Re-f-use - Sustainable product exhibition - Delft University of Technology

Ragbag

Material

Recycled plastic bags

Design

Siem Haffmans

Manufacturer

Woman from New Delhi

Year

2005

Website

http://www.ragbag.nl

Shop

http://www.onsustain.com

Sustainable
category

Design phase

Manufacturing

Ragbags are fashionable products made from recycled plastic bags collected by ‘ragpickers’ in the slums of New Delhi. Plastic rags are collected, washed, dried and separated by colour. The plastic bags then go into a machine, which presses them into thicker and more durable sheets. No dyes or inks are required. It takes about 60 plastic bags to make one sheet. The sheets are then cut, lined with cloth and stitched or moulded into the various products.
The project is already creating jobs for 50 ragpickers, people at collection centers and fabricators (mainly woman) in New Delhi, providing them and their families ‘means of livelihood’ and gain access to more opportunities.
On loan from Onsustain.com

Re-f-use - Sustainable products

Ragbag