STOWE, Vt. (WCAX) – From the slopes to a small Stowe studio, BirdieBlue has one mission.
“Upcycle old ski and snowboard gear into new personality-filled accessories,” says Kate Harvey, the founder of BirdieBlue.
She began this passion project a few years back when her ski pants of some 20 years ripped, but she didn’t want to throw them out.
“They’re, as we know, made of very highly, sometimes toxic, plasticky material that doesn’t break down in landfills,” she explains.
Instead, she found another use for them. With some admittedly limited sewing skills, she stitched together a fanny pack. That was the first-ever Birdie bag, and it got a lot of attention from friends. It was then that things really took off.
BirdieBlue sets out to upcycle ski or snowboarding gear you can’t use, into accessories you will use in the great outdoors.
“We like to call Birdie bags more like lifestyle bags. So, the type of bag you would grab if you were mountain biking or skiing,” says Harvey.
You’ll notice these bags are quite a mix of materials. That’s because the fabric to make them comes from donated clothes from supporters, manufacturers with flawed extras, or even clothing graders who scour dumps and landfills. She has a number of partnerships with Vermont gear makers, like Burton or Skida. Customers looking to donate old clothes can request a mailer, sent free of charge, and receive a discount code for sending in their stuff. Harvey also takes custom orders for people who have gear they love, that they’d like to see turned into bags.
“Any of the ski gear that just has kind of reached the end of its usable life on the ski mountain or on the snow then gets sent to us,” says Harvey. “I cut all the gear, I break down all the gear, I source all the gear.”
Harvey is a one-woman show, but sourcing material and designing these bags is no small feat. For the sake of time and quality control, she hires home-sewists, based in Vermont, to put these bags together. Custom orders are running a six- to eight-week turnaround time.
“Pretty much 95 percent of my sewists are all women that have families at home, they’re just looking for an additional revenue stream,” she explains.
Each fanny pack, sling bag or tote is slightly different, but all boast the same, retro three-panel look. And, some come with fun surprises, like pockets from the back of ski pants or jackets sewn on the inside for additional storage. It’s all in the name of reducing textile waste. Harvey cites data that says about 95,000 tons of textiles per year go to the landfill.
“Just insane if you think about it,” she says. “It’s basically a garbage truck dumping clothes every minute into a landfill.”
By cutting up old ski gear, she’s cutting down on that number of trucks. Harvey says their tracking shows BirdieBlue has saved 5,000 pieces of clothing from the dump which she equates to 14,000 pounds. What’s not included in all of the pockets and compartments of these bags, is the guilt of adding to the garbage heap.
In addition to ordering online, Harvey says the best way to get your hands on a Birdie bag is by visiting REI in Williston or checking out BirdieBlue’s Instagram.