If you order a Wild Rose shirt or dress, it will arrive at your doorstep packaged inside a neat, brown paper bag. Now, I know you’ll be eager to get in front of a mirror; to see how stylish you look in your new clothing. But you should take a moment to appreciate the bag your shirt/dress came in.
‘Why? Isn’t it just paper…?’
Nope. It’s more than that. It’s a community’s effort to empower orphans, street kids, and other vulnerable children/youth while healing the environment.
Wild Rose Bags: The Journey
Our paper bags begin life as trash. And in a country where only 60% of solid waste produced is collected, this is trash that would’ve been left piling up somewhere it is not supposed to be if not for an initiative by Kawangware Vision Center.
The center was established in 2001 by Morris (as Kawangware Street Children and Youth Center) to create and open up positive life opportunities for orphans, vulnerable children, and at-risk youth. 25 years and a name change later, it is still going strong in its mission.
The organization employs youth who stroll in and around their neighborhood to collect recyclable paper waste. Once they have a big enough pile, they send it to a recycling facility in the Nairobi Industrial Area, where it is processed into rolls of brown paper.
These rolls are then transported back to the organization’s headquarters. Here, men, women, and youth use the paper to design and make eco-friendly gift bags, greeting cards, and gift wrappers, which they sell to individuals, businesses, and organizations like Wild Rose.
But they don’t do everything on their own. To maximize impact, the center collaborates with other community initiatives. They outsource bag handles from a group of single mothers in Kangemi who hand-weave them from banana leaves.
This is what makes each Wild Rose bag special.
More Than Packaging
Sustainable fashion calls for high-quality products. But at the same time, it asks that we look beyond the goods and come to terms with their impact. This is required for even the simplest of items.
Thus, looking at a bag, it is revealed to be more than packaging. Depending on how it's made and how it breaks down in the environment, a simple bag can heal or hurt communities. It’s no wonder the Kenyan government banned plastic paper bags back in 2017.
This is what our founder had in mind when she went looking for plastic-free packaging. And during this search, she met the founder of Kawangware Vision Center, beginning a partnership that is pushing the brand ever closer to its sustainability goals.
Wanna see how our bags are made? Check out this video and interview with the Kawangware Vision Centre founder.
