I was shocked this morning when the events leading up to sewing a shirt made me so happy.  This shirt had been lying around for a while so I finally decided to stitch some life back into the ripped sleeve.  This was the first time that I had thoroughly looked through the sewing supplies which I inherited from my great grandma.

I opened a container of spools and realized they looked… different, in a good way.  Most of the spools were made out of wood!

Finding non-plastic materials from someone I knew as a child reminded me that plastic is a very recent material.  At the very least, the excessive and cheap uses of plastic are very recent.  We don’t need plastic.  Products as simple as spools can be manufactured from wood.  And look, it’s beautiful!

I realize that wood is not the all-wonderful-solution-without-negative-consequences.  However, plastic is clearly not the solution.  By considering that plastic does not biodegrade, that plastic is accumulating to the detriment of ecosystems and that oil resources are inevitably dwindling (peak oil) how can we possibly continue to depend on plastic?

I’m currently reading the book, “Plastic Ocean” by Captain Charles Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research Institute.  I was stunned by this quote, “Current estimates put worldwide plastics production at 300 million tons a year, fifteen million tons more than the annual world consumption of meat, an almost inconceivable amount, especially when you consider that meat is eaten and digested, but plastic decays very, very slowly and is constantly accumulating.”

When you think about it, we are surrounded by plastic nowadays. Spools are made out of plastic.

Yes, wooden spools were a great find!