Photo credit: Deep Creek Middle School
Your mission
Get reusable bags into lots of hands and homes by hosting a workshop.
Time Commitment: 10 Hours
Range of Impact: School, Community
This Action was inspired by students at Deep Creek Middle School in Eleuthera, The Bahamas and Maple Village Waldorf School in Long Beach, CA.
Why this Action is impactful
Reusable bags are easy to make out of old household materials, plus they can be a great way to introduce someone to reuse habits!
What to know before getting started
Check out the Action “Create a Better Bag” to learn how to make a reusable bag from an old t-shirt. You’ll use this same method to make reusable bags at your workshop.
What to do
- Organize a drive to collect old t-shirts. This can be as simple as placing a sign and box by your school entrance or community center.
- Work with your classmates and your teacher or another adult to schedule a time and book a location to host your workshop. You’ll also need lots of scissors and some tables. (See if your school or center has scissors you can borrow, or ask people to bring a pair from home when they come to the workshop.)
- Invite people to come to the workshop. You could do this through a school or class announcement, on social media, with flyers, etc.
- At the workshop, do a demonstration, or show this video, to teach everyone how to make a reusable bag from a t-shirt. Then, get started making as many bags as you can.
- At your workshop, snap some photos to share with us, and on your socials! Don’t forget to tag your posts with #betterbags and #wayfindersociety.
- Count how many bags were made and decide how you’ll use the bags. Here are some ideas:
- Send them home with workshop participants to keep at home or share with friends and family.
- Pass them out at your local grocery store to educate the customers and give back to your community.
- Give them to a local food bank or homeless shelter for them to pass out food in. Many food banks use single use plastics which often become litter. Durable cloth bags can be more useful than flimsy plastic ones to houseless people and those in need.
Tips and suggestions
- Have some fun with it! Play music and bring some plastic-smart snacks and drinks!
- Your local community center might have some good ideas on who to best donate the bags to.
- If you have young kids attending your workshop make sure to talk about safe handling of scissors.
- Many t-shirts these days are made from polyester or a cotton-polyester blend. Making them into bags is still a great way to keep these items out of the landfill and give them a second life, but you can also make it a good teaching moment for your workshop participants by talking about the problem of plastic textile waste.
Track your contribution
To submit your work and get recognized for your contribution to your community, complete the form below. If we approve your submission, you’ll be awarded 10 Hours.
Learn more
Check out the educational videos below to learn more about this topic.
Do another Action
Check out our other Actions that build off of this one!
