Empty bread plastic bags, two litre milk bottle labels and courier bags are just some of the plastic that has been repurposed into creating these delightfully bright and beautiful shopping bags. Lockdown forced many of us to haul out and dust off our hobbies. ‘Mine was my crochet pen,’ shares Regine le Roux, brainchild behind the ReBag.ReUse initiative. ‘During this time I realised just how much plastic was being generated and thrown away every day, so I decided to find a way to repurpose it. Crocheting with plastic worked!’
There are now six ladies from the Harbour and Imizamo Yetho in Hout Bay who are transforming empty bread bags into these magnificent shopping bags. It takes approximately 30 empty bread bags, and eight hours to complete one bag. There are also two ladies who cut the plastic bags into the strips to be crocheted with.
When a ReBag.ReUse bag is purchased, not only is it keeping plastic from going to the landfill, it is also investing in the empowerment of the local community and charities. The sales from the bags are used to pay a stipend to the crocheters, the cutters and a percentage also goes to a local charity.
Recently a lady bought nine bags that were taken to the United States as gifts! We’re absolutely thrilled that these bags are now ‘international’!
We are incredibly grateful for the support from everyone in Hout Bay. The local haberdashery Fiddlesticks have kindly offered to be a drop off point for the plastic bags.
