Sewing and Saving

Four tote bags sewn from vinyl banners and raft material.

The Downtown Boise Association reached out to JUMP with a problem and a potential opportunity. They had a storage room full of vinyl banners that have been piling up from years of fun and engaging events being put on in downtown Boise. These banners have a limited life span, as the event won’t occur again, or the banners have a date on them that won’t be useful in a years time. It feels like a waste to just discard them, and so the DBA asked if we could make use of them. Our collection of sewing machines, typically used to make fashionable outfits and costumes had their work cut out for them piercing and sewing this thick and durable fabric. With the proper thread and a larger needle normally used on leather, we were able to transform some of these banners destined for a landfill and give them a new life as grocery bags, totes and fashion accessories.

There are a lot of potential uses for this type of fabric, that we are continuing to explore and try out. The existing designs on the banners allow for sewers to make a colorful and stylish bag with a local flair. The durability of the vinyl means it is has practical uses as well. It’s super durable and weather resistant, perfect for outdoor gear, tarps and more. These bags our team made were just a taste, we look forward to exploring more cool designs and potential partnerships with local organizations to make use of these old banners. We got a tip that river rafts are often discarded rather than repaired. There’s piles of material waiting to be diverted from the landfill and reworked for other purposes.