BlockAndRoller

Our daughter's story:

Last spring, I took a trip with my mom, dad and brother to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was exciting to see jellyfish, sharks, schools of sardines, and a giant octopus. I got to touch a stingray, too. They are really slimy! But the thing that surprised me the most was the exhibit about how much plastic is in the ocean and the problems that it’s causing. It made me sad to learn that eight million metric tons of plastic goes into the ocean every year, and that there aren’t more laws against it. We saw pictures of bird skeletons on the beach with plastic where their stomachs used to be. We learned that marine mammals and fish eat plastic, too. If people eat fish and fish eat plastic, what does that mean? I read that the ocean provides the oxygen for seven out of every ten breaths that we take. What would happen to us without it? How can people ignore these problems?

I wanted to do something to help, but I didn’t think anyone would listen to me because I’m just a kid, but my mom said that if powerful grownups aren’t doing anything about it, it’s really up to kids like me to speak up and take action, because this is about our future. When we got home from our trip, she showed me a TIME magazine with a girl named Greta Thunburg on the cover and we watched her TED talk about climate change. She was a kid, too, and she was forcing adults to recognize that something bad is happening and we all have a responsibility to fix it. She inspired me to do something to help. That is how Block and Roller Printing began.

The Block and Roller Printing Mission:

Our mission is to help people change their habits by offering nice things to use instead of plastic. We make our products out of second-hand materials, and throw almost nothing away in the process. One third of the money we make is donated directly to the Ocean Conservancy, one third goes back into the business, and one third goes toward my future, which I hope will be healthy, fun, clean, and safe.

Our Products:

Our shopping bags are made out of upcycled cotton. We use old T-shirts, pillow cases, and anything else we find. Each item has its own personality. Products may vary slightly in dimension, and may hint at a past life... We think of each bag as an individual; all are strong, practical, and durable, but not without variations and quirks. We use the leftover scraps for weaving, and the scraps from weaving become cat toys.

We also offer hand-printed cards for all occasions. All of our artwork is original, done by me, my brother, and my mom. We are in search of the right kind of recycled paper for printing, but for now we do our best not to waste any of the paper we use.

If we run out of quantity, please standby,, more will come! (drop us a message on what you're looking for)