As the friendship bracelet takes over stadiums worldwide during the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, Wembley Park are playing their part to make the trend more sustainable.
The Friendship Bracelet Craze
When Taylor Swift penned the lyrics “So, make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it” while writing You’re on Your Own, Kid from her Midnights album, she probably wasn’t imagining the global friendship bracelet-making craze that would ensue. But at stadium after stadium as The Eras Tour traverses the world, fans are turning up with arms laden down with bracelets to exchange at Swift’s gigs.
Taylor Swift Concert; But Make It Sustainable
Whilst a beautiful gesture of sharing between Swifties, the typical friendship bracelets are mostly made from plastic beads which are non-recyclable and if dropped, not only difficult to clean up but may also contaminate soil and be mistakenly ingested by pets, who could confuse their bright colours for sweets.
That’s why Wembley Park – where Taylor Swift will play eight gigs over the course of the summer – is giving fans an alternative approach to making friendship bracelets. On June 21st, when Swift arrives for her first Wembley Stadium concert, 300 lucky Swifties will have the chance to pick up a free sustainable friendship bracelet-making kit containing sustainably sourced, naturally dyed coloured wooden beads and hemp cord, with donations to an environmental charity suggested.
Wembley Park’s Sustainable Friendship Bracelets
Available from the “Take me. Make me. Trade me” pop-up bracelet making station at Market Square from 11am to 3pm on 21st June, the sustainable friendship bracelets will be freely available to Swifties on a first come, first-served basis. 300 lucky fans will receive a set of coloured wooden beads, an wooden alphabet letter bead and hemp cord, packaged in compostable, vegan-friendly bags made from 30-micron biodegradable film, derived from renewable resources such as corn, sugar beet, and potatoes. Swifties can take the free pack, sit in the verdant green surroundings of Union Park and make the bracelets, then trade them with others (if they wish) to get the letter that means most to them.
Organised by Wembley Park, the sustainable friendship bracelet initiative has been led by multidisciplinary artist and art tutor Laura Marrs. In addition to working full-time in the arts for over 17 years, Laura has hosted popular events at Wembley Park for the past six years.
“We are delighted to be providing Swifties with a sustainable alternative to plastic friendship bracelets as The Eras Tour arrives in London. Sustainability is a key driver behind many of our decisions here in Wembley Park, and with up to one million visitors expected in the neighbourhood over the eight concert dates, we have the chance to significantly reduce plastic pollution if we all work together.” – Clare Masters, Head of Sustainability, Wembley Park.
