STAFFORD – Stafford Co. Museum will host “Waste Not, Want Not: Reimagining Fashion through Thrift Style,” a presentation and discussion by Marla Day at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 25. Members of the community are invited to attend the free program. It will take place at 100 N. Main St., in Stafford. Refreshments will be served. The program is made possible by Humanities Kansas.

Thrifting and upcycling are not new concepts. The practice of reusing empty feed sacks, flour sacks, and sugar sacks – also known as commodity bags – as raw material for clothing and other home goods was popular during the austere decades of the 1920s through the 1940s. This program highlights a collection of sacks from Kansas mills, thoughtfully selected to honor a family with deep Kansas roots in agricultural extension, 4-H, and a family-owned feed and farm supply store. This collision between commercial waste and homespun ingenuity provides a model for our modern emphasis on sustainability.

Marla Day is the curator of Kansas State University’s Historic Costume and Textile Museum in Manhattan.

“Waste Not, Want Not: Reimagining Fashion through Thrift Style” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Speakers Bureau, featuring humanities-based presentations designed to share stories that inspire, spark conversations that inform, and generate insights that strengthen civic engagement.

Humanities Kansas is an independent nonprofit leading a movement of ideas to empower the people of Kansas to strengthen their communities and our democracy. Since 1972, our pioneering programming, grants, and partnerships have documented and shared stories to spark conversations and generate insights. Together with our partners and supporters, we inspire all Kansans to draw on history, literature, ethics, and culture to enrich their lives and serve the communities and state we all proudly call home. Visit humanitieskansas.org.