Over the last eight years, Salaam Wanita in Malaysia has helped at least 300 disadvantaged women work from home. The project by eHomemakers teaches women to weave eco-baskets from old magazines, which are then varnished for water-resistance. YTL-SVCarbon Sdn Bhd helped Salaam Wanita calculate the carbon footprint of the various-sized baskets to be between 0.54 and 9.98 kg of CO2 (excluding shipping) per basket. Soo Yoke Cheng, a single mother, depends on basket weaving to feed her school-going children. Agila, who suffers from a nerve disease, partly finances her medicine bills through work done in this project. At least 70% of the basket price goes to their makers, way above Fair Trade requirements of 25%. The project depends mainly on corporate buyers to keep production going. Baskets are also sold online at www.justmarketing.info Source: http://www.greenpurchasingasia.com/content/information-news-briefs-2 |
