A few days ago D and I busted out the sewing machine and our personal fabric stash with the intention of producing some new products for our store.

We have a running list of items we know we are capable of making well and could in the near future, but decided on making a few furoshiki!

If you’re new to furoshiki, they are a traditional and ancient Japanese method to wrap. We use them for wrapping to-go meals like lunch, beautifully and sustainably concealing a gift for a loved one, or carrying a small object.

We produced four in three varieties. Two of the furoshiki we made are made of matching kitty prints and are one-of-a-kinds! They will be the only we ever produce as we were low on the particular prints in which they were made. The other two we made are made identically with coordinating bright pink and yellow prints.

I’m super excited to offer these because I’ve been wanting to start adding zero-waste supplies to our shop. Since starting The Conscious Life, I’ve learned so much about the atrocities we commit against planet Earth and all of her inhabitants. As a long time vegan, I thought I knew the basics on how the human species was destroying the planet, but I had a lot to learn and still do.

One element that I had completely overlooked was the manufacturing and disposal of the materials and goods we live our lives for. I had no inkling of the amount of waste we produce to create these items and what happens to them when we no longer want them.

After learning a ton, I knew I had to make a change in my own life. Recycling just wasn’t enough. Even being vegan wasn’t enough. Continuing along the path of participating in producing all of these needless things out of materials that don’t even break down began to make me feel uncomfortable and regretful.

I began the transition over to reducing my, and our homes, consumption of needless products and therefore our waste, in January of 2017 as a new years resolution to bring my actions into alignment with my morals. This is something I strive for always, but as most people know, it can be difficult to commit to a major lifestyle change and it can take time to develop the proper motivations.

Reducing our waste was actually pretty easy and the transition has been an interesting learning process. I still produce waste of course and I’m nowhere near perfect, but along this journey of ours, we realized that we had to keep up with this throughout our business too. The name of our business is The Conscious Life after all – we couldn’t knowingly contribute to one of the exact things we’re trying to fight against.

So needless to say that producing our first zero-waste, reusable, and sustainably hand-made lifestyle product is very exciting to me and I’m thrilled to share them with you.

Stay tuned because we intend on making more of these cute wraps! The

Earth is what we all have in common.

Wendell Berry

-Sarah