A fashionable way to be ‘green’

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By Kellie Johnson

Society has become more and more aware of its limited resources. Individuals and companies are looking for efficient ways to conserve some of these resources. Sometimes people find it hard to be resourceful and so much easier to waste resources that could be put to better use.

When society is moving at such a high-speed pace, there seems to be a limited amount of things people can do to be more “green.” One thing would be riding a bike or walking instead of driving. Recycle paper and plastics. A common issue is that individuals want to recycle, they just do not have the ways or means to do it. The Green Project gives many citizens in New Orleans a way to do many “green” things.

The Green Project, located at 2831 Marais Street in New Orleans, is a warehouse that serves as a recycling haven. They recycle cans, paint, art supplies, household electronics, paper, and also salvage building materials to then sell to citizens at affordable prices. The Green Project has monthly recycled art workshops managed by Recycle for the Arts. The Green Projects “Worn Again: A Recycled Fashion Show” was held June 30 to benefit Recycle for the Arts who help provide artists, schools, and other non-profit entities with low cost recycled art supplies.

“Worn Again” was a quirky recycled fashion show begun by Mr. Garyt Shiflett. It was made up of designers who had to construct a clothing creation using fabrics provided to them by The Green Project’s “Worn Again” team. The audience was given a chance to bid on all of the stunningly creative outfits in the show, and awesome thrift-store art was up for auction as well.

One designer, Ms. Kelly Claverie, was quite successful using the materials provided by The Green Project. Her models looked just as stunning on that small runway as any other models wearing an expensive design look. She joined her mother to become a design team of individuals who took the next step to make recycling not only useful but fashionable.

Ms. Claverie mentioned that her creations are sold at Claverie Crafts, and we can soon be expecting them at our own Ted & Daisy’s next to Mellow Mushroom.

She said, “Recycle for the Arts is a wonderful program with alot of potential and it promotes a community for artists to join and celebrate each others' work.”

The articles of clothing in the fashion show were nothing short of remarkable. “Worn Again” was something unique and fun, and anyone can recycle clothing to match their own lifestyle. Please check out The Green Project and Recycle for the Arts at www.recycle4theArts.org. Ms. Claverie’s creations can be seen at www.claveriecrafts.com. If you ever need a creative flare to your recycling, try your own thrift-store art and recycled fashion.

Send your comments to editor@tigerweekly.com

Originally Published: Issue 558 - July 11, 2007

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