Green Degree have transformed discarded denim into pencil cases for learners in need for years. Now, they’re expanding their creative change-making with the help of Re.Bag.Re.Use to give parachutes a new purpose!
Western Cape, South Africa (12 December 2024) — Anne Henderson and Cheryl Macdonald are on a mission to prove that waste can weave opportunity. They’ve done this time and time again in the past four years as the duo behind the organisation Green Degree. But, as fast fashion beats on, so must slow fashion up the ante. Rallying the troops for even more impact, Green Degree or Green˚ have gotten even more creative with another mission: giving discarded parachutes a new purpose.
The Denim Dream
For the past four years, Green Degree has repurposed the most popular garment in fashion for the betterment of learners across Cape Town.
Denim, despite its durability, is a big problem both through the hyper-polluting means of its production and landfill impact upon disposal. But, because of just how much denim there is to go around (some experts estimate that around six billion pairs are produced around the world annually), the waste value is immense.
As such, Green Degree found a way to help denim go further than fashion. In 2019, they began upcycling denim into pencil cases and other types of clothing beyond pants. Coupled with fundraising, these efforts have helped thousands of children receive stationery packs (over 7,100) while imparting the valuable lesson that value can be found in the places we least expect when perspectives are shifted.
Parachutes for Purpose
As Green Degree has progressed, more opportunities to be creative for change have presented themselves. One of them has put parachute and paragliding equipment into the spotlight for Green Degree’s purpose-filled mission.
Because both Cheryl and Anne’s families love spending time outdoors doing activities like kitesurfing, they know a thing or two about how resource-intensive the activities are. Equipment requires regular maintenance before replacement. And once discarded, these materials end up in landfills.
Cheryl and Anne knew that more needed to be done. After learning more about other organisations like Re.Bag.Re.Use (who celebrated their third birthday this year!), a collaborative effort, was just a few ticks away.
A Match Made in Heaven
Anne describes finding Re.Bag.Re.Use as a perfect fit.
“It felt like everything fell into place—pure synchronicity.”
“We resonate with their ethos,” she adds. “Spreading the impact and love of their work far and wide, keeping the environment clean, providing additional earning opportunities for the local community, and donating a percentage of their sales to the Neighbourhood Old Age Home (NOAH)and the SPCA.”
The two organisations teamed up to create a new product range to fund the pencil cases and stationary packs for the three schools Green Degree supports (Capricorn Primary School in Vrygrond, Westlake Primary School and Caravelle Primary School in Rocklands, Mitchell’s Plain).
With Re.Bag.Re.Use’s crochet mastery in their arsenal, the new range sees parachute, paragliding and kitesurfing materials take on new forms as products like gorgeous bags. You’d never even think that these accessories once took to the sky!
Check out the range, here.
For both organisations, it’s all about giving materials a second, more meaningful lease on life.
As Anne says, “There is still so much life left in each piece of material. Its time as a kitesurf sail or paraglider wing might be over, but from it, something new and exciting is born, giving it a second lease on life for many more years. Fast fashion places a huge amount of stress on our natural resources, and we need to be much more mindful about our consumption and the lifecycle of the items we use.”
Beyond shopping the range, those looking to support Green Degree can also do so by:
- Contributing materials (kitesurf sails, paraglider wings, or parachute no longer in use)
- Making a donation or
- Sponsoring a pencil case
For more information, you can get in touch with the Green Degree team via anne@greendegree.org or cheryl@greendegree.org.
You can also learn more about Re.Bag.Re.Use and support their efforts here.
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