By Callum Ludwig
Old clothes are set to find a new lease on life, with Upcycling workshops at First Impressions Clothing Exchange (FICE) in Yarra Junction to be held throughout the year.
The program is being supported through a grant from Sustainability Victoria’s Circular Economy Communities Fund.
FICE Coordinator Renee Cooke said it’s really important for the local community to be aware of what potentially could go into landfill while connecting as a community to learn a new skill.
“We can divert these products away from landfill and actually make something purposeful from them. We’ve got quite an eclectic lineup of different themed workshops going forward throughout the year,” she said.
“We’re just really proud to be the recipients of this workshop, we just hope this project will encourage participants to be more mindful of the unsustainable volumes of material going into landfill overall and they may even initiate their own projects at a family or community level to help reduce what goes into landfill or take better choices into the purchases and packaging.”
The first five-week workshop, to be held every Thursday 2 February from 10am to 12.30pm until Thursday 2 March 2023 has already been sold out.
Ms Cooke said it is all about creating products that enhance sustainability in daily life.
“It’s an opportunity for community connection to learn, grow and explore by learning from the natural environment while learning new skills in a supportive environment,” she said.
“We’ve figured that about 40 per cent or more than a tonne of clothing at FICE ends up in landfill because it’s just not fit for selling to the public or even sometimes giving to other charities or other op shops. This was a perfect opportunity to do something meaningful with these clothing items that we otherwise couldn’t do anything further with.”
All tools and materials are provided, with the first set of attendees set to learn how to print onto fabrics, and create cushion covers, prayer flags, pouches and more.
The next workshop is from Thursday 9 March until Thursday 6 April and is focused on creating soft toys and winter woollies. Tickets are $25 for access to all five workshop sessions.
Anyone interested in signing up for the next available workshop can do so here: www.trybooking.com/events/landing/992104.
