Missfit Creations uses recycled materials and their clothing line Tribute2, with influence coming from some of the most famous icons of the 80’s, Glam Rock superstars, Punk legends and the Divos & Divas across the ages.

The company shows that you can be green and look like Cherly Cole or Boy George at the same time.

Reusing materials

Founder and main designer of Missfit Creations, Debbie Murphy is a firm believe in the motto that there is nothing new, only what has been before. She says:

‘Growing up in the late 70’s early 80’s there were many subcultures within fashion. To be able to dress accordingly we scoured jumble sales, raided granny’s wardrobe and toured charity shops. I had platform shoes, 60’s twin sets, US parkas and frilly dress shirts along with the obligatory band t-shirts.

I think particularly the punk movement inspires us to customise our clothes and revamp our look, clothes are distressed, dyed and reinvented and therefore punk clothing is environmentally aware even if not intentionally so.’

Based in Tamworth, Missfit Creations uses sources all from the West Midlands to get their materials. Debbie says:

‘I customise and take apart second hand clothing for re-use from charity shops, car boots, jumble sales as well as friends and family. I utilise all kinds of everyday objects in both clothing ranges and have used everything from plug chains to old belt buckles and bag straps to odd earrings and laddered tights.

I have made many enquiries locally about the possibility of collecting waste fabrics or offcut materials from clothing manufacturers for use in my designs. Unfortunately I have had little or no success as being such a small business they tend to only trade with larger companies who can take regular amounts in bigger quantities. For me this would defeat the object as I manufacture ‘one-offs’.’

The fashion industry

Debbie has much to say about the fashion industry, believing that more designers could use recycled materials. She says:

‘It’s a shame that in fashion design there can be such fierce competition and rivalry as I think that this prevents fellow designers from sharing fabrics and indeed sources of recycled materials for fear of losing originality.’

Missfit’s message

Debbie’s personal commitment to the local environmental community is mainly through online support as she follows and has joined communities like Birmingham Friends of the Earth. She says that the websites Envirowise and Waste Matters keeps her up to date with local recycling news.

Overall, Debbie says that she wants to pass her message and skills on to future generations. She says:

‘If we were better equipped to find and use the materials available to us we could make a bigger difference. So many clothes are discarded if a seam rips or a zip breaks and fashions thrown away when they are no longer in vogue.

If more emphasis were put on dressmaking and less on creating new designs in schools and colleges we could maybe return to more economical ‘mend and make do’ fashion, encouraging recycling and individuality.’

The project highlighted our landscapes at this ‘magical’ time, including how many lights were on, how much traffic was on the road and how clean our roads are without people milling about.

Founder of the project Karen Strunks said:

‘The 4am project aims to bring both photographers and non-photographers together, to create a global community which demonstrates how amazing our surrounding landscapes can be.

Streets which are usually teeming with traffic are deserted, shopping centres are empty and hillsides peaceful, the perfect time to grab your camera and take a few shots.’

All the pictures taken at 4am are available on Flickr.

The snow, which started yesterday (Thursday), covered the city in a white blanket.

Many residents took to parks like the Lickey Hills (see photographs below), Cannon Hill Park and the Malvern Hills for some winter fun.

One dog walker in the Lickey Hills said:

“We live really close to this park, so the snow was a perfect opportunity to come visit and bring my German Sheppard, who loves the snow.

He doesn’t even mind getting wet, but he wants to get away from the Visitors Centre so that I can let him off the lead!”

Meanwhile the snow caused travel chaos for Birmingham’s commuters as they faced hours of misery getting home in the snow last night when Birmingham City Council did not send gritting lorries out until 6PM.

According to BBC Weather the next few days contain sunny intervals, except for light snow that is predicted for Saturday and Monday.

Did you enjoy the scenic snow this week or were you stuck in travelling terror?

Film student Luke De La Nougerede and his group mates spoke to members of the public who generally said that they did not see the benefits of recycling so they did not do it.

The film crew also spoke to Birmingham City Council members, who said that the most efficient way to get people to recycle is through word of mouth.

However Luke said that the council would not answer speak to him regarding concerns about not enough people having wheelie bins because they classed it as a ‘government issue’ instead of a ‘council issue’.

Presenter of A Greener Brum Mollie Taylor said:

“There seems to be a big problem in Birmingham with a lack of people recycling and not even knowing where to go.

A lot of people don’t realise that there are recycling centres in the middle of Birmingham, however the only way to get to them is by car.”

Luke added:

“A lot of people just aren’t encouraged to recycle, so we’re making this film so that people can see the advantages.

We hope that visuals such as the effect of waste at a landfill site will make people think differently.”

A Greener Brum is set to be released in May.

This company Anyvan was created by Angus Elphinstone and Ben Goor, who say that it was a result of the frustration they felt from travelling back from deliveries with nothing in their vans when they were running a London based white van delivery surface.

They wish to reduce the CO2 emissions caused by delivery companies and the amount of vans on the road.

Anyvan claims that 24% of vans in the UK are traveling totally empty and 50% are traveling only half full. 

The website works as a delivery quote comparison website, where residents list an item and destination, such as a ‘kitchen sink from Birmingham to Oxford’ and then companies who are already making the journey from Oxford to Birmingham bid to bring down the price and secure the customer.

Angus said: “We can’t completely reduce the figure of unnecessary carbon emissions produced each year but we aim to play a small part. 

To date, we have saved 48,029 miles due to all the completed jobs being undertaking by vans already traveling in the same direction; this is the equivalent to traveling around the world twice!

We have already seen quite a lot of work coming from the Birmingham area, but I think that Birmingham residents could benefit the environment by using us more!”

He believes that over population is a problem because it is predicted that we will reach eight billion people by the year 2025 and he states that if we keep consuming water at this rate then the region will soon face a shortfall.

In a handout that he gave to the Green Drinks attendees he stated that some of the causes of the problems are procreation, medicine, peace and sanitation and some solutions to the problem are war, famine, more violence and disease.

Nigel, who describes himself as an optimist driven to pessimistic conclusions, said:

“I do believe that climate change is happening, it is irrefutable, but I believe that there are more pressing things to worry about.

If climate change doesn’t get you, then population and a lack of resources will!

We always think we haven’t got enough – society is driven by this belief and even people who think that they’re benefiting society are contributing to their own growth in some way.”

Malcolm Currie of Globally Local, who helps organising the Green Drinks events, agreed and said:

“The older generation is used to rationing and conserving resources like food and water, but the younger generation is growing up wanting everything and wanting it now.

For example, they want the latest iPod, just three months after buying the last one.

We need to give them the tools to clean up this mess!”

In one provocative statement Nigel said that better female education would help with our population issues while others pointed out not to lay the blame with one gender.

Another member of the group suggested that we learn from China who limit couples to having one child per family.

Nigel ended the evening by asking the Green Drinks group to think about the following quote called the Bartlett challenge:

“Can you think of any problem in any area of human endeavour on any scale, from microscopic to global, whose long-term solution is in any demonstrable way aided, assisted or advanced by further increases in population, locally, nationally or globally?

Green Drinks is always held on the second Tuesday of the month at Locanta restaurant at 6:00PM since it began in November, talking about the latest sustainability news in the Midlands.

As Birmingham Recycled has looked at before, it pays to be a conservation volunteer and what better way to enjoy the winter landscape in our rural areas then helping out the park rangers, our finding out a bit more about our feathery co-inhabitants?

We advice you to check the websites to find out of any event cancellations due to snow, and for general parks information you can call 0121 464 8728 or email parks@birmingham.gov.uk

Get creative

On Saturday 9^th January you can learn how to make a bird cake feeder to help our feathered friends get through the tough winter at Sheldon Country Park.

There’s a Greenwood craft demonstration at Handworth Park on Sunday 24^th, where people can find out how to use green wood to produce useful or decorative items.

Get closer to wildlife

In the Lickey Hills Country Park on Sunday 17^th, there’s a Winter Birds Talk and Walk event where people can find out more about the winged creatures with a short classroom session and a four-mile walk to Bittel Reservoir.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds are also organising a bird watch in preparation for the Biggest Bird Survey in the World marking 30 years of the event at Sutton Park on the 23^rd January.

On the last Saturday of the month there’s another Winter Bird Walk at the Edgbaston Resevoir to learn how birds survive the winter conditions, find food and maintain their habitats.

Conservation Workdays

There is no shortage of conservation workdays this month giving people the opportunity to give something back to out outstanding city.

On Saturday the 9^th January you can join in at the Edgbaston Reservoir managing the woodland, or on the same day help at the Shire Country Park if you’re closer and on Sunday it’s the Kingfisher Country Park and the Plantsbrook Local Nature Reserve in need of help.

The weekend after, our famous Moseley Bog is looking for volunteers on Saturday 16^th January.

Another two events take place on Saturday 23^rd January at the Billesley Common and Balaams Wood LNR.

Finish the month off with a big Conservation Workday Weekend at Cannon Hill Park on the 30^th and 31^st January.

All three events were green in nature and came together to give environmentally conscious shoppers in Birmingham a one-stop place to shop for Christmas.

The Moseley Farmers Market, which holds the award for best Certified Urban Farmers’ Market 2009 at the FARMA Local Food Awards, had stalls from farms and other local food producers selling cuisine from fish to fruit and vegetables.

The Arts Market was organised by Jamie Lewis who told Birmingham Recycled that the stallholders make everything from scratch and that nothing you find in the market is manufactured.

Stallholders included Sarah Myatt Glass Design, who was selling flattened recycled bottles such as Magners, and Christ Phillips’s Mischief Bunnies who made rabbits from old gloves.

These events were held on the Village Green on Alcester Road, and the Green Christmas Fair was inside the Post Office Building behind it.

Organised by Birmingham Friends of the Earth, the Christmas Fair saw organisations such as Loaf Online, the Northfield Ecocentre and Oxfam Midlands Group come together to help people have a sustainable Christmas.

The Northfield Ecocentre gave people tips such as don’t use non-recyclable artificial trees, reuse wrapping paper and don’t throw away leftover food.

Tom Baker, founder of Loaf Online, said:

“This is my first time at the Green Christmas fair and it’s going great.

People are showing lots of interest in my new monthly subscription scheme and I wish that I had brought more bread to sell because I sold out by 1:00PM and we still have three hours left!”

Birmingham Friends of the Earth’s stall showcased a way of wrapping presents inspired by a Japanese tradition, which was is using material so that people use the same wrapping each year.

They also had a table dedicated to the fashion of freecycling, where people give away unwanted items such as CDs and phones and others can take them to use for free.

Joe Peacock, Campaigns Support Worker, said:

“It was by far our most successful Xmas Green Fair ever, warmly received by everyone and making us a good amount of money to contribute towards our valuable work to promote better environmental practices in Birmingham next year.

We are even considering putting on another green fair in spring or summer for the first time, as a result of how well it went.”

The Farmers and Arts Market run on the fourth Saturday of every month respectively and it was the second Green Christmas Fair after a successful launch in 2008.

Stall holders including the Northfield Ecocentre and It’s a wrap will be at the event selling environmentally friendly presents and produce, such as wrap bags and reusable gift tags.

Joe Peacock, Campaigns Support Worker, spoke about his excitement for the last Birmingham Friends of the Earth event of the year:

“Saturday should be a great chance to meet people and share some festive cheer.

There will be lots of things to buy for a greener, but still very merry Christmas and we hope to raise some money to help us to continue our good work in 2010.

With Moseley farmers market on just over the road, why would you shop anywhere else this Saturday?”

The fair is taking place opposite the Moseley Farmers Market, in The Post Office Building, 149-153 Alcester Road.

For information about the event or to enquire about a stall, contact Joe on 0121 632 6909.
Birmingham Recycled hopes to see you all there!

In this podcast we look at what the purpose of The Wave is, speak to groups in Birmingham attending the Wave, highlight the key points of the guest speakers, take a vox pop individuals marching around parliament, record the moment that Big Ben strikes three and and lastly reflect on how the day went.

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