Cricut crafting is an environmental disaster?

[Mexicocalling]

Am I missing something with all this cricut nonsense? It seems there’s endless people on social media posting Primark/ B&M tat with people’s names stuck on… waterbottles, notebooks, glasses, jars of sweets, pens, and god knows what else. I can see that some are really elaborate ones that no doubt took skill to apply in all the multiple layers of colour.
But all I see is the waste plastic from making these? The ‘negative space’ on each sheet of vinyl must be huge, and it’s all waste just going to landfill. It’s madness?! AIBU to think this fad is just creating needless mountains of single use plastic?

I have a successful business with my cricut, absolutely nothing I sell is tat or nonsense. I have never purchased anything from Primark or B&M. I am so precise with my work for minimum waste. Any big blank negatives on the vinyl are cut out before I peel the backing and are always used up with actual wording and definitely not in the bin. But I see your point when I see some of the things that people are selling, or trying to sell. Some people purchase a cricut, bang the first thing out there to sell that looks awful with words stretched all over the place as they have no clue what they are doing. But please keep in mind we are not all like that.

Any crafter who is in it to try to make a profit or run a business is going to be as careful as they can to minimise waste. Business basics.

My friend makes amazing things with her cricut. Waste is minimised as that affects the cost to her.

I agree, but it's not in our backyard as the UK produces next to nothing what the likes ob B&M sell. I guess a lot of people don't care as much as they should.

My aunt made a sheet of stickers and a special Hanukkah dress for my daughter with Cricut, which I was in awe of. However, I also have a friend who makes heinous creations with apostrophes fucking everywhere. The excess plastic does give me pause.

I hadn't thought about that, all the plastic thats weeded out, all the insides of Ds, Os etc

Then there are the items with names on that are unlikely to be used, especially with all the 'unique ' names like Cydnee, Emmalee, Izobel, Jaxson, Jayceson, Khloe, Kristoffer, Myah, Mykel, Zakkery

I know lots of creatives that make amazing things using their cricuts. A lot of small businesses use them for making their packaging, cards, stickers etc. For every 1 artist that utilises the cricut as it was intended, there are 10 people, like you say, making absolute wasteful tat. Adding shite quotes onto primark t shirts, jars and pencil cases etc and thinking then can charge £10+ for a £2 item. The main gripe for me is they often steal/copy actual artists work, infringing on copyright to do so. Not necessarily on purpose, they just don't actually realise it's illegal to steal other people's designs. Because they found them on Pinterest so it must be a free for all. It's usually the 'full time mummy's', 'boss babes', 'Mumpreneur' types by me.

This has to be a joke.

OP, I recognise you from a lot of posts you’ve made lately about your purchases from Amazon, AliExpress, and eBay.

Surely you know the environmental impact of those companies is MASSIVE? It would take millions of crafters with millions of Cricuts to make even a dent in the C02 levels that an AliExpress churns out every single day.

Ooo

I can only presume @Meatus must be referring to the posts on the EV thread?

Yes, you’re right, I have an electric car - clear evidence that I hate the environment. I bought a set of mats from Ali express because the car is Chinese, so mats from China also make sense, no? And MG haven’t yet got the mats for sale in the UK so in order to not ruin my car carpets I had to buy some from abroad. Perhaps @Meatus would prefer me to have ill-fitting generic ones that had been shipped over from the Chinese factories by Halfords though? So that I don’t buy from nasty Big Businesses?

And I recommended a v2l adapter that will allow me to use my own coffee maker when out and about instead of buying coffee in takeaway cups. Also clear evidence that I’m a hypocrite. 🙄

I also pointed out that I wouldn’t choose to buy fake ‘carbon fibre’ stickers to stick all over the interior of my lovely new car and suggested to another poster that they might not want them either.

I really don’t think that because I’ve purchased from Amazon and eBay that I am unable to point out the enormous single use plastic waste of these machines?

Op, I see your point but anyone with an ounce of sense will use all the negative space or cut their material to size as the mediums are expensive, whether it is vinyl or embossed card. I dislike the idolisation of plastic too.

I can see that there are times when those divices are making useable / beautiful things. I know that they etch/draw with pens and cut things out of cardboard and paper and I can absolutely see the use of them.

But there really do seem to be an exponentially growing group of small businesses making so truly dreadful things now. And some people who make things because they can without really thinking I through and it does make me sad. I have just come back from a hen do where I was given a tote bag with a big vinyl cut of ‘brides name hens 23’ on the front. It had make up with ‘brides name hens’ all cut out in swirly writing. It had little bride silhouettes stuck on the face pack, on a shot glass and on a mini bottle of gin. It had vinyl cut outs on EVERYTHING for each of us. And it looked lovely, and it was very instagrammable. But it really got me thinking about the sheer amount of waste involved, just so we could all have a matching bag that I’m now really not going to want to use - and had it been left plain I probably would’ve!

Because arm rest baskets, sill protectors, car mats, clutch bags off amazon and flights to New York for cruises are so much more environmental friendly?

Honestly I don't like cricut and vinyl because of all the plastic either. But wouldnt start a thread complaining about the environmental impact of a hobby when I'd been going on about the wonders of flying to New York for a cruise on a previous thread...

Got the message - having mats in my car is equitable to single use plastic stickers on single use items and having been on a holiday means I cannot possibly care about wasteful use of plastics and therefore I should just sit back not give it a moments thought!

I’m not - and nowhere in my post have I - attempted to portray myself as an eco-warrior. I take flights for holidays (as do the vast majority of the country) and yes, I have been on cruises. But I do try not to be deliberately wasteful for the sake of a cute Instagram picture and I do think the whole concept of plastic for single use is something that needs to be curtailed.