Radicalize, Reclaim and Recycle; Junk journaling, clothing vendors and mending, conversations

This Earth Day, join the Women’s Resource Center for Radicalize, Reclaim, and Recycle, an afternoon where activism meets sustainability through creative expression and community connection. Together, we’ll explore how feminism, environmental justice, and sustainability intersect as we transform everyday “waste” into art that reflects resistance, empowerment, and care for our planet.

What is in store: 

• Sustainable Vendor Fair: Come shop at our mini vendor fair highlighting upcycle and sustainable Milwaukee vendors! Fast fashion and excessive packaging create massive amounts of waste! We’re inviting local artists whose products are made from eco-friendly, recycled and/or up-cycled materials to sell their merchandise to promote responsible consumption and support businesses that have a minimal impact on the environment.

• Clothing mending: If you have clothing items “ruined” by stains or holes, we want to teach you how to fix them up instead of throwing them out, don’t toss it lets fix them! The WRC will provide sewing machines, needles, thread, and spare fabric patches to make your clothes as good as new!

• Junk Journaling: Tap into your creative spirit with junk journaling—an art form that gives new life to discarded materials. We’ll provide the supplies you need to create a personalized journal using recycled paper, old magazines, fabric scraps, and more.  Feel free to bring your own “junk”, think magazine cutouts, old receipts, and even those stray stickers you never knew what to do with—turn them into visual statements of power!

• A radical future: This event isn’t just about creating art or swapping clothes. Join us in discussions on how feminism, sustainability, and environmental justice are interconnected. How can feminism contribute to sustainable futures? How can we use our collective power to shift away from waste and consumption?

Throughout the afternoon, we’ll also hold space for conversation about how feminist values can help shape more sustainable futures. By reclaiming materials, sharing resources, and creating art together, we can imagine new ways to resist wasteful systems and build communities rooted in care, creativity, and collective action. Come craft, swap, and connect as we radicalize the future, reclaim our power, and recycle with purpose.