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ganesha

 Silverchilli, UK / Mexico

Working with a Mexican charity, Grupedsac, who are dedicated to educating on recycling and sustainable resources, Silverchilli Accessories is pleased to supply Ganesha with beautiful bags created from recycled crisp packets. In true Silverchilli style, these items were bought under fair trade terms. Each bag is made from 450 individual crisp bags, and hand woven by members of a women's group or a prisoner's group which operate from two areas on the outskirts of Mexico City. The proceeds made from this activity are then applied to the Charity's environmental projects such as rain water harvesting and cistern production.

The crisp bags themselves come from two sources. A few of them are generated from the work the charity does with schools, helping school kids to understand their environment, why it should be protected and why recycling is important.

woman making a bag from crisp wrappers, Mexico
weaving with crisp bags, Mexico

women making bags from crisp wrappers, Mexico making bags from crisp wrappers, Mexico

As part of this, the students go out after class and collect discarded crisp bags, which are then washed and used by the women's group. But the majority of the bags are sourced direct from the crisp factories in Mexico City. All the misprints, colour errors or seconds from the crisp bag production line find their way to the Grupedsac, rather than the landfill where they were first destined.

Silverchilli Accessories is the sister company of Silverchilli.com which is a fair trade jewellery company and a member of BAFTS. We became involved with Grupedsac after visiting one of the projects working near one of the major rubbish dumps in Mexico City. Their customer base for their products was quite small and very much Mexico based, so after meeting the project staff, we agreed to bring some of their lovely products to the UK... for you to enjoy!

Jane kellas, Silverchilli