Recycling, awareness of environmental issues and ethical business methods have been growing significantly for some time.These principals are rapidly becoming part of the mainstream and creating new initiatives in other areas of business. In a small corner of South East Asia, in the shadow of its economic powerhouse neighbors, Cambodia is developing a comparative advantage for green, ethical business that importantly for its sustainability is creating real profits and growth for what is still one of the world’s poorest place. Further still, one of the most interesting range of products to come from this market is in the fashion and accessory industry which, in this part of the world, is more associated with corporate driven sweatshops than ethical micro businesses.
These stand out products are a range of bags and wallets made from recycled fish feed sacks that are originally produced in Vietnam. The original sacks are hard wearing plastic sacks that are great for their original purpose of holding large amounts of feed, but a nightmare environmentally. Cambodian craft workers however are turning them into fantastically colourful recycled goods such as fashionable recycled wallets, bags, even aprons. These goods are really well made, inexpensive and come in original designs that are all handmade, with new lines coming out all the time. The colourful and quirky lettering and graphics on the original feed bags make for some fantastic end products.
These are goods that are likely to become increasingly popular popular given their quality and they represent a new way to shop by making sure that something goes back into the community in which they were produced. The days of the disposable sweatshop where workers are paid little money to work horrendous hours are thankfully beginning to diminish, and workers and craftsman are starting to receive just reward for their work instead of being rather than being exploited. Ultimately this change in tide must be led by the consumer as basic economics means that it needs strong consumer demand for these ethically produced, recycled products will create more trade for this type of company and revenue for the communities that support it. Fortunately consumers are now more conscious of what it takes to get goods to the shops as is demonstrated by the growth of Fair Trade goods. Also with the internet and people traveling further a field the word can spread much more quickly. Therefore it is expected that a small company creating ethically produced wallets and bags in this way can be a big success.
One of the better known companies that make these fish feed products are Rehab Craft Cambodia, a social enterprise program based in Phnom Penh. They employs people with HIV, victims of landmines and those that have previously contracted polio and other debilitating diseases. The organization is non-profit and began life with financial aid from New Zealand that attempts to be financially self-sustaining – all profit gets put back into RCC for further product development and training.
The products they make are then distributed through a network of vendors at vibrant markets such as Phnom Penh’s Russian Market, thus creating another level of revenues for the local communities. These bags and wallets are now also being seen internationally and as long as the international distributors continue to source the goods products in an ethical way ~ ethically } then the industry could make a significant positive impact to a country as poor as Cambodia.
Check out these great fish feed wallets and bags, as the future of recycled fashion looks bright!
