6 Essentials In My Low-waste, Low-cost Dance Bag

Ballet can get expensive and wasteful, but it's also one of the most wonderful things in the world (fact, not opinion). So what do we do about it? Here’s what I carry in my dance bag to conserve resources, in the full sense of the term.

6 Low-waste, Low-cost Ballet Essentials

 

1. Instead of a theraband, old stockings. I cut the legs and feet off an old paint-stained pair of stockings, then sewed the open ends shut. I cut one leg of the stocking shorter than the other, so I have two different sizes.

2. Instead of rollers…
Big foam roller- tennis ball
Little roller- lint roller! Sometimes I use a lint roller on my calves and shins before class, both to loosen them up and to remove the fuzzies that my leg warmers left on my tights.
Feet rollers- bouncy balls

Several family members have been kind enough to gift me actual rollers, which I absolutely love. These fixes should tide you over until your family members take pity on you.

3. Instead of toe tape, I use this paper tape I found really cheap at Walgreens. Band-aids also work and are cheaper than toe tape, but they have a lot more plastic than the paper tape.

4. Instead of toe pads or lamb’s wool, tissues- I’ve never done this but a girl in my class used to do it all the time. In my opinion, although it might be more expensive, a cloth toe pad is probably a better low-waste option. My gel pads used to wear out really fast, but I’ve had my cloth ones for several years now and they’re fine, plus they’re more comfortable than the gel.

5. Yoga mat… I got a Pido brand mat, which is made of thermoplastic elastomer. Apparently it's eco-friendly compared to other yoga mat materials, although I might have been greenwashed on this one. But I love my mat- it cost about the same as a typical yoga mat but is cushier and more durable than some other ones I've used!

Mine's the brown one in the foreground. The flipside is purple (go Tigers).

6. Instead of leather ballet flats, canvas. They look way better anyways.

7. Pointe shoes…
This is an issue I think about a lot. Most pointe shoes are made with leather shanks. Gaynor Minden’s are plastic. Environmentally, which is the better choice? I’m not sure. I currently use Bloch, which sadly has a leather shank, because that’s the only brand I’ve found that’s wide enough to fit my hobbit feet. 

If anyone has input or knows of a more eco-friendly pointe shoe brand, pleeeaase let me know in the comments below, via email, or on Instagram or Facebook.

Heads up- the email subscription service I've been using will be discontinued in July. I'll find some other way to to pester you about my new posts. I'm thinking beacons on the top of tall mountains, Gondor-style.

Peace,

Heather <3