I have always taken an interest in sewing, knitting and crocheting but have always been afraid to walk into the little shops that seem to pop up in little towns. Going on the tour at Sew Green made me realize that these are the places that I should be going to, not the giant stores like Michael’s. The idea of collecting fabric scraps or yards of fabric that were once forgotten sounds rather simple. After the tour, I realized there was so much work that went into this practice, from collecting the fabrics to sorting and cleaning them, it was clear that those who are involved at Sew Green have a passion for what they do. The idea of all the beautiful fabrics just being thrown to the dumpster is disheartening, not only because it is going to waste but also because many fabrics are not made under sustainable practices and throwing out what was unused means more is being made in its place.

I love the idea of this non-profit and it is definitely the type of thing that I would expect to find in Ithaca. The idea of sewing classes for all ages, with the first being free was one of the things that I found to be a great opportunity. Most of what I know about sewing or knitting or crocheting I learned by myself from YouTube videos or books. Now that I know of this amazing place, I may just take advantage of all they have to offer.

Ithaca prides itself in being a small town and supporting its local businesses. Every time I go to the commons, I am constantly attracted to the small stores that sell antiques, jewelry, paintings, and crafts. These stores have their own unique charm that makes you feel that you are looking at genuine and creative pieces of art rather than manufactured commercial products.  SewGreen is a great example of Ithaca’s local treasure as it not only sells beautiful fabrics and clothes, it’s also a successful non-profit that caters to environmental initiatives. Walking into SewGreen, I was surrounded by a myriad of colored fabrics, cushions, sweaters, and tablecloths that were displayed so nicely around the store. The atmosphere was inviting as were the stores’ founders who gave us a tour of the the entire property.

After walking through the store, Wendy Skinner, the director SewGreen, took us to the storage room where she showed us the boxes of clothes and fabric that were accumulated throughout the week. Wendy described how people began donating their sewed products and extra fabric to the store, so that they could be reused. I found this initiative very environmentally friendly as I was aware that popular retail stores engage in unethical practices while making and recycling their clothes. Clothing brands such as H&M and Forever 21 use cheap fabric in order to produce thousands of clothes every year, and they end up throwing away clothes once they are out of season. Therefore, it was refreshing to see a non-profit like SewGreen producing high quality clothes and fabrics that can be reused and worn for several years before being completely worn out. Wendy described how she turned her passion for clothing and environmental protection into a full time job, and encouraged us to take up causes that were close to our hearts. I hope to come back to SewGreen very soon, and maybe even participate in one of the sewing classes that are offered in the store.

As someone with a mild hoarding problem, I have found that throwing anything out becomes paradoxically more difficult with more stuff. The philosophy is that with more stuff, even the things you don’t use could be used in conjunction with something else you don’t use to suddenly make it more useful. The scrapbook paper you never used can be made into an actual photobook with that twine you also never used. However, some others, are apparently, much better at ridding their houses of extras. In fact, apparently 85% of textiles are thrown out, including old clothing pieces, and fabric scraps from sewers of all kinds of fields.

A local Ithaca non-profit organization, Sew Green, collects donated textiles, knitting materials, and quality clothing to resell. Additionally, it teaches sewing classes to tweens, teens, and adults alike. Serving about an approximate 100 mile radius, the organization serves a twofold purpose — giving new life to potential waste, and providing a cheap source of quality material for interested consumers. For hoarders who can’t bear to offer unneeded items to the landfill find Sew Green the perfect home for their fabric leftovers. And for those who love sewing, the shops perfectly folded and categorized cloths offer high-quality materials for further usage.

Some of the most interesting takeaways, however, were provided by Wendy Skinner, founder of Sew Green, whose perspective on sustainability was both admirable and practical. Ms. Skinner explained that she found her place in this non-profit, by taking her various backgrounds in journalism, business, managing, science, and art and found a niche to inhabit. Importantly, she found a niche that responded to something that was important to her — sustainability. Every person has their own ability to impact sustainability, be it through engineering, repurposing fashion, encouraging a healthy diet, or more. In this way, she showed us how important it is to understand your strengths and utilize them for a purpose you believe in. Whether this is in a field that already exists, or in an area that requires you to create, what is important is that you pursue it. By using this philosophy, Sew Green is nearly entirely self-sustainable through its profits. And most importantly, it provides an area for the community to share what they once had for someone else to create something new, and benefit from learning a handicraft that gives oneself independence and freedom to create. All while helping to decrease waste in the environment.

Last Saturday, we took a tour to the nonprofit organization SewGreen in downtown Ithaca. I have not been to many nonprofit organizations, so that aspect was very interesting. Firstly, the store itself was very nicely laid out, and all of the fabrics and materials looked as if they were brand new even though they were recycled. One of the motivations for the store was the realization that so many tend to just discard their sewing materials, because they don’t know what else to do with them. Creating SewGreen allowed those materials to be put to good use while in turn helping the environment.

The director of SewGreen, Ms. Wendy Skinner, was very enthusiastic and gave a great discussion of what motivated her to help start SewGreen. She was interested in helping the environment, but she wanted to do it in a way that was original. That’s how she got the idea to combine her interest in sewing with the helping the environment. I really liked how she pointed out that anyone with any major can play a role in supporting our planet. This was significant to me in particular since I am very interested in getting involved with renewable energy research, as I am majoring in engineering physics.

On Feb. 11th, I had the opportunity to attend a tour of SewGreen, located in the Commons. This store is especially interesting to me, as I plan on combining my major in AEM with my minor in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences. The founder spoke to us about how the store was created based on need. With her environmentally conscious mindset, she fulfilled the need of people wanting to learn to sew by starting a store that allowed individuals to donate their sewing materials for others to use instead of disposing of it. The store then sells the materials at a discounted rate in order to promote the use of recycled materials.

During part of the conversation, the owner asked all of us what we are studying and how we can use our interests and knowledge to contribute to a more sustainable world. With a broad range of majors represented from CS to chemistry, it was really awesome to hear everyone talk about how they can help move us towards a greener future. Additionally, we spoke about fast fashion vs. sustainable clothing brands, which was a good reminder for me to be more conscious of where I buy my clothes from considering how easy it is to forget about where clothes come from. Overall, the trip to SewGreen reminded me of how excited I am to combine my academic interests.