CAFE CURTAINS TO CARRY BAGS

We all know the issues around plastic bags and many of us do our best to minimise our use of them. Indeed many places now ban thin single use plastic carry bags now. WA did this July 2018.

So we do our best to remember to take reusable alternatives. We carry them in the car, squashed up in a handbag, hung on the front door handle- anywhere to remind us to change our long held plastic bag habit.

But what about the produce bags? How do we carry the carrots, the lentils or the apples? Carrying 2 dozen refillable glass jars around is noble but very cumbersome and heavy. For dry items we need smaller bags.

Enter the wonderful story of Amy and sister Matilda. In 2008 when Amy was 12 years old she watched her Grandma  being innovative with cafe curtains and turning them into small bags. Adding a tie and the conversion to a useful sized produce bag was born.

Amy used an overlocker to give a neat finish and created a label and web site to establish the Re-Bag-It business. Now Matilda is taking up production too.

Such bags did not exist widely, and making them from cafe curtains meant the product is using material readily available second hand. And who uses cafe (lace) curtains now?! The curtain fabric allows the goods in the bags to be easily identified by sight and feel.

Many people have taken up this idea themselves busily creating a produce bag alternative out of both new and second hand material. How many single use bags have been saved by this neat idea?

So what now for Amy and Matilda? The business of bags continues to thrive. They are well presented and make an excellent addition to a low waste lifestyle or indeed, gift for those trying to do the same. The girls are targeting close weave curtains to create bags for making nut milks. They may try different sized sets for a variety of good requirements.

Can we think of other materials and goods that are considered useless or a problem in their current state? And some creative ideas to give them new value?