Top Eleven Ways to Go Green with Your Crafts
By Sara Moore

1. Recycle — Incorporate items that you would usually throw away into your craft items. Turn old magazines into handmade handbags, or old jeans into handmade paper. The possibilities are endless, use your imagination and think of clever ways to reuse your “trash.” And Remember: one person’s garbage is another’s craft project!

2. Up-Cycle – To up-cycle simply means to convert a useless material into something of greater value. Generally, the materials that one up-cycles are “found items” discovered at thrift stores or the dusty corner of one’s attic. Repaint old beat-up furniture, or try using vintage buttons to make new jewelry.

3. Teach — Get involved in the community by instructing others how to make eco-friendly crafts. Volunteer at your local recreation center, or ask to demonstrate a new recycled craft project at your local elementary school. By helping others learn the importance of green crafts, you are helping spread awareness about the arts and the environment.

4. Shop Green – When you find yourself needing craft supplies, make sure purchase products based on how little environmental impact they have. Always check the labels before purchasing to ensure that you’re buying non-toxic, biodegradable products. This could require some shopping around, and you’ll probably have to spend a little bit more money on these supplies, but it’s worth it.

5. Craft Eco - Friendly Handmade Products – Use your artisan talents to create eco-friendly products that you can sell back into the community. Use your up-cycling and recycling skills, or make products such as vegan lip glass or hemp sweatpants. Post these items for sale and be sure to advertise that they are made with 100% organic materials. By making green merchandise more readily available to the market, you’re giving people more opportunities to shop green.

6. Donate — Try giving some of the funds from your craft sales to environmental groups such as Greenpeace or a local charity organization. This allows you to do even more with your crafts by using your sales money to help others.

7. Sell Tools back to the Community — If you have tools or craft supplies you don’t plan to use again, don’t just throw them away. Try instead to sell them back to the community. Just because you can’t find any use for your own sewing kit or leather dye doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t! Try listing them for sale before you go ahead and throw them out, you’ll be doing good by the environment and maybe even make a few extra bucks in the process.

8. Buy your Craft Tools Used — The tip above can work just as well in reverse. Before you go out and buy a brand new set of jewelry pliers or camel hair paintbrush, try looking for the item used online. Used supplies cost less than brand new ones, and are usually no worse for the wear. Help others recycle their craft tools by choosing to buy used rather than new.

9. Barter Or Trade Whenever Possible – Exchange your handmade projects for new tools, materials, or even other handmade crafts, rather than accepting money. When you choose to trade, you’re more or less cutting out the “middle man” and using your crafts to get items that you really need.

10. Buy Handmade — Practice what you preach! Whenever you find yourself needing new jewelry, handbags, or home decorations, choose to buy handmade craft items over factory products. Help local artisans so that they too can continue crafting. Proudly display your handmade merchandise and encourage others to support local crafters like yourself!

11. Support Corporations with Green Goals – Like say, ArtFire.com, for example. By supporting a website that has green objectives, you’re helping them to make an impact. You’re also sending a direct comment to their competitors, thereby encouraging them to take steps to mean environmental goals. At ArtFire, we plant a tree for every new member who signs up. These trees don’t just end up somewhere in Ohio, they’re planted in impoverished nations where they are the most needed. Help us build forests in Honduras, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Senegal, India and the Philippines. Make a difference without ever leaving your computer chair! Click here to learn more about the Together We Grow Program.

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