From the Landfill to the Runway

Target shopping bags

Airline upholstery

Political campaign materials

Rusty nails

Cassette tapes

Old phone books

Well, we throw out tons of each every day.  But what we call "trash", artist and fashion designer Nancy Judd turns into fashion. Check out her website Recycle Runway .

Would anyone really wear her creations in "real life"? No, but that's not her point. It's about learning to reuse things we don't need anymore in their original state. For example, the ensemble pictured here is made of shopping bags and other items from a Target store near Judd's home. A spokesman says the store already had a recycling program, but the staff really got caught up in the project and came up with even more items that they weren't recycling, but could. For this outfit, Judd used shopping bags, cardboard display pieces, an employee's old shirt, and a game that a customer had returned to create the dress, headdress and beaded necklace.

I love Judd's approach. Instead of villainizing Target, Delta Airlines and others for being wasteful, she brings them on board as sponsors for her Recycle Runway displays.  Didn't your grandma used to say you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?