People who buy first-aid kits for car and home are often surprised to find a Mylar blanket tucked away along with the bandages, ointments and disposable gloves. As we all know, the real name for Mylar is BoPET (Biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate).
I feel silly for even mentioning that. I mean, we all call BoPET "Mylar," and vice versa. But anyhow, Mylar is a thin polyester film with amazing qualities of heat retention and liquid blocking, and they say that you can keep warm by wrapping yourself in a big ole sheet of it. And it's not very costly, so that's why you find it in that first-aid kit you got from KMart before they closed.
Ever notice that they use something like Mylar in potato chip bags? Same thinness, same heat-reflecting quality. And people who take an interest in protecting people experiencing homelessness have noted that an efficient sleeping bag for those without basic comforts can be fashioned from old chip bags!
Up in Detroit, Michigan, where it gets cold as Hell, Michigan, people have help from an environmental activist named Eradajere Oleita. Eradajere saw a video from England that showed an English woman homemaking sleep sacks: "The process is simple: collect bags, cut them open, iron them and then line with plastic."
25-year-old Ms Oleita took the idea and ran with it. She rounded up as many old snack sacks as she could find, asked online for more, and got to work.
The sleeping bags she makes comprise about 150 chip bags to make, but when they are complete, they last a long while, they're watertight and they weigh next to nothing.
Born in Nigeria, Ms Oleita moved to Michigan as a high school sophomore. She's been a land and water works ambassador at Americorps the last four years. She seems to be on the those gifted individuals who spots a problem and does something about it.
"I want people to think about these things and for our products to come full circle. I have never been shy of humanitarian work because firstly I am ... a human."
I can only hope all her dreams come true.
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