“I TRULY BELIEVE that people want to do better but they just don’t necessarily know how or have the means,” Taz Kelleher, co-founder of The Useless Project tells The Journal. She continues, “Through workshops and events that are fun, creative and community-driven, and are ultimately a bit of craic, we found it was a lot easier to get people to engage with the sustainability movement.”
The Useless Project began, somewhat unintentionally, back in 2018 when Kelleher and former business partner Geraldine Carton shared a pint together at popular Dublin pub, Grogan’s. Kelleher recalls that first fateful encounter, “It was wild that within five minutes of meeting each other we would establish something together that would become our full-time job. We started with charity shop crawl’s and swap shops, but we realised that the appetite was there for more, in general.”
Since founding the business, The Useless Project has garnered almost 50,000 followers on social media. There, they regularly share different ways to be more conscious and responsible in the pursuit of reducing climate and environmental change. Living sustainably has been something Kelleher has always been inherently interested in and would steadily introduce her friends to, she reveals.
“I’ve always been interested in sustainability, but my passion for it really developed when I was in college. I was really interested in sustainable fashion, in particular, but at the time, I didn’t realise it was sustainable fashion. I loved going to charity shops, all of my clothing used to come from charity shops, and eventually it became a bit of a thing that I would bring groups of friends around to different charity shops and show them how to do it.”
Kelleher continues, “Around that time, I was reading and learning more and more about the fast fashion industry and the problems associated with it; widespread human rights violations, the harm to communities in the developing world, environmental destruction, pollution to waterways and waste, waste and more waste!”
“I thought that there was definitely a desire and interest for an alternative option to buying fast fashion. So, I organised a swap shop, again just the same group of people that I was showing around to charity shops, essentially my pals! I put it on my Instagram story that I was looking to do a really casual swap shop and see if anybody would be interested in taking part. I honestly thought it was going to be maybe 10 people in a pub throwing items of clothing on a table; leave 3 items, take 3 items, that sort of thing. Originally, I think it was down to being a college student and not having enough money for clothes. Even with the whole charity shopping angle, I didn’t necessarily start from a sustainable mindset. I wasn’t necessarily doing it for the planet, but it was just as I began reading more and more about the destruction that our consumption is causing the planet that I realised something has to be done about this.”
Having The Useless Project as a vehicle to spread awareness of the various issues she was learning about, Kelleher was inspired to share this information with as many people as possible in the hopes of making a positive impact for future generations. One of the most important things Kelleher has noted since starting The Useless Project is how powerful information can be and how it can make us feel more connected to the wider world.
“I think that there’s a huge lack of connection to the world at large,” Kelleher notes. “Most of the issues we’re facing in the world right now, from an ethical standpoint to the widespread environmental destruction, come from a lack of connection. We are not connected to where our clothing is coming from therefore we are shopping fast fashion without giving any thought and consideration into the human hands that are making these items of clothing or the way in which the cotton has been grown. Similarly, with food we’re not connected to where food is coming from. We’re not connected to the amount of resources that go into producing food, so we have no problem throwing away the heels of bread or topping and tailing a carrot because it’s meaningless to us. I suppose that’s my biggest interest in this whole thing; trying to help people connect to the world around them.”
She continues, “Not everybody has access to the information in regards of sustainability, not everybody grew up in a household where this was a topic of conversation so we really want to make it accessible and bring people along and show them that there is an alternative way to thread lighter are on the planet and it’s fun and it’s enjoyable and it’s a win-win for all.”
Through hosting workshops and sharing succinct and informative videos on social media about foraging, recipes ideas inspired by odds and ends in your fridge or explainers on different issues relating to climate change, Kelleher’s dedication to her work has not only enlightened followers of The Useless Project, but herself, as well.
“I think the biggest ways The Useless Project has enlightened or inspired me over the years has to do with privilege and accessibility,” says Kelleher.
“In the early days, we were really adamant about the idea that fast fashion is a no-no for everyone. Everybody should be buying second-hand, everybody should be mending their clothing, everybody should be trying to engage in the circular economy, everybody should be trying to not waste food et cetera. However, the reality is that there are barriers for every single person on this planet. If you’re a single parent of 4 or 5 children, you don’t have the time to go round to loads of charity shops trying to find clothing for your kids. Similarly, if you’re a person who has a bigger body, it may not be as easy for you to buy secondhand clothing. Even if you look in vintage shops, I don’t know if anybody has ever seen any shoes that are from 60 years ago, but they look like they’re made for dolls. They’re so small because historically people were just smaller. Therefore, the biggest thing for me that I have learnt from this process is meeting people where they are. This all or nothing attitude just isolates people in general. This idea that you have to do everything perfectly or you may as well not even try isolates so many people. There is no perfect way to be sustainable and that’s something that we’re really passionate about – whatever you can implement into your life today will ultimately make a difference.”
Kelleher further elaborates, “I’m aware that a lot of people will argue about what difference sewing back on a button or doing a meat free Monday actually is going to have in the grand scheme of things when we’re looking at the ever increasing carbon emissions, but what it will do is create a knock on effect. Someone who comes to one of our clothing repair workshops, for example, may have no experience with sustainability whatsoever. We can show them how to sew back on a button and chat a little bit about the problems associated with the fast fashion industry and spark an interest in them. That interest may lead them to watch a documentary on fast fashion, or sign a petition on stronger regulations for fast fashion here in Ireland. From there, they may look at government representatives and try to make sure that who they are voting for align with this newfound interest that they have.”
As well as maintaining a strong online presence to educate people, The Useless Project keeps Kelleher busy with lots of exciting events spread across the calendar year. In almost 5 years, they’ve hosted art exhibitions, workshops and countless fleas markets. These gatherings have not only been educational but have been crucial in developing a sense of community amongst those passionately about sustainability.
Kelleher shares some of the fun things in store for The Useless Project in the coming weeks. “We have lots of exciting things in the pipeline! On June 26, we organised a big sizzling Summer flea market in the Workmans Club. That’s going to be 3 floors with over 40 vendors selling everything from homeware to fashion to arts and crafts, and everything in-between for all sizes and all budgets. We’re also going to be at a few festivals, notably Body and Soul. We’re there on Sunday, June 18 at 4pm doing a Connection to Nature workshop where we’ll be showing attendees various ways to connect to nature, be it out in a forest, through a book or in the comfort of our own homes.”
And finally, what advice does Taz Kelleher have for anyone who has been considering adopting a more eco-friendly and conscious lifestyle à la The Useless Project? “When people ask for tips on what they can do to be more conscious I always say that you should start with fashion and food,” she says.
“Look at what you have in your wardrobe before buying new pieces, learn the basics in sewing and mending so that you can look after your clothing and make sure they last. There are so many video tutorials on YouTube on this. If you’re at the point of life that I’m at presently, finding myself at weddings every single weekend, then see if you can swap clothing or suits or whatever you wear amongst friends, rather than being sucked into the cycle of buying a new outfit for every wedding.”
Kelleher concludes, “When it comes to food, look at the food you’re wasting. One third of the food that’s produced every single year goes to waste. Imagine bringing home three bags of shopping from the supermarket and one of those bags is going into the bin. That’s how much food is going to waste and I know a lot of people will hear that and think, ‘There’s no way I am wasting one third of my food!’ But think of the heels of bread, think of the bag of rocket wilting at the back of the fridge. All of these things add up! What’s more, a huge amount of food that’s produced doesn’t even make it to our shelves because of the unrealistic beauty standards we have for our food! If an aubergine looks wonky or a carrot has an extra leg it doesn’t even make it onto the shelves because the shops know that no consumer is going to pick it from the rest even though it is perfectly good food being wasted just because of how it looks.”
“Take note of the food that you are wasting at home every single week. If you do find yourself throwing out a particular item all of the time, maybe buy it every second time you go to the supermarket and not every single time. Challenge yourself to use up all of the food that you have in your fridge before buying more, bring a shopping list to the supermarket when you can, and just be a little more conscious about what you are wasting.”
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