Recycled Plastic Bag Bracelets

Great for the beach, great for parties...and great for keeping trash out of rivers! In Colombia, water is often sold in plastic bags. (They're mutant cousins of the fruit-flavored push-up ice pops that come in plastic bags in North America.) They're cheaper than plastic bottles, and slightly less horrible for the environment since there's hardly any recycling in the country. But still, we're talking about an terrible amount of plastic headed for landfills or, even worse, local rivers. While selling jewelry in Colombia, we cut the tops off dried plastic bags and used them as recycled packaging when people bought our jewelry in the street, on the beach, at the Zoo and at fairs. We turned excess bags into beads with the classic rolling technique normally used for paper. Each bead is secured with silicone glue and the end is melted. The bracelets are woven with our beloved super-strong Brazilian fio encerado, and each has a loop-and-braid closure so the length is adjustable. (Don't worry, fio encerado won't wear out over time from being put on and taken off in the same way that hemp would.)