Is your phone case, planner cover or laptop holder made of leather, synthetic, croc's skin or snake's skin? Ever thought of having one made from real leaves?
Yes, you've read it right - real leaves. As I wrote in this post I went on a date with my husband on the weekend and we've managed to catch up with the market in Sonsbeek and though the rest are the same and more of the Christmas stuff and winter clothes in there , one thing that won't escape my curiousity is something unusual. I bumped into these.
Yes, those coin purse are made of real leaves . What caught my attention is - the imprint of a leaf. I quickly picked up a notebook cover and ran my fingers to see they're for real. They are and they're also 100% vegan, 100% no toxic ingredients and most of all they give back 15% of their profits as they claim here.
Since it was closing, I asked the guy tending the stall if he's the artist and he told me they just are the distributor in the Netherlands. The makers are a small start up from The UK. I asked if I could write about it and he said I may and take pics as well so I helped myself. It's not just coin purse and notebook covers they are selling but also wallets, card holders, tablet holders, planner holder and "Kikay kits" or toilet purses.
What intrigued me is that these are actually all hand made- that sounds "jobs" for people . Each of those handmade product makes it unique since it's all handmade and like us and frost no leaves have the same pattern.
Having seen this much leaves on the road in autumn - made me think - there's hope for the environment to recover if we learn to make use of what nature has already provided us instead of resorting to synthetic glittering plastics that not just pollutes not just the ocean and this whole earth but also is - actually health hazards. As I've mentioned before I support Green Peace and The Sea Shepherd but we can also just start from ourselves - making small things like these or at least patronizing such.
I wish we left home earlier to catch up with the light unfortunately, I wasn't expecting much of a new thing there - just when I wasn't expecting it - I found them. It's not just the fact that it's unique, all natural and that they are claiming that they are using a non- toxic ingredient to make all these that made me write about it . It's the creativity of turning something we might think of as a waste into something we could use again - giving it a new life. Instead of burning these leaves, causing too much air pollution and the health hazard - carbon monoxide and benzoapyrene which could cause cancer to animals and lung cancer, I admire the fact that they turned it into something nice we could use again.
If you'd surf the net, you'd find a lot of things that are made from real leaves - and so ... yes, there is hope for mother nature to heal from too much abuse. Europe is pursuing raising awareness to help save the environment. A lot of natural things are being made into something that would make your jaw drop when you see them. If there's something that makes me admire the Europeans - aside from their finesse and huge heart - it's their creativity.
Coincidentally, I wrote this poem and as if a leaf has just answered ... "If I were a leaf... I'd like to be immortal." Why not? This Sal leaf just has been given it's second life.
While branded tablet holders, phone case, purses and other things may look chic and splendid - the environment is paying a huge price to provide for our whims. While the fear mongerer go on warning about - having scarcity on everything we call - basic necessity later - the best reaction is not to get scared - it's to find solution to make our lives sustainable in the future. If we look around - mother nature has enough to offer - we just need to - acquire - creativity.
If you click on this post you'd see how late that was so the pics didn't come up as lovely as I wanted them to be. I should have used the flash - might have done the trick. These stuff look prettier up close and personal.
So, would you consider using one? I definitely would! If it's all sustainable.
I took each picture with my Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 edition.
Here are the other posts I wrote to promote sustainable living:
How and Which Tropical Plants Can You Actually Grow in Cold Countries
Grow Your Own Tropical Mangoes in Western Europe and Other Countries with Hard Winters