While old clothes are usually thrown away, a workshop was held last week in Ho Chi Minh City instructing participants how to turn used items of clothing into wallets in an effort to spread a green lifestyle and reduce domestic waste.

The admission-free event, “Making Wallets From Your Clothes,” was held by Refill Station, a store specializing in organic products and products that encourage a zero-waste life, attracted dozens of environmentally-conscious young people.

Participants were asked to bring their own materials and tools including fabric from old clothes, needles, threads, buttons, and scissors.

After holding a talk about maintaining a green lifestyle with the audience, the organizers instructed participants on how to make a simple wallet from their old clothing, with detailed steps shown in slides on a big screen for everyone to follow.

“I really care about protecting the environment and want to learn how to recycle old things,” Phuong Thanh, a 24-year-old participant, said.

“By recycling, I not only avoid spending money buying new things but I also get to protect the environment I live in,” she added.

Another special participant was six-year-old Gia Han, who was drawing a chalk line onto her piece of fabric she had cut from her old clothes.

Han also sat down and meticulously worked on her “masterpiece."

Her mother said proudly that it was the third time her daughter had joined her in the workshop.

“In the previous events, we made our own toothpaste and mouthwash from environment-friendly ingredients,” she shared.

As most participants were female, Phuc Duc, a male sophomore from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Science stood out in the room. “Sewing is not only for girls,” he proclaimed. 

“I participated in the activity because it is a simple way to protect the environment."

After about an hour, the participants finished their products and began admiring their work.

“We want to spread a green lifestyle throughout the community,” Da Quyen, a representative of the workshop’s organizers said.

“I hope that I can connect with those who love the environment to share green lifestyle skills through these events.”

The message, she underlined, is that green living is not just about rejecting plastic straws to switch to environment-friendly products such as bamboo straws or metallic straws, “but you can make useful goods for yourself from old and unused things.”

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