by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
Before it was even known as that and had become fashionable, and by golly seeing the prices that recycled crafts and goods fetch fashionable it definitely has become, the Gypsy People of Europe and those in the New Worlds and the poor and the homesteaders did this to abandon. That is to say they used, reused, and then still used things some more. This was for their own use as well as at times for trade. It wasn't so much recycling as we, rightly or wrongly, understand it today but a reuse and repurposing and also converting, thus recycling, of this and that. And aside from that there was repair; things were being fixed, patched, etc.
You did not see a Gypsy child in new togs, except for special occasions, maybe, nor any of the homesteader kids. Pants were often more patches than original material and at times the patches were not even the same kind of material. The same was true for shirts and coats. There was canvas stuck on denim and corduroy as well, and so on. So what? It worked.
Shoes for Gypsy kids, and the same more often than not applied to the children of homesteader, and even to adults, were not worn unless necessary, that is to say when the weather makes going barefoot too cold, and no one had a problem with that. It was the way things were.
The brand names of today were not known then and even in my childhood they were hardly known and they definitely were nothing to be aspired to. No one lusted after them in those days. Adidas was not a fashion item, it was the brand of sports clothes and especially running shoes. Fila and the rest were not known yet.
Hand-me-downs and patched was the order of the day, every day. The important thing was that they clothes were clean, of a fashion. Neither was it a case of a “new” pair of pants every morning or a “clean” shirt. It it was not dirty and such then it was worn again for another day or more. No one had a load of clothes then anyway. Now people have more than they can even wear and still they need to buy another lot when they go to the stores.
I must say that today's society has gone absolutely mad. Everything – well, until not so long ago – had to be new, and for the youngsters it had to be “street cred” accepted gear; Nike, Fila, and others whose names escape me, and, I must say, I do not care either. Slowly Charity Shop gear is definitely in and trendy and clothes from cheap outlets such as Primark.
When it comes to being ethical and green then Primark may not be the choice, at least not for many, but when it comes to frugality then it has to be part of it too.
Patches on pants and such are hardly ever seen nowadays, not even on kids. No wonder the refuse dumps are full to the brim.
OK, I must admit that, while I can sew – even with an old hand-operated sewing machine – and especially can sew things such as knife sheaths and other leather goods by hand, I am not good in darning or in putting patches on pants, for instance. No, I am not saying that that is women's work; just that I have never really gotten the hand of it.
While we do not see patched on pants and coats, nowadays, we do, however, see torn jeans that are brand-new and have cost a small fortune and this is the so-called distressed look. It seems to be the hight of fashion. Oh well! If that is fashion then why not buy them second hand and distress them yourself?
Every single scrap of fabric was used by the people only a generation or two ago and especially so if they were from poorer strata of society and/or were homesteaders.
Fabric reuse and recycling was just one thing.
Glass jars in which food may have come certainly did not end up, at least not until used at least a few times over and they broke in the end, on the rubbish dump and the same was true for tin cans and other things.
Those old recyclers, I am sure, would have a field day today with all the plastic stuff that, I am certain of, could be reworked easy enough with the right mindset.
Now we have arrived at reinventing the wheel and recycling and the three R's are everywhere. About time too.
However, I am still not convinced about all the government recycling schemes. What we need is good ol' Gypsy ingenuity, and the ingenuity of the Homesteaders of old, in re-crafting items again, as was done in the days of yore.
True, we now also have companies doing it, and there are many that seem to do very good work, though the things certainly come at a price when sold. That price, certainly, is well out of the reach of those of the lower end of the scale, in most cases.
I do hope that, in due course, I may be able to get some samples from one or the other maker for review and I can then let you all know what the stuff is like.
There are messenger bags and such made from old truck tarpaulins, bags made from old fire hoses, purses, bags, etc. made from old truck inner tubes, etc. Still have to get my hands on some of those products, such as those from Feuerwear, Freitag, and others for review and test.
As said, however, all those products all do come at a price, but...
However, I am sure there are many items that many a Gypsy and many a true Homesteader and frugal person could rework into things for their own use as well as, maybe, for sale. Even to the extent of making some of the things that others want big bucks for, such as belts made from bicycle tires. They are not difficult to make, for sure.
Tin cans, given a denim “jacket, for instance, make lovely pencil bins for someone's desk – as a gift to give or something that people might like to buy as a gift – and there are, I am sure, legions of other things that could thus be reworked. Then again, they don't even have to have a “jacket”, though a “jacket” makes them look better. Old waste leather or such too could be used here and would, obviously, make a real nice pencil bin for a posh desk costing next to nothing.
The problem, however, is that during the time of plenty, the time of plentyu of cheap oil and energy and also money with many, most people have become spoiled, for lack of a better word, as to buying new every few months and thinking nothing of throwing things away that still have lots of mileage in them and even clothes that have hardly been worn. I can see this as regards to clothes each and every time that I go into a Charity Shop for a snoop.
The great majority has never learned or forgotten how to think frugality and reuse and repurposing. They think recycling bin and buying new, and that's it.
© 2011
