Mending Day is a monthly event hosted by Discardia, which is a project for sustainable living.
“Our main goal is to divert textiles from going in the landfill,” Discardia committee member Gail Hale said.
Discardia is part of the Center for Sustainable Living, a nonprofit organization in Bloomington.
The project helps people mend existing clothing or create new clothing from discarded fabric, Hale said.
“It’s all about creative problem solving,” Hale said.
It also encourages the use of reusable bags to prevent the waste from plastic bags. Hale said they create bags made from recycled fabric so they can supply reusable bags for those who cannot afford to buy a more expensive one.
Discardia has played host to Mending Day for over two years, Hale said.
“If people can repair something that they have that fits them well instead of buying new, that keeps the cycle open,” Hale said. “If you love this shirt, but it doesn’t fit you quite right, make it fit you so you can enjoy it and just make the most of the resources you have available.”
Discardia member Jeanne Smith said she has been involved with the group from the beginning.
Smith was involved with the first Trashion Refashion Runway Show, an annual fashion show that uses discarded materials. Discardia used to have a retail store called ReBoutique, and it evolved into the group gathered at Mending Day, Smith said.
“I like the people I’m around,” Smith said.
BloomingLabs, a maker’s space for community members to build projects, collaborated with Discardia for Saturday’s Mending Day.
The two groups often work together, BloomingLabs board member Jenett Tillotson said.
“They are on the same kind of page that Bloominglabs is,” Tillotson said. “Their goal is to divert materials from the waste stream and find other uses for those materials, and BloomingLabs is all about that — finding new uses for things and turning them into other things.”
Tillotson said she comes to Mending Day as much as possible to hang out with people and work on creative projects.
At Saturday’s Mending Day, Tillotson created a shopping bag from an old T-shirt.
“I just like to make stuff,” TIllotson said. “Anytime I can make stuff, I’m having a good time.”
Hale said Mending Day has many regulars, and the event is an opportunity for people to be together for four hours each month.
“It’s like a sewing bee, like in the olden days when people really didn’t have all the electronic entertainment and they used to do things by hand,” Hale said. “It brings people together, and it’s something that benefits the community.”
