Our grandparents and great-grandparents were right, eking out a careful, frugal existence in which little went to waste.

Their success has been our downfall as each succeeding, richer generation has proceeded to consume and discard with reckless abandon.

The recent economic downturn can hardly be viewed as a good thing, but it has swung the pendulum away from consumerism and gotten many to at least rethink the necessity of picking up yet another television set, a new car every three years, or rushing to be the first in line for the latest iGadget.

Whether this leads to a permanently frugal, DIY culture or whether this is a temporary response to the economy remains to be seen, but in light of Earth Month and Earth Day coming up April 22, it’s great to know that in addition to thrift shops like Savers, Salvation Army and Goodwill, there is an increasing number of trendier and higher-end boutiques whose owners are dedicated to the idea of recycling and helping people put their excess belongings into the hands of those who might cherish them anew.

SUGARCANE

Faith Scheiblich was running a children’s secondhand shop in California when she moved here three years ago with the intention of opening a women’s boutique stocked with new styles. But as soon as she arrived, she noticed the lack of the resale shops that were so abundant back home.

“It shocked me,” she said. “Being on an island, we should be recycling furniture and clothing. That, plus my passion for making things, led me to open this shop.”

Scheiblich said she was close to her grandparents and grew up accompanying them to garage sales. “We were always finding little projects and fixing things up. It’s always great to put old things to new use. I always loved old objects because they have a soul, they have character.”

Open for two years, Sugarcane offers an eclectic array of merchandise, from clothing, jewelry and accessories to Depression and carnival glass, vintage Pyrex ware, milk glass, breadboxes and linens. She also carries new merchandise, including jewelry and fabric accessories and dolls fashioned from recycled materials, by local designers.

Given that array, she said her clientele ranges from college students to seniors to Japanese visitors.

“For a lot of older shoppers, it’s like a museum to them. They’re like, ‘I remember this,’ and they end up buying because it’s very sentimental to them.”

Although she tries to keep a good selection of small furniture pieces, it isn’t unusual for people decorating their home to buy out her entire furniture stock at once, sending her scrambling to find more.

Scheiblich claims her own passion is for vintage Hawaiiana, particularly barware such as shot glasses and shakers.

She also carries vintage and new aprons, and combined with the jewelry and housewares designed for entertaining, “I get caught up in the romance of it all,” she said.

“I admire and I’m very humbled by the idea of housewives entertaining in the way they did. They had linens, they were dressed perfectly and their children were all dressed. It was all very admirable.”

With four daughters of her own running about the house, she said, “I can’t wrap my head around it.”

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Sugarcane is in the 11th Avenue Atrium in Kaimuki, 1137 11th Ave. Call 739-2263.

KAILUA VERDE

Lilian McDonnell grew up in El Salvador, where her parents ran a spaghetti factory. Though comfortably middle class, she was raised in a culture of thrift, with materials valued and put to reuse, never wasted.

So when she moved to San Francisco in 1966, she was shocked to see good furniture left on many a street.

“I couldn’t believe the pieces of furniture I’d seen in the street. I had no idea they were being thrown out. I saw a beautiful dresser, so I went and asked if someone was picking it up and they said no, it was trash. I couldn’t believe the waste.”

She ended up bringing it home and incorporating it into her own decor and soon made a hobby out of rehabilitating other found pieces.

“I’m a big believer in the quality of old furniture. They’re not the same now. Everything is pressed wood,” she said.

These days, many of her rehabilitated mirrors and shelving and racks from boutiques that have gone out of business grace her consignment boutique, Kailua Verde, where her motto is “Reuse, recycle, refashion.”

There, shopaholics are able to pass their abundance of designer purses, jewelry, apparel and footwear on to new owners who can pick up pieces for less than they would pay at full retail. For example, a St. John knit tunic and skirt set with original price tags of about $1,500 still attached is selling in the boutique for $500.

“One woman gave me five Chanel bags. There should be a law where you can only own one,” McDonnell said.

She’s also found unexpected business from out-of-state brides looking for inexpensive wedding gowns for their Hawaiian weddings.

“I always loved consignment stores,” McDonnell said. “For the last 30 years I was raising my kids, but I finally decided to do this because there’s really nothing like this in Kailua.”

Although she had been told by naysayers that Kailua would not support such a store, they have been proved wrong. McDonnell is moving into larger quarters in the same building and will celebrate a grand opening next month.

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Kailua Verde is at 111 Hekili St. Call 261-6190. On Earth Day, Kailua Verde will be giving out packets of flower seeds; customers also can bring an item and swap it for merchandise of similar value. In both cases, one per customer.

MUUMUU HEAVEN

Deb Mascia had an epiphany a few years ago when a visitor to her home was shocked to find piles of muumuu strewn all over the place.

“She said, ‘What’s going on? It looks like muumuu hell!’”

Mascia had been working at a thrift shop and, because of her attraction to things old, rescued many a muumuu and beautiful old glass object.

“It proliferated around my home, and my husband was complaining because it started looking like ‘Sanford & Son,’” a reference to the 1970s sitcom about a junkyard dealer.

Mascia knew she had to do something, and pretty soon those old muumuu were transformed into bedspreads, quilts, pillows and upholstery throughout her home. When her home could not bear one more patchwork item, she cut some muumuu down to make a skirt, and when she wore it, others took notice.

Pretty soon she was making more skirts, then dresses, and Muumuu Heaven was born.

Mascia grew up in Australia, where her school encouraged recycling, and she was raised by a single mom, “so everything was secondhand and I would turn things into something else.”

A move to New York showed her how rampant waste is in this country, and her indignation grew stronger when she moved to Hawaii in 2001 and started working at a thrift shop, where she saw the results of wastefulness every day.

While practicing recycling on her own, she never considered herself much of an environmental crusader. But now, in addition to her transformed muumuu designs and recycled glassware and home decor items, a small corner of her shop has given way to anti-plastic brochures and paraphernalia.

Mascia had started her boutique with clothing, and the home element came later when she decided to fill some of her collected glassware with candle wax and wicks.

She said she’s in no danger of ever running out of the vintage objects.

“That’s what’s so amazing. Vintage stuff is just there, and people discard it at some point. At estate sales it’s sad to see how items that were precious to someone become a problem to someone else.

“What’s funny is that people who have thrown out glasses will buy them back as candles because they say, ‘They remind me of something.’ They couldn’t see the beauty in them prior to seeing them in a new situation.”

In making her clothing, Mascia saves all the scrap, collected in buckets under her house. When that

became a problem, she started making little stuffed birds of peace with them, and since then the bird-making has become a community project among elder crafters who simply thought it would be something fun to do.

She said it’s not easy for people to make thoughtful purchases in a time when discount stores offer such cheap, disposable wares.

“That’s what’s wrong. We’re a disposable nation. My grandma used to fix my socks. Now you can buy a bag of 12 pairs of socks for $1.99. That’s less than the thread.

“The environment feels like it can’t sustain itself. Things have to change, and I hope it’s not too late. We could learn a lot from past generations and civilizations where people manage to live so simply and thrive.”

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Muumuu Heaven is at 767 Kailua Road. Call 263-3366. The boutique will host a sale with a 30 percent discount from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Earth Day.

OTHER SPOTS

Antiques and Treasures: Collectibles, fine and vintage jewelry including Ming’s and Tiffany, and Hawaiiana; a second boutique focuses on designer apparel, accessories and handbags. At 315 Uluniu St. Call 263-1177.

Pzazz: One of Oahu’s longest-running consignment boutiques has moved from Kaimuki to Kahala Mall, next to Caesar’s Cleaners on the rooftop parking level. The boutique still carries a wide range of designer and luxury apparel, handbags and footwear. With proximity to the Kahala crowd, the selection can only get better for lux-brand addicts.

UrbanNomadNY: Those familiar with Urban Nomad when the boutique was on Smith Street might be happy to know that Frieda Hulse has settled in Brooklyn and now has an online boutique at www.etsy.com/shop/UrbanNomadNY. Those accustomed to her $40 to $60 prices here might suffer sticker shock, however, because she’s found New York fashionistas and designers have no qualms spending $100 to $450 for retro apparel.