Shop Reused & Local for a Sustainable Season

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

School’s out for winter break. Weather’s starting to feel wintery, and the community is bustling. This is a great time to do last minute holiday shopping in town. In Bend, we have a bounty of local, sustainable, diverse gift gathering spaces. Check out three great community focused businesses (and Rubbish Renewed supporters) to spend your dollars locally and make sustainable purchasing choices that are lighter on the planet!

RESTORE: 224 NE Thurston Avenue

For the handy person in your life the ReStore has a wide variety of home improvement materials, tools and furnishings almost exclusively donated by our generous community. Shopping at ReStore helps support the construction of Habitat homes that are built for energy efficiency. These affordable homes ensure families have every opportunity to thrive and grow.

GEAR FIX: 550 SW Industrial Way #1

For your outdoor enthusiast needs check out The Gear Fix! They consign high quality outdoor gear and repair your damaged favorites. Gear Fix cultivates a sense of community both inside and outside of the shop helping make our area inclusive for all that choose to venture outdoors.

COSA CURA: 2735 NW Crossing Dr. #101 & 19570 Amber Meadow Dr, #170

For your stylish fashion and home decor needs Cosa Cura is the place! The store currently represents 80+ Independent Artists & Designers and carries fashion from 8000+ local consignors. Cosa Cura creates an atmosphere of sustainable style, creativity, local support and community service. “Killer style and saving the planet one fabulous outfit at a time.”

Showcased for Action: 2025 Business Challenge Garment Gallery Posted

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

I’m so proud to live in a town where many local businesses put our environment in the forefront of their work. Not only considering waste, but also community, social, and global actions. Looking back on last year’s Business Challenge Gallery post inspired me to renew the message:

“In Bend, we have the power to create a holistic sustainable community. More than just action around waste, it’s about access to affordable housing, supporting local farms and food production, prioritizing employee well-being, creating green-spaces and access for recreating and habitat in these, shifting status quo policies surrounding waste and distribute items for reuse, establishing safe routes for biking and walking… the Business Challenge participants are making a difference through local, community focused practices, that empower people, and ultimately contribute to a better world. It’s more important than ever to step up and get involved.”

Celebrate the creativity and beauty showcased for action in the 2025 Business Challenge Garment Gallery and get inspired by the emerging work happening in our community!

6 of the 7 Business Challenge Garments at the 2025 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show. From left to right: Lonza, DIYcave, ReStore, ReCoHere, Bend Anesthesiology Group, and Gear Fix (missing Humm Kombucha). Visit the 2025 Business Challenge Garment Gallery for captivating photos of each garment, their description, story and businesses’ sustainable practices.

Rubbish Renewed 2025 had a diverse team of photographers. Thank you to Kimberly Teichrow Photography, Joe Kline Photography, Stark Photography, Melissa Barnes Dholakia, and Greg Maffei for the incredible images you’ll find in our galleries.

Check out the 2025 Business Challenge Garment Gallery and look for more posts coming soon!

Hidden Creatives: 2025 Adult Show Gallery Posted!

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

Bend is a haven for environmentally conscious creatives. You can find local artists openly producing significant sustainable pieces, but many innovators are hidden in the cracks. People known in our community as teachers, medical care providers, outdoor professionals… are quietly creating powerful pieces that reflect their commitment to sustainability, education, and artistry. Luckily, some materialize for meaningful opportunities like the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show! Among these incredible hidden designers are: Martha, once a Realms student, is now the Community Engagement Coordinator at the High Desert Museum; Katie, a first time Rubbish Renewed Designer, is an inpatient hospital pharmacist; DeeDee is the VP of Homeowner Services for Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity and has produced pieces for RR every year; and the list goes on. Take a look at the 2025 Adult Garment Gallery and enjoy the stories and designs created by a vibrant community of eco-conscious designers!

“RUBBISH ROMANTICISM” Designer: Martha Campbell Model: Rona Campbell; “A PROPER BAG LADY” Designer: Lloyd McMullen Model: Mikayla Gil; “POOL PARTY” Designer/Model: Qristy Kurtz; “BEN’S BACKPACK 2.0” Designer: Meg Knight Model: Ben Knight; “GARDEN PARTY” Designer: DeeDee Johnson Model: Robin Cooper Engle; “INTRAVENOUS SEAMSTRESS” Designer/Model: Katie Valentine

Check out the 2025 Adult Garment Gallery and look for more posts coming soon!

Students Inspired! 2025 Show Gallery Posted

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

When people ask me what my favorite thing is about being the producer of the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show, it always comes down to the students. They inspire me to step up my game as a global citizen, a community member, an artist, a designer, a teacher, and an environmental steward. I’m blown away every year by their creativity, their garment stories, and the craftsmanship, even by the youngest designers. This year the 2025 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show showcased student designers from 17 Central Oregon schools – from 3rd grade to college! Check out the 2025 Student Garment Gallery and see what students inspired create.

Check out the 2025 Student Garment Gallery and look for more galleries and blog posts coming soon!

Bend Lifestyle Magazine Celebrates Rubbish Renewed!

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

“What do you get when a small group of visionary educators, artists, creators and environmentalists with a passion for the planet – and future generations – join forces with a mission to reimagine waste by creating couture with a conscience? You get Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show: a dazzling event where landfill-bound debris is transformed into jaw-dropping garments and designs. You get an event where creativity becomes a catalyst for change.” Read the complete in-depth article by Lynette Confer at Bend Lifestyle Magazine here!

GARDEN PARTY Designer: DeeDee Johnson Model: Robin Copper Engle Photo: Kimberly Teichrow

Thank you Bend & Sponsors!

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

Once again, we pulled off this multifaceted, highly engaging, sustainably minded, community connecting event! The 13th Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show was enriched this year by more interactive sustainable thinking – art, activities, free design workshops, and a developed reusables system. These, in combination with the mesmerizing trash fashion show, raised the community impact of this even. Thank you sponsors, thank you Bend! We simply couldn’t have done it without you!

**CREATURE OF FASHION** – ReStore Business Challenge **Designers:** *Lisa Mcluskie, DeeDee Johnson, Restore Employees Brian & Keegan* **Model:** *Lisa Mcluskie* **Photographer:** *Joe Kline*

Your support for creativity, the magical transformation of innovative materials, passion for our planet, and uplifting more than 700 people to find unique ways to think about waste, made the 2025 Rubbish Renewed the best fundraising and eco-elevating event in Bend!

Your support helped bring student designers from 17 Central Oregon schools 3^rd grade to college and adult designers new to fashion and those who have been with us since the beginning. Your support of diversity is what makes the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show matchless, engaging, and meaningful! And with your support we raised nearly $20,000 for REALMS Schools continuing the vision to foster scholarship, strengthen community, and inspire stewardship through active learning.

We feel so proud of the space and event we collectively created to celebrate and promote sustainability through the magic of trash fashion. It was a beautiful evening filled with hope, love, and community. Together we proved again, that Rubbish Renewed is not just a fashion show and not just a fundraiser, but a creative celebration of re-imagining waste, rethinking our relationship with trash, and inspiring people to live lighter on the planet. It is a testament to the power of people with aligned belief in a mission bigger than ourselves!

With Gratitude, The Rubbish Renewed Team

And the 2025 Business Challenge Winner is…

Posted on May 13, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

The 2025 Business Challenge was the most diverse yet. Restore, Gear Fix, Lonza, Humm, Bend Anesthesiology Group, DIYcave, and ReCoHere gave it their all and showed us how thinking outside of the box with materials can uplift sustainability through creativity and fun.

And for the 2nd year in a row, the winner is…. Gear Fix, with Moth Mess Monster, taking home the 2025 Rubbish Renewed Coveted Trash Trophy to add to their winning display! Congratulations (again) Gear Fix!

E-Bike and Mountain Bike Raffle at Rubbish Renewed!

Posted on May 3, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

All of my professional career I commuted to work by bicycle. I still ride my 1986 Rock Hopper, a stout, pre-suspension mountain bike that I even rode, years ago, from Seattle to Bolivia. I must have more than 50,000 miles on it. It needs a 4th paint job. Bike commuting and biking in general are acts of inspiring community for a sustainable earth, the tag line for Rubbish Renewed.

This year, at the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show on May 10th, we are raffling 2 bikes donated by Bendr Cyclery! With only 160 maximum tickets being sold for each bike, you have great odds to win! One is an Aveton Level 1 e-bike valued at $1200. The other is a Fuji Adventure Mt Bike valued at $530. You can link to buy tickets now and don’t have to be present to win!

ALTHOUGH YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE THERE TO WIN, IT’S A LOT MORE FUN TO COME TO THE SHOW!

Rubbish Renewed Returning Features:

Electrifying trash fashion runway show with intermission (different garments each half)
Live auction of a select group of garments
Eco-marketplace of locally made, creative products
Interactive sustainable booths
Competitive Business Challenge
Local food and Drink
- Food carts – The Bob, Bigfoot BBQ, The Pizza Cart
- Slow Ride Mobile Bar – with beverages from: Willamette Valley Vineyards, Boneyard Beer, Avid Cider, Crater Lake Spirits, and Humm Kombucha
VIP Experience (special ticket)

New This Year:

Sustainable Art Display
Bike Raffle – 2 bikes being raffled. Tickets are $25 and only 160 tickets will be sold for each bike!
- Aventon Level 1 ebike – Link for raffle ticket
- Fuji Adventure Mountain Bike – Link for raffle ticket

SCAN QR CODE FOR TICKETS:

WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU AT THE RUBBISH RENEWED ECO FASHION SHOW ON MAY 10TH, AT THE PAVILION! DOORS AT 5:30.

The Juries Out

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

The Garment Submission Deadline passed last Friday, April 4th at midnight. An exciting and stressful time for designers who hope to feature their artistic expression and personal statements about Transforming Trash, Inspiring Community for a Sustainable Earth on the Rubbish Renewed Runway.

This year we have more submissions than space available, with student designers from 17 Central Oregon Schools! These designers range in age from 3rd grade to a college sophomore. We have a wide array of adult submissions from several designers new to Central Oregon, a few designers back to Rubbish Renewed after a long absence, and some of our favorite material manipulator, trash fashion designers in the area.

You’ll see some of the traditional trash manipulated year after year on the runway – plastic bags, jeans, candy wrappers, drink cans, produce mesh, mailers… Some materials that are new this year to the Rubbish Renewed runway – political signs, retired chainsaw chaps, and raft parts salvaged from the Colorado Bridge wave cleanup…

Rubbish Renewed is just 1 month away! We can’t wait to see you for our 13th event and showcase designer creations that celebrate the actions we can take to elevate the sustainability of our Central Oregon communities.

Scan QR code below for Tickets or link from the button in the sidebar

What Will You Create? Garment Submission Deadline April 4th!

Posted on March 22, 2025 by Rubbish Renewed

Just 2 weeks until the submission deadline at midnight on Friday, April 4th. Remember that you do not need to have your garment completed, but the further along you are, the easier it is for the jury to recognize your vision in your photos and artist renderings. Read the material guidelines carefully. Here is the link to the Runway Submission Page. It doesn’t hurt to get your submission in early.

Check out these materials from a few designs that have started to roll in!