Ghanaian fashion turns to trashy bags
In Ghana, plastic bags are a menace, littering streets, trees and beaches. This messy situation has led one local entrepreneur to take advantage of what he sees as an abundant resource and found Trashy Bags, a company that stitches up the bags and turns them into funky and functional new ones that can be used for school, shopping and more.
Westerners may not recognise all of the bags that are carefully sewn together to form new, stronger ones: many are fashioned from 'pure water' sachets used by Ghanaians to cleanse the only water they have available to them, which is undrinkable in its natural state. It's good to know that profits from this startup business are going back to a community that is so poor it can't afford to bring in fresh water.
The bags are available as totes, messenger bags, brief cases and sports bags, and are surprisingly robust.
[Via the Independent]
I think this is such a fantastic project and I am pleased to be able to stock Trashy Bag Totes in my retail business, BagAge,
(www.bagage-reusableshoppingbags.co.uk).
Plastic waste is a menace in our environment and this project not only encourages waste awareness but helps poor communities lift themselves out of poverty.
Well done Kwabena and Stuart for setting up and promoting this initiative.
Posted by: Jill Sutton | July 8, 2008 5:10 PM