At Mudita, we are always promoting sustainability with all our products and looking at ways to reduce our impact on this beautiful planet. When you outgrow a piece clothing you can either donate it, give it to a friend or family member, or repurpose it. A wonderful way to repurpose your old clothing is to make beeswax wraps out of them.
Beeswax wraps are the perfect alternative to using single use plastic wraps to keep your food fresh. On average, Australians use 130 kg of plastic per person each year and up to 130,000 tonnes of plastic will find its way into our waterways ocean - now that’s a lot of plastic! We can all do our part to help reduce this number by making small changes with the way we live.
The beautiful people at Wanderlightly run online workshops to show you how you can make your very own beeswax wraps using your old clothing. We caught up with Sarah, Founder of Wanderlightly for her tips on how to lead a more sustainable and plastic free life.
What inspired you to lead a plastic free life?
I’ve always been environmentally minded, but in 2014 I went to Tonga on a yoga/whale swim retreat. This is where I witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of Plastic Pollution. Pristine islands with trash washed up on the shores. Trash that didn’t belong to surrounding Islands or inhabitants. I woke at 4am one morning and decided that I needed to be part of the solution, not the problem. So I set myself the task of going completely plastic free for a year. I started a basic blog in the hope that my experiences would demonstrate and help others to make sustainable choices.
What is involved with your online Beeswax Wraps workshops?
Firstly, I love doing the online workshops! It’s great to be able to work from my own space, save emission by not travelling and connect with people worldwide! We look at reducing our waste through good storage practices then dive right into the creative part of making the wraps! It’s the perfect space to get creative and ask any pressing sustainability questions they may have. To keep the workshops affordable, people can bring their own ingredients. I send a list out prior to the workshops so they can prepare themselves or they can opt to have materials sent to them. I create the wax blend myself using sustainability collected local (Warriewood) beeswax and plenty of love! I opt to use fabrics that are repurposed fabrics that I’ve collected and prepared to ensure we keep our footprint as low as possible. Old sheets are great and as long as it’s 100% cotton and has been well washed you can repurpose it.
You run other types of workshops, what are they?
I run the Beeswax workshops for school groups, kid’s parties, as well as wellness and workplace sustainability days for corporate clients. The other workshops I offer are ever evolving. They include covering things like diverting kitchen waste. This involves offering advice on practical ways to reduce waste using what you would normally dispose of. I also run workshops on sustainable and edible skincare. This workshop aims to help people transition away from store bought toxic products and create gorgeous and easy skincare alternatives. I’m really open to creating and tailoring workshops for people and companies that have any issues they would like to tackle. I also hold speaking engagements and I’m usually pretty busy around plastic free July!
What do you hope to achieve by teaching others to live a plastic free life?
When I first started this journey the awareness around plastic pollution, waste and the damage we were all contributing was limited. Now 6 years on, people have a much greater awareness but there is still work to be done. My ultimate goal is to share and empower others to reduce their waste with the resources they have on hand without needing to buy a bunch of fancy stuff to do so!
What tips do you have for others wishing to lead a plastic free life?
Everyone’s journey to reducing their waste looks very different. It’s important that we don’t compare or guilt ourselves for not doing what the person next to us is doing. Reducing waste needs to be a lifestyle change and that can take time. It might be as simple as taking a look at a new task or room at a time and moving on to another when you have that down packed. Waste reduction is holistic and as you begin to reduce in one area of your life, you will find it naturally happens in other areas. If you enjoy social media, follow people that are reducing their waste for tips and inspiration. It’s very important to remember that we all have different resources and energy available to us so celebrate your wins!
To find out more information on the workshops that Wanderlightly run, check out their website at www.wanderlightly.com. You can also purchase your very own Beeswax wraps kit made with our gorgeous fabric off cuts here.
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