Recycling & Upcycling

While I am in Japan, I enjoy cooking Japanese food. I go grocery shopping at a nearby supermarket with one of these bags. I like both of the vivid designs. I might have introduced them a few years ago, but let me introduce them again. Both are recycled or ‘up-cycled’ bags made by a women’s group in the Philippines. The bigger one is made of fruit juice packages (apple, mango, grape, orange, and pineapple), and the smaller one is made of tomato ketchup packages. ‘Beary’ creative!

Separating garbage has become quite common in many countries. This is also adopted in Rome, where I live now. I take empty plastic bottles to a collection point every weekend, and always think how they will be recycled.

This is my second time to celebrate Christmas in Rome. Today, when I went to a supermarket, I came across a handicraft exhibition in front of the supermarket. I was intrigued by these Christmas trees made of cork. Look! Aren’t they so lovely?

In Rome, I found a ‘beary’ interesting shop named “Furture.” An Italian woman opened the shop under the concept of it being cruelty-free. In the shop, a variety of items which are made of cruelty-free materials instead of fur or leather are showcased. Look at this bag! What do you think it is made of?

Look! This is a game of checkers. I found it in the waiting room of a small airport in a small town in Tanzania. Look at it more closely! Can you see what it is made of?

Look at my bag! This shiny silver color is generating a cool atmosphere. It looks ‘beary’ nice if I put it on my shoulder especially in summer. Then, what do you think this bag is made of?

Christmas is just around the corner. This year my mom is enjoying Christmas decorations in Rome. Wherever she is, she always searches lovely Christmas decorations which represent the concept of Let’s BEAR: Be Empowered with Available Resources. Look at this Christmas tree! She found it in a café near her workplace in Rome.

Look at these glass bottles! They are all flat. Did somebody make them flat by psychokinesis?

Look at the lovely wallets in the photo! My mom bought them in Liberia. While she was working in Liberia, she sometimes visited a shop which was run by a women’s group making bags and accessories with traditional West African designs. The outer part is made of cloth, but what do you think the inner part is made of? Let’s unzip one of them and I’ll show you!

My mom worked in Liberia from July 2015 to March 2017. Wherever she is, she always looks for a “Let’s BEAR” product made of locally available resources by hand. During her stay in Liberia, she found the “Let’s BEAR” bag in the photo. What do you think it is made of? Have a close look at the brown mesh?