Crackedpots Holiday Shop encourages shoppers to reconsider the disposable nature of the season with thoughtful alternative gifts made from reclaimed materials.
Crackedpots (crackedpots.org) is a small environmental art nonprofit in whose mission is waste reduction through reuse. This year this humble organization has quietly made a stunning leap forward for the reuse industry, by opening a retail store in a major mall in Portland, Oregon.
The Crackedpots Holiday Shop carries local, handcrafted products that are exclusively made from a minimum of 80% reclaimed materials. Recovered waste materials are transformed into furniture, lighting, fixtures, clothing, accessories, fine art, and craft. Items are made from salvaged metal, glass, textiles, jewelry, assemblage, wood and plastics.
By selling only reclaimed products in a major shopping center for the holidays, Crackedpots is mainstreaming the reuse market by leaps and bounds. The ReTuna Återbruksgalleria mall in Eskilstuna, Sweden is the only other known mall retail outlet pioneering exclusively reclaimed goods.
This unique organization has less than ten employees, working part time. The operating budget is under $100,000. They have three programs, the annual Reuse Art Show, the GLEAN art show, and ReClaim It! salvage store.
This summer’s 19th Annual Reuse Art Show converted over 20 tons of waste into retail products. Since 2014 Cracked Pots has diverted 413,310 pounds from the Metro Central Transfer Station.
By Sara Badiali
