Milda Paukste – The founder of the Denim Diaries studio

Milda Paukšte, the founder of the textile renewal studio “Denim Diaries”, is convinced that Lithuanians still prefer to buy cheap new items than those made from secondary raw materials. After starting her own store, she now focuses on educating people about the dangers of overconsumption and why it’s much better to give things a second life.

The idea to establish a textile renovation studio came to M. Paukste several years ago. She wanted to try the trade of products from secondary raw materials – an unexpected but relevant direction for this era. The gaze turned to jeans, which are worn every day both in Lithuania and in the world, huge quantities of them are constantly thrown away as trade remnants and after wear, and they have almost no chance of rebirth.

Before the pandemic, when Vilnius was often visited by tourists, the offer of products made from recycled jeans seemed like an interesting part of our identity. Most Lithuanians remember selling used clothes or grandmother knitting something new from a torn sweater or mother sewing something from old dresses. These experiences shaped the worldview, which is again relevant today, in the face of the climate crisis. In Milda’s shop, it was possible to buy her own accessories and the works of other people who sew from jeans in Lithuania.

Everyone who stopped by remembered the stories of their favorite or least favorite jeans, attempting to repair and reuse them. The conversations between the seller and the buyer extended to the challenges posed by the textile industry and waste, as well as buying and using habits. When Germans or Scandinavians visited, they were surprised that we in Lithuania are already talking about this topic and are so advanced that we make a living from the trade of secondary products. Sweden has an entire mall dedicated to second-hand items, responsibly produced food and sustainable lifestyle ideas. Lithuanians praised the products, thanked them for the idea and planned to try to make their own. So Milda was happy that it was cool to inspire others. But there were also problems. Many were put off by the price, for example, 30 euros for an apron, 40 euros for a rug, and 90 euros for a chair bag. But after all, production from secondary raw materials takes longer than sewing from a new roll. You need to gather, wash, select raw materials, sew each item from scraps, without the possibility of creating several of the same. By the way, EU-wide research shows that Lithuanians are reluctant to give preference to secondary design products and rather prefer a completely new one. Lithuanians are best motivated by the opportunity to save, in other words, practicality. We provide that second chance not only by repairing a torn garment, but also by selling an item that is no longer needed.

The ideas of environmental protection and the secondary use of things are very relevant to M. Paukste . For example, Christmas starts to make her sad when she sees the merciless tearing of gift paper, toys that will be superfluous or short-lived for children. In the city during the festive period, children are seen carrying plastic luminous balloons that resemble huge soap bubbles. They would dim or stop shining before they even reached home. Milda no longer sees beauty in it – only senselessness, waste of money and pollution. It feels much better to help them understand that there are alternatives. For example, just before Christmas, she taught the employees of one company to wrap gifts in scarves. Everyone felt the difference between the ear-splitting tearing of gift paper and the calm unwrapping, single-use, and the ability to wrap a gift ten or twenty times in the same fabric. In one day, 100 people tried this method in practice after spending an hour on it. If each of them tells at least one of their impressions, 200 will already know. Such thoughts and experiences are uplifting.

Gradually, M. Paukste’s production and planned trade turned into training. Currently, she is engaged in environmental communication and education. This helps spread the word much more widely. The developer is fascinated by the breadth and depth of the sustainability theme. When she became interested, she realized how little she knew and how little she was understood by those around her. We know very well where to buy new jeans, and where to throw them away is a question. Milda has heard it said that people use textile bundles for kindling, to heat their houses and are happy that they burn well. Its awful. After all, there are not only natural materials, but also elastane or polyester. Burning is the same as throwing a plastic bottle into a fireplace. This “goodness” is inhaled both by the burners themselves and by those around them. Or it settles on the vegetables, where we hope to grow clean tomatoes, herbs or potatoes. During meetings with the children, M. Paukste reads the labels of jeans – they tell us what the jeans are made of, how far they came from, why they are sewn in China, India or Bangladesh. After taking apart the jeans, it turns out that it is a rather complicated product, with many different details, seams, and various rivets. And why do they go out of style so quickly before we can even buy them. Milda is interested in turning children’s ignorance into knowledge, helping them to understand that a lot can be done relying only on their own hands, for example, mending a garment so that no one notices the flaw.

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