Basket a hit with Clinton
BY SARAH CODDINGTON
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An eco product that is becoming the next hip thing in the United States has even got Hillary Clinton's attention.
The US Secretary of State bought a Reloop Design basket that is made out of pro-cessed recycled plastic bags collected from fields in Kampot, Cambodia.
Designer and New York resident Ruth Yoffe, who is half Kiwi and grew up in Devonport, says Mrs Clinton wrote her a letter to tell her the basket sat on her desk at work and "she loved it".
Ms Yoffe has recently signed a deal with a high-end retailer in the US. The items are also sold in eco-boutiques in New York, Wisconsin and Maryland.
Plastic bags are collected, washed, turned into yarn and crocheted in household and fashion products like baskets, bags and belts.
Each product is labelled with the artisan’s name, where it was made and an assurance that all the profit is put back into the project.
"Each item is unique and tells a story," says Ms Yoffe.
She has returned to New Zealand for a holiday and is raising funds to make another trip to Cambodia to prepare for the new launch.
The designer left behind a career in product design to focus on her non-profit idea in 2007, after she travelled to Cambodia and saw the immense poverty.
While there she noticed a huge number of bags littering the area.
People pick up cans and bottles to make money off for export to Vietnam but there was nothing in place for plastic bags, she says.
Her idea was to make a difference to poor and disabled Cambodians’ lives.
Ms Yoffe says a lot of these people are living in poor conditions and most are paid the minimum wage of $2.50 an hour. Her project pays about $3.60 or more, which is considered a good wage.
Tomorrow from 4pm to 8pm, and Saturday, March 13, from 10am to 6pm, at 2/24 Hemi St in Devonport she will be selling her products to raise funds for project artisans.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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