Thursday, December 8, 2011

Cool Recycling!


This time of year, I always check in with the gift shop at St. Petersburg's Museum of Fine Arts. Any time I buy something there, the purchase gets packaged in handsome paper bags like the ones above.


I mentioned to the manager that these are so attractive that I save them as alternative giftwrap for small presents.

And she said that in that case, they're recycled at least twice. And then she explained that the paper from which these bags are made comes from the fabric industry. They're the sheets of paper that are put either atop or under fabric as it's printed, to catch excess ink.


These decorative paper bags are made from what is essentially blotting paper — isn't that cool!
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17 comments:

  1. A classic example of the packaging often being better than the gift. And now that you mention it, they all do look like fabric patterns.

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  2. Hello Mark:
    This all seems very satisfactory all round.

    The paper bags are extremely decorative and, like you, we should also use them for wrapping gifts for others. And, it is particularly satisfying to know that they have already been recycled once from their use in the textile industry. Lessons surely that could be learned by others?!!

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  3. Hello Mark, That is so very cool. I wonder if there is an industry which handles this special blotting paper. I want some. Thanks for introducing us to another new (old?)and unique product.

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  4. Hello Parnassus, Jane & Lance, and Gina -

    This posting reminds me that my mother would often wrap gifts for children in the colorful Sunday comics, and the resulting look was always a hit.

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  5. So are the designs on the bags the actual ink run-off from the material printing, or is the paper taken after the material has been printed and then it's own design is printed on it? The designs look very crisp to be a bleed through from the material.

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  6. who knew -thats so cool! I never thought of what went underneath the fabric. I'm surprised it comes through so well and not more spotted.
    ArchitectDesign

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  7. Hi, Archguy and Stefan - you both raise an interesting question, and I have to admit that the words "under the fabric" are my own interpretation of what I was told. The crispness of the design would indicate that the paper is probably in fact placed on top of the fabric. I'll edit my posting accordingly. Thanks!

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  8. What a great idea, most especially since the result is so beautiful. I wonder that more places don't copy this.

    Maybe they just don't know about it.

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  9. Hi, Yvette - I can't imagine trashing such paper, but stranger things happen. What's fun about going to the museum gift shop is that there's a differently patterned, colorful bag on each visit.

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  10. I need a twelve step program on hoarding paper! I have such a weakness for it. This is a wonderful idea Mark.

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  11. Theresa, I feel your pain, truly I do.

    Step one is to redefine the hoarding of paper as collecting, especially since your stock is actually art material and will be used in future projects, right? Or do you have enough paper to insulate the house?

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  12. We have been so profligate over the last few decades that any initiative at recycling is very welcome. As you say these decorative paper bags are rather cool. I wonder what is going on in the maritime scene? - the man carrying a heavy sack and the other man with a long pole - could it be a further detective hunt?

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  13. I do so approve - both of using pretty museum bags, and the fact that they are themselves recycled. For a brief period I used glossy magazine adverts in black and white - you know the sort - as wrapping paper. I thought I was being very inventive, but as it was a long time ago it was probably thought of as being cheap instead! Thriftyness, saving, re-using are all things taught when I was a boy; teaches you the value of money, and I do wince at the sight of waste - in anything!

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  14. LOL! Can't do the house yet, but I am definitely heading there! I think I need to do a post on this!!

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  15. Hi, Rosemary - I've looked at the original bag, and the man in the foreground is holding a gaff, while the other two are loading or unloading something rather heavy. I would say the man with the gaff is "out of his depths."

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  16. Hello, Columnist - I still wrap very small gifts, like those little tins of mints, in brilliant pages from home magazines, and with great success. I too, was taught not to waste, and I think of my mother every time a bar of soap comes to its end!

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  17. Hi again, Theresa - You might imagine that my biggest expense in Florence was all the marbled paper I bought, so we definately belong to the same club.

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