Unfocused Telescope
Unfocused Telescope
This sturdy and beautiful bag made in Houston from an upcycled vinyl banner fits about as much as a standard grocery bag. It measures about 14 by 14 by 5 inches. These banners are the mesh Astros banners from Minute Maid Park.
On the front, two white orbs fade into blue, with a few white dots surrounding them, giving it the impression of an unfocused telescope. The back is plain blue.
We started Bag-Free Bayous in fourth grade as a petition to the City of Houston to ban plastic bags. It bothered us that plastic bags polluted our neighborhood park and bayou. Marine life like turtles swallow the bags thinking that they’re jellyfish and wash onto beaches all over the world, dead. Plastic bags clog our storm drains and make our flooding worse too.
We wanted an alternative. We partnered with a former refugee artisan from Afghanistan named Khatera Khorushan through The Community Cloth, a microenterprise initiative of The Alliance. Khatera “upcycles” used clothing and vinyl banners into beautiful, sturdy reusable bags. We are creating a virtuous cycle of employment, upcycling, and ecological health
- Lila Mankad and Caoilin Krathaus