mission statement...

glastonbury festival 2011

Festivals are an increasingly popular summer pastime, with events occurring almost every weekend from May through to September, catering for a variety of different tastes, interests and age groups.

A vast amount of camping equipment is simply left behind on the sites at the end of festivals for many reasons, including damage, misuse, severe weather conditions, or laziness. The demand for affordable camping gear means that products are being manufactured of a much lower quality. These items are much more likely to become faulty and consumers have become more detached from their purchases.

www.metro.co.uk/music/867660-glastonbury-2011-
clean-up-begins-with-army-of-volunteers

When the festivals are over, litter picking and waste management teams have an extensive task of restoring the sites back to their original state, which is often working farmland.

Some charities and organisations collect up any useable items left behind, like clothing and camping equipment to pass on to those in need of it.

http://tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/
glatonbury-rain-mud-abandoned-tents-and-negative-externalities/

This leaves a supply of unwanted, broken and discarded objects that would potentially be going into landfill, which could otherwise be put to good use.

The most common discarded items at festivals include food and packaging, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, tetra-paks, clothing, wellies, tents and gazebos, chairs, umbrellas and nitrous oxide canisters.

volunteering at bloodstock festival 2011

During the summer of 2011, by working or volunteering at several festivals, I was able to gain access to sites when the festivals were over to collect up any useful items that were left behind, which helped to contribute towards the clean up of the sites, and in return supplied with me lots of free materials.

materials collected from festivals

Working with found materials significantly reduces my material and production costs, and helps to save potentially useful materials from unnecessarily being thrown away.

I am currently producing a range of functional up-cycled products suitable for the festival and outdoor environment using found objects, materials and components acquired from deconstructed tents sourced at festival sites, which include textiles, metals and plastics. 

I aim to put the fun into functional and create a range of textile products and garments that are useful and enjoyable to wear, making waste products into desirable items of use and worth.