Friday, 10 July 2015

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #557 Foster the Art of Furoshiki

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #557 Foster the Art of Furoshiki


Furoshiki are a type of Japanese wrapping cloth, used for numerous things, particularly carrying objects of all types, from bottles to lunch boxes, or even clothes. There are also techniques for turning the cloth into carry bags of different shapes and styles. The art is typically masterful and considered, as is the case with so many Japanese arts. However, there are several countries around the world with a tradition of using a single piece of cloth to carry things. Furoshiki is easy to investigate on the Internet to find ideas and folding techniques: [http://furoshiki.com/techniques] is one example.
So how does this help you look after the planet? One idea is to replace wrapping paper/plastic for gifts with a furoshiki cloth that not only wraps your present but then becomes a reusable item for the receiver to either utilise as a carry bag or wrap the next gift in and pass it forward. It will create a talking point and could even be a bit of a hobby for a group of friends to learn lots of techniques and share the ideas around. Cloth doesn’t need to be purchased brand new, either. The furoshiki could be made from pieces of fabric already to hand, or a special find in a charity shop would give an old fabric new life. It would prevent trees being chopped down to make single use wrapping paper and save lots of energy that would otherwise be used to manufacture that paper. Christmas presents open a whole new avenue for using furoshiki and could add a fun new aspect to your next Christmas. Spread the fun and save resources.

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