Bag sales sustain Filipino women's co-operative, preserve environment

A Canadian company that designs and sells stylish and eco-friendly bags and accessories is helping sustain a women's co-op in the Philippines that makes popular one-of-a kind Bazura Bags and accessories from used, colorful and non biodegradable juice containers that would otherwise clutter landfills, fields and streets of their community. The co-op is now creating bags made from recycled rice bags and advertising banners.

"Since the main focus of the women's co-op is to give gainful employment to their many members, the sustainability of orders is their highest priority," says Larry Duprey, founder of Bazura Biz, based in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. "Increased sales drive the necessity to acquire more waste materials for production which is good for the less fortunate, but empowered women of the co-op and great for the environment."

Seven years ago, with the help of the local village council, six Filipino women set up the co-op. Today, it has more than 800 members, half of whom work full time at the co-op. The co-op pays school children to collect over 50,000 used juice containers per day. The containers are washed, sanitized and recycled into a wide variety of fashionable and durable bags, accessories, home furnishings and even footwear that are exported and sold in more than 15 countries around the world.

The new Rice Bag line includes a Rice Tote Bag, Rice-Doy Tote Bag, Rice Lipstick Bag and Rice Messenger Bags made from re-used rice bags collected from local households by school age children. These colorful rice bags are extremely durable and often feature interesting prints. Bazura Biz first sourced used advertising banners for their products from Vietnam, then introduced the concept to the co-op, whose members discovered that many used banners that are discarded in landfills after advertising campaigns end. The new Banner Bag line, made from recycled Filipino advertising banners, consists of a Banner Messenger Bag, Banner Shoulder Bag, Banner Shopper Bag and a Banner Cosmetic Bag. Unlike the bags and accessories created from the recycled juice containers, the new Rice Bags and Banner Bags are lined with pre-consumer waste that consists of heavy aluminum foil from juice containers which make the bags more durable and gives them a better finish. The new collection will be available in April 2008, in stores in the US and Canada and online.

By transforming "basura", the Filipino word for garbage, into unique collections of eco-chic bags and other accessories, Bazura Bags keep millions of juice containers and tons of pre-consumer waste out of crowded landfills and conserves resources that would be used to make products from virgin materials. The company is committed to giving garbage a new life as fashionable new bags and accessories that support the environment and fair trade. "Unlike most third world factory workers toiling away in sweatshops, these women are entrepreneurs and shareholders," says Duprey. "They work for themselves and have a positive impact on their community and, at the same time, they encourage environmentalism. We are proud to promote their enterprise."

Duprey recently established a new Scholarship Fund that will help aid children of the women members with their post-secondary education. Bazura Biz has pledged to pay 5% of its total purchases on a yearly basis. 

This article was prepared from press releases and other information on the Bazura Biz site.

 

For more stories about artisans, craftspeople, and arts and crafts, see:

Sierra Leone blends traditional medicine, cultural tourism, ecological preservation

Ghana website brings new markets to African artisans

Linking artisans to markets brings increased sales

Preserving unique embroidery art while making a sustainable living

'The Simpsons' dramatically increase Kenyan carvers' earnings

Recycled candy wrappers woven into high fashion bags in Mexico

Rebuilding on Pinatubo with ash from 1991 eruption

 


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