Oct. 5, 2009 issue
Earth-friendly bags give fabric second life
MCC volunteers produce thousands to meet demand
By Cathryn Clinton and Linda Espenshade Mennonite Central CommitteePage:
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EPHRATA, Pa. — Paper or plastic?
This heavy-duty tote bag, made of recycled fabric and produced by the Material Resources Center in Ephrata, Pa., can be used to carry groceries or other items instead of using paper or plastic bags. — Photo by Silas Crews/MCC
Neither choice is right for Mary Martin, a Mennonite Central Committee East Coast worker.
She prefers fabric bags, particularly those made of recycled fabric at MCC’s Material Resource Center. After all, these bags were her idea.
In early 2008, as Martin became aware of the ecological problems associated with paper and plastic bags, she immediately thought of a solution: MRC volunteers could sew cloth bags for shopping and other uses, and they could be made with donated and recycled material.
Evanna Hess, resource center manager, liked the idea. Soon Martin designed a pattern, and volunteers began to cut and sew 100 bags, using yellow and white striped awning material and other fabric that would have been discarded.
They took the bags to the 2008 Pennsylvania Relief Sale in Harrisburg, where they sold all but four. That’s when Hess and Martin recognized the consumer demand and potential market for the product.
They just didn’t realize how big the demand would be.
Soon they were filling an order of 500 bags for a woman who purchased a bag at the relief sale. She was planning a conference for the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency with a focus on going green and wanted to give the participants environmentally friendly gifts.
The MRC staff and volunteers saw this as an opportunity to make money for MCC’s work and to help the environment. They finished the order in six weeks and earned $1,250 for MCC.
That order was nothing compared to their next challenge.
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