Plastic bags – Sustainable accessories from Togo

In February, I spend 2 weeks of my semester break in Togo to work together with a nonprofit organization named SADA. My aim was to visit the dressmaker’s shop of the organization, to improve the quality of the products and to find out a way of transportation to Switzerland. This semester, I write my Bachelor Thesis about a business plan to sell the products in Switzerland.

I just spend 2 weeks in Lomé, the capital of Togo. I was living with a family who have a house in a quarter named Apedokue. The very first day, I recognized that everywhere is plastic on the ground. I was really shocked, because for me plastic is not only bad for the environment, it is also very bad for your health. Everybody is throwing away the dark plastic sacs after shopping on the market on the ground. Even the drinkable water is filled in small plastic sacs. After you finished the 500ml sacs of water, you throw it somewhere on the ground. Unfortunately in the West African state plastic waste is still frequently on the road.

Through my research in the internet, I found out that some women from Benin are producing handbags out of plastic. In my opinion it is a beautiful idea and one step forward to fight the pollution, to make business in a sustainable way. The women are producing toilet bags, handbags and other accessories.

The dressmaker’s shop is located in Agoé, 18km from Lomé. Monthly they are producing around 230 handbags and accessories, useful products for daily demand. The inscription on the bags is “Zam-Ké” what means: “Use me one time more!” At the moment they have a revenue of about 5500,-€ per year. Their aim is, that within 5 years, they don’t see any more plastic bags on the ground. They want that the people of Lomé understand, that it is really possible to make a business with the plastic and that it is bad for the environment and their health.

In my opinion, the biggest problem in Togo and in other West African countries, is the government. The president “Faure Gnassingbé” won the elections the 26th of April in 2005 with over 60% of the votes. He is massively blamed to do vote rigging. He is also the son of the former president “Gnassingbé Eyadéma”. That shows that presidency stays in the family and corruption is a big issue. Corruption is also a big problem in these countries, that’s why there won’t be any changes in the next years.

In general, he should do something against the plastic problem in Togo. He doesn’t see any advantage for him, only costs. That’s why he is not recycling plastic waste. I never saw any garbage cans to throw away my plastic waste. The only hope is, that organizations like the dressmaker’s shop reduces the plastic waste and make even a business through it. More dressmaker’s shops should produce plastic handbags and encourage the people, to help their country and to free the country. What an innovative, beautiful and sustainable idea.

Sources:

• http://www.sockshype.com/haekeln-mit-plastikmull-in-togo-christine-bertschi/

• http://sustainabilitymatters.us/2010/11/togo-africa-what%E2%80%99s-old-is-new-again/

• http://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/ausland/aus-plastiksaecken-werden-im-togo-portemonnaies-125792402

• http://de.tradingeconomics.com/togo/corruption-index

Sources for the pictures:

• http://info.arte.tv/de/togo-fantastisches-plastik

• http://www.sockshype.com/haekeln-mit-plastikmull-in-togo-christine-bertschi/