As part of HuffPostâs âReclaimâ project, HuffPost Style will focus the month of September on simple ways to educate yourself on becoming a better consumer.
Most people donât give much thought to what happens to flowers that donât get sold at the florist, or that are used as centerpieces for an event.
Natural dyer and artisan Cara Piazza is not most people.
The Brooklyn-based artist work with florists, restaurants and organic providers like spice markets to collect their waste, which she uses to naturally dye clothing and accessories.
âIf I werenât taking these flowers they would probably go in the garbage,â she told The Huffington Post. âThe second a flower begins to wilt, it wonât have a good shelf life for the customer, who is unfortunately concerned with the perfection of a first blooming flower.â As part of her business, Piazza also offers a service for brides to turn their bouquets into kimonos they can keep long after their wedding day.
A graduate of the Chelsea College of Arts and Designs in London, Piazza credits her work with natural, sustainable products to a workshop she took on dyeing with madder roots.
Her main issue with non-natural dyes? Their damaging effects on the environment. âSynthetic dyes and synthetic dye houses pollute water streams, creating toxic environments for the eco-system,â she said. âSynthetic dyes also contain known carcinogens such as formaldehyde, heavy metals such as zinc and chrome as well as dioxin, which is thought to be a hormone disrupter.â
Aside from the physical reasons to use natural dye, Piazza, a native New Yorker, says there is an emotional aspect, too. âIn a city where everything is so loud and busy all the time, sometimes itâs just nice to feel something that was dyed with nature and was made with love,â she said.
Piazza, a firm believer in giving your clothing new life and being a smarter consumer, told The Huffington Post that while what she does can be done by anyone in their own home, there are even smaller steps you can take toward being a smarter consumer.
âThe whole life cycle of a garment, I think a lot of people donât really think about. Start asking questions. âWhere did this come from?â âWho sewed my garment?â âHow much water was used to make this garment?â Donât just buy things blindly,â she said.
Piazza says she hopes to âempower peopleâ to take these practices into their own lives, and regularly hosts natural dye workshops, including two upcoming events in California and London.
Check out the video above to see Piazzaâs process above and head to her website, Calyx, to see more of her beautiful, natural work.