Condo Blues: Recycled Buttons? Oh Yes Please!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Recycled Buttons? Oh Yes Please!

I was shopping at Joann’s for fabric for Christmas gifts. I found myself in the button section, not that I needed new buttons for my project; I planned on reusing some buttons from my grandmother’s button box because of course using what you already have is the greenest practice of all.

Well, that, and I have a ton of buttons in that box. They have sat largely unused because while I was in a costume sewing frenzy during our Renaissance festival performing years, I couldn’t use those buttons because they were plastic*.


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Yes, I designed, drafted patterns for most, and made everything from the skin out and hats on down for Husband and I with the except of the shawl (a gift from Mother-in-Law) and the vintage muff.


What few buttons they used back in those days, were either metal or wood. Which I might add, are becoming more difficult to find in a regular fabric store because they are replacing metal buttons with cheap plastic buttons that look like metal for 2 seconds until you wear the garment and scrape the metal paint off of the plastic button or worse, snap a piece off the plastic button (stage combat is very tough on clothes, BTW. I know from experience.)

So as a matter of habit, I hit the button aisle just to see if they have any cool metal buttons. Even when I don’t need buttons because I’m a sucker for notions I guess.

Well, look what I found! La Mode introduced a line of buttons made from recycled materials. I snapped a few photos with my Blackberry to show you.

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The buttons on the top row are made from recycled cotton. The buttons on the bottom row are made from recycled plastic.

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The buttons with the red labels are made from natural fibers, although they don’t mention what specific fiber they use.

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These buttons are ceramic and could be another option for you if you don’t want to use plastic buttons in your projects.

All of these buttons are still too modern looking for an Elizabethan costume project, but they might be a nice touch if you’re making a something with organic fibers and want to keep the entire project, right down to the buttons, as green as possible.

What do you think?


*Yes, I realized that makes me sound a lot like Beth of Fake Plastic Fish . Darn you Beth! Stop being such an influence on me girlfriend and making me be more aware my plastic consumption! Eeeeep! Did you enjoy this post? Get more like it by subscribing to the Condo Blues RSS Feed or to Condo Blues by Email.

9 comments :

Robj98168 said...

I an afraid that Beth is an infkuence on me as well. A whole lot of us I suspect

Susie - secondhandsusie.blogspot.com said...

I wish we could get those buttons in the UK! Buuuttttoooonnnss! :)

Morgan said...

So I didn't realize that it was possible for you to get any cooler, but my goodness-- you guys performed at the Renaissance festival?! That is so awesome. What did you do at the Renaissance festival? Haha, I know this is about buttons but I am so intrigued.

But, to address the buttons. They're cute! Cute as a button...? (buh dum buh ching!)

-M.

Kristin - The Goat said...

I know nothing about buttons or sewing or costumes, but I save the little bags with the extra buttons from my clothing and keep them in a little baby food jar. Which has absolutely nothing to do with recycled buttons lol But it's all I know about buttons. :)

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

Morgan - We performed there for 7 years. That's where we met. The photo in the post is from our last two years when we played the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of the fictional village.

Reduce Electric Bills said...

Excellent post, this helps enhance one's creativity. Mine in particular.

Anonymous said...
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Lynn from OrganicMania.com said...

Lisa, you look so beautiful in this picture!!! :) How talented you are!

Good luck with the cheapie...just nominated you!

BrandoKid said...

Hi!

Great blog. Read your post on recycled buttons and would love to buy some.

Do you know who to contact/where to find them/buy online etc?

Thank you for your help.

Christmas wishes from Sweden

Best, Johanna Nilsson

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