Sustainability Project: Up-cycled T-shirt Tote Bags

 

This was my set-up for my sustainability table where I sold my t-shirt bags on campus with a few of my fellow classmates. The turn out was incredible, and I sold all but one bag on the first day.

This was my poster that I created for the sustainability event. I posted this on social media and many of my friends and classmates came to check out my table from this.

This is an image of all of the bags together. I wanted to use mostly bright colors, so the bleach designs would show up nicely.

This is an up-close image of the bottom of the bag.

This is an example of a finished t-shirt bag.

I turned each bag inside-out when binding the strips of fabric together, so then I could flip each shirt to the outside in-order for the knots to be hidden.

This is an example of the cut of strips that bound the bottom of each bag.

I attempted to dye one of the white shirts I used for this project with violet Windsor ink.

This what the same pattern that I followed while making each t-shirt bag. I would cut the sleeves off, and then cut the neck of the shirts in a square shape. Once I was satisfied with the cut of each shirt I would cut the bottom of each shirt into 1-inch strips in order to tie them all together on the inside.

This was the first bag that I attempted using bleach on to see if it would create an interesting design. The experiment turned out well, so I continued using bleach on all of the bags I created.

Reflection Statement:

    The main purpose of this project is to promote sustainable ways of living in every aspect. The purpose of my tote bags is to use cloth, recycled bags instead of single use plastic bags that are harmful for the environment. The usage of posters to promote the sustainability tables was very helpful in spreading the word to campus. The only thing I think would have made the second day of selling my bags is doing different days and class times. On the second day of our sustainability tables we had the same students passing by, and many of them had already purchased something from my or my classmates tables. We didn't sell as much on the second day. Overall I think this project was successful, and it felt good to give back to my community in a small way.