We have endless opportunities to upcycle various products that are considered waste. Reading articles about the amount of waste we create, Jessica of Avani Creations in Toronto, stumbled upon the idea of "upcycling" some things here herself. So she started looking around and found coffee bags that she could pick up and upcycle. Once she had that going she didn’t want to stop. She wrote to St. James Town Sailing Club about her idea of upcycling their sails and to her surprise, they actually emailed back and said they thought it was a great idea. So now she has two products that would have been waste, converted into very practical pieces that will be used with pride for a few more years. That means that it will be one less item that could be added to our pile of waste headed for the landfill.

Avanti uses the textile from the coffee bags to make totes, grocery bags, messenger bags, aprons, vegetable bags. "There are endless possibilities with them," she says, "and we are taking the approach that – if its possible, we will do it." Lining materials are sourced from Goodwill and Salvation Army.


"Sails are made from such durable material (I don’t need to go on about that at all) that it is a shame we cannot use for any number of things. We make totes, aprons, simple backpacks, dog beds, we will continue with our experiments with them. While manufacturing is definitly a thing of the past, unfortunately, we still have people here who are very happy to take on these kinds of sewing jobs. It ensures they are employed in their field of expertise and brings out the entrepreneur in them. In the end, our products may not be cheapest or the shinest or the best looking on the market, but, every piece has a story attached to it."

Contact:
Jessica,  Avani Creations Inc. www.avanicreations.com

Cell: 416-708-7456; PH: 905-460-8802; FX: 905-460-8676