a good deal, it can be a problem. (Not to mention that buying cheaply often has a direct impact on the whole "fair trade" part of sustainability.)

But enough about that. Let me emphasize that the message I really wanted to get across today is that we should try "experimenting" with our unwanted textiles instead of automatically donating them.

Because you never know what you could end up with. It's one thing if you don't sew (because then you wouldn't be reading this), but because you do sew, take the opportunity to create something unique. I daresay that whatever you make, it'll have greater value – in both sentimental and monetary terms – than what you started out with.

Oh, and the final word on donating? Obviously, it's both good and bad. And like all things, it probably depends on the attitude of the person doing it.

'Til next...