Why Bags Revolt?

The never easy task of finding a name

I have always found extremely hard finding the right name for whatever business venture I embark on. When I was looking for a name for this new project some of the ones that came up where: Treasure Bags, Trasion Treasures and Eco Warrior, but they where either already taken or didn’t quite fit the concept lurking in my mind. After the initial storm of ideas I decided that I wanted a name related to a woman warrior from history or mythology to honor my gender! I did find some very interesting ladies out there but the names didn’t feel right either!

I was clear that I wanted a name that embodied a warrior but being a pacifist, I struggled with any word that directly implied open warfare. A tarot card that kept appearing in my spreads, the Knight of Sword. This character in the tarot deck represents “the mastery of creative and passionate thinking, mental drive, ambition, determination from a place of emotional reinforcement”, so I begun to identify myself and this whole project with this knight galloping forward in pursuit of his heart felt goals, out to save the world from Plastic Bags calling people to join the Revolt. Revolt is a verb that implies taking action. So the message this knight set out to spread was one of making people aware of the environmental hazards of plastic bags. Not only through words, but actually creating something beautiful and useful that would prevent the bags from ending up in a landfill.

So what is the definition  of re·volt  (r-vlt) exactly?

Here are some of the definitions I came across:

To attempt to overthrow the authority of the state; rebel. (taking part in a rebellion in a revolution) Some people have asked me why not “Bags Revolution”, well, excuse me if the word revolution gives me the goose bumps. In the name of revolutions, like the chinese, cuban o like the one that is currently underway in my country Venezuela, many atrocities have been made. On the other hand Revolt doesn’t have that personal negative connotation. For me it represents going against the system, a system that in some countries and societies are the so called Revolutions! Revolt implies immediate actions; revolutions, years. I think bags revolt is part of a revolution: an environmental revolution that is slowly but surely taking over our planet.

To oppose or refuse to accept something:

Bags  Revolt opposes the use of Plastic Bags. The average useful life span of a one of these bags is 20 minutes! Maybe if it is lucky it will be used again and then it will be discarded, where it can lay hundreds of years in a landfill or in the ocean contaminating our lands and waters.

Bags Revolt is against the constant desire to buy goods, that most of the time are  unnecessary. In other words, against the rampage Consumerism present in most societies around the planet. This appetite for consumption adversely affects our environment: water supplies, natural resources, and ecosystems producing the many current ecological imbalances.

Bags Revolt is against unnecessary Packaging. It’s everywhere on almost everything we buy! Unrecyclable excess packaging is used on all kinds of products, particularly food. I have come across packaging that is more abundant than actual product!

To feel disgust or repugnance: b. To turn away in revulsion or abhorrence.

This definition at first seemed too strong and actually made me think that i had again chosen wrong my name. I didn’t want people associating it disgust or nauseous, but later I thought “wait isn’t it”?

Isn’t it Revolting how many deaths plastic bags cause to our marine life dolphins, turtles whales, penguins among other animals that ingest plastic bags, mistaking them for food?

Isn’t it Revolting to see litter across our beaches, parks, and cities especially in developing nations? Coming from Venezuela, a developing nation where many people live under critical conditions, it is very easy to see that there isn’t much public awareness of the detrimental effect to the environment the plastic bags cause, therefore you will find thousand of them as litter all around the country.

Isn’t it Revolting to see images of landfills in different cities around the globe? Have you seen been to a landfill or have you seen a picture of one? I have an image in my head that is very hard to let go of and it is driving by a small garbage recollection center in Caracas and being amazed at all the different colors of plastics bags that i could spot from the distance. And this wasn’t even the main garbage dump of the city, La Bonanza, that receives four million kilos a day of waste. The truth is that these plastic bags may lay hundreds of years in these landfills, they will not disintegrate, you and I will be long gone and they will still be around!

[French revolter, from Italian rivoltare, to turn round, from Vulgar Latin *revolvitre, frequentative of Latin revolvere, to turn over; see revolve.]

Bags Revolt turns around the standard definition of what materials are beautiful or trendy. The idea is to break the mold and to make something beautiful out of something considered ordinary. Bags Revolt desires to make the best use of limited resources by turning around secondhand materials instead of new ones to create our handbags. Our true purpose is to Upcycle the bags. In other words, turning around waste material into products of better quality and higher environmental value. Each handbag is handmade, first woven then sewn, always with a unique color combination, each piece is one of a kind Revolt of a Plastic Bag!

So How do you Revolt?

Understand the power you have as a consumer!

Say NO to plastic bags, whether it is by taking you cloth bags, or simply putting your new stuff in your purse or carrying it in your hands, try to avoid receiving a plastic bag!

Support artist, companies, stores that have jumped on the green wagon…i am thrilled when i shop at a store that doesn’t give plastics bags. Hurray for them!!! I  will be making a list of these stores.

Re-Use the ones that are out there! Send them to me!

Up-Cycle! Get creative!

Avoid packaged products

These are just a few ideas i would love to hear some more…

So i guess this exercise of putting down in writing how and why the name Bags Revolt has been a great help in establishing the values and mission of this project.  Who could have thought that these two words could mean so much to me! Hopefully they will also resonate with you and you can say that you are in this BAGS REVOLT!