Dimensions: 10cm across

These funky coasters are produced and traded according to Fair Trade principles, by a women's cooperative in the Philippines. The large number of bags and household items like these produced by the cooperative every year prevents vast quantities of juice packs from being burnt, buried or simply littering the streets and waterways.

The cooperative has won a number of awards in the Philippines for its concern for the environment and its outstanding contribution to both waste recycling and employment generation.

The cooperative provides employment to over 200 women. Almost all the women are their family's main breadwinner, most of the husbands being unable to find work due to the poor economy of the area. The women have an average of 4-6 children, thus working for the cooperative makes a real difference, elevating families from extreme poverty to a decent life.

The Cooperative began as an environmental project with the aim of 'cleaning and greening' the local neighbourhood. The project was very successful and our mission expanded into developing 'livelihood opportunities from garbage' - finding ways of creatively reusing materials that would otherwise go into landfill sites and incinerators.

Where do the 'raw' juice packs come from?
Juice drinks in these foil pouches are hugely popular in the Philippines, sold everywhere and drunk by almost everyone. Unfortunately a large number of the discarded juice packs - which are non-biodegradable - end up not only in landfill sites and incinerators, but also litter streets and clog drainage systems, lakes and rivers. To prevent this happening the cooperative organizes regular collections from private homes, schools, hospitals, offices, community centres, and even from festivals, parties and events of all kinds. Local people are enthusiastic about the project and help as much as they can - even going as far as drinking their juice upside-down!

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