Empty bread plastic bags, two-litre milk bottle labels and courier bags are just some of the plastic that has been repurposed into creating these delightfully bright and beautiful shopping bags by talented crochet masters in Hout Bay.
As we know, lockdown forced many of us to haul out and dust off weird and wonderful hobbies. Some took to banana bread and pineapple musings, but for Regine le Roux, the brainchild behind ,Re.Bag.Re.Use , it was her crochet pen that turned into a magic wand of hobbying.
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“During this time I realised just how much plastic was being generated and thrown away every day, so I decided to find a way to repurpose it. Crocheting with plastic worked!”
There are now six ladies from the Harbour and Imizamo Yetho, in Hout Bay, who are transforming empty bread bags into these magnificent shopping bags. It takes approximately 30 empty bread bags, and eight hours to complete one bag. There are also two ladies who cut the plastic bags into strips for us to crochet with.
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When a ReBag.ReUse bag is purchased, not only is it keeping plastic from going to the landfill, but it’s also investing into the empowerment of the local community and charities. The sales from the bags are used to pay a stipend to the crocheters, the cutters and a percentage also goes to a local charity.
“Recently a lady bought nine bags that were taken to the United States as gifts! We’re absolutely thrilled that these bags are now ‘international’!”ReBag.ReUse tells.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support from everyone in Hout Bay. The local haberdashery Fiddlesticks have even kindly offered to be a drop-off point for the plastic bags given the success of the innovation.”
You can view the range of beautiful bags on:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/re.bag.re.use.re.cycle
or Instagram: www.instagram.com/re.bag.re.use
Picture: Supplied