Then we came home, and I showed the purchases to Jarred. We discussed the back pack dilemma and decided our kids could use last year's backpacks another year. Plus, I admitted, these Old Navy bags seemed cheaply made. One backpack's strap was hanging on by three threads on the rack at Old Navy. And above that, like most of the clothes we wear, how in the world could the makers of these bags in Vietnam be making a livable wage? If Old Navy can afford to sell the bags so cheaply after paying all of their overhead and the cost of transporting them across the globe, they must have bought these bags for next-to-nothing from the Vietnamese manufacturer.
So I am planning to return the backpack and lunch box, much to my daughter's dismay. However, the kids are still in need of lunch boxes. (You can only spill milk and yogurt into a lunch box so many times, before its stench turns the stomach of its user.) I decided to jump online to see if there aren't any eco-friendly or fair-traded lunch boxes out there. Turns out there are many to choose from! This was one of my favorites...
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| Photo Credit: Bazura.Biz |
Aren't they cute? They are called Bazura bags, and they are made by a women's co-op in the Philippines, using juice bags which otherwise would have been thrown by the wayside. This is a brilliant concept as literally thousands of these juice bags are consumed daily in the Philippines. But now this waste is being converted into a profitable business for women entrepreneurs.
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| Photo Credit: Bazura.Biz |
You must check out their other items, too--handbags, grocery bags, coin purses, and lots more! Go to www.bazurabags.com
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| Photo Credit: Bazura.Biz |
These bags are beautiful and serve a dual purpose. Good going, J & A. You are teaching your children a practical lesson. Did they choose one yet? The green purse looks familiar - do you have one like that already?
ReplyDeleteAren't they neat, Mom? Dylan picked a red bag and Jaida a purple one. Of course, we won't know what the juice bags will look like until we get the lunch boxes in the mail. That part's a bit of a surprise.
ReplyDeleteA friend gave me a small purse made out of recycled juice bags, similar to the picture at the bottom of my post. I'm pretty sure it must have been a Bazura product. If my memory serves me right, she found it at Borders Bookstore and told me it was made from women in the Philippines. Whenever I use it, I am sure to get comments. They are really fascinating!
Yes they are neat - I may have to order one, too!
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