Approachable Earth started when I went shopping for vegetables for a soup and found a turnip wrapped in plastic. One. Turnip. I was appalled at this overuse of plastic; of course I'd seen it before but one turnip in plastic was a bit much. I began making my own Fruit/Veggie Product bags to gather and store fruit and veg. From there, I began making shopping bags and then waxed fabric products and that has developed into the current stock of products that include Fruit/Veggie Product bags, shopping kits, lunch kits, sandwich wraps, salad bags, waxed wraps and rounds, tote bags, and re-useable cosmetic pads.
Soon after starting making these products, I went on holiday with my sister to Skye and on our day trip to Harris/Lewis, I fell in love with Harris Tweed and began embroidering it and making it into handbags and purses. How do these link to eco-friendly? I am often asked. I only use natural materials for the handbags, purses, sleep masks and ornaments: wool, silk, cotton and linen. For some materials, it is impossible for me to find a natural source (ie. elastic), but I use it sparingly. To fasten the handbags, I primarily use buttons made out of wood, clay or shell, not zippers as they are often made of plastic. The purse clasps I use are re-useable. I sew the purse to the clasp and it can be taken apart for future purses.