Oct 28, 2010

Bazura Bags Expands Free Bonus Bag Program for the Holidays

Toronto, ON – In an effort to offer additional support to the Women’s Co-Operative in the Philippines that makes their eco-friendly bags and accessories, Bazura Bags is  pleased to announce it has expanded its popular Free Bonus Bag Program for the upcoming holiday season.  Bazura Bag’s stylish bags and accessories are helping the Women’s Co-Operative bounce back after suffering from the devastating 2009 Typhoon.

The expanded Free Bonus Bag Program now includes four ways for customers to receive a free Bazura Bag.  It offers a Repeat Buyer Bonus Bag, a Bonus Bag for purchases over $75.00 including shipping and a Thanksgiving Bonus Bag available from November 1st until December 5th for repeat buyers.  The new Great Recession Bonus Bag is available to all buyers (first time and repeat) from November 1st until December 5th.

The Free Bonus Bags are chosen at random from the extensive group of Bazura styles.  “By providing Free Bonus Bags to our customers, we hope to help them reduce their holiday spending and at the same time support fair trade and the livelihood of the Women’s Co-Operative,” says Larry Duprey, founder of Bazura Bags.  “Due to sharply declining sales brought on by the great global recession, we are looking for ways to sell and distribute more Bazura Bags to increase purchases from the Women’s Co-Operative,” adds Duprey.

With only the help of the local village council, six Filipino women set up the Women’s Cooperative which has grown to include over 500 members today.  20% of the members work full time at the Women’s Cooperative which organizes schools and groups of adult collectors to gather over 50,000 used juice containers per day.  They are washed, sanitized and recycled into a wide variety of fashionable and durable bags, accessories, home furnishings and even footwear that are exported and sold in over 15 countries around the world.

Bazura Bags is one of the first and oldest of the Cooperative’s distributors and marketers of their handmade bags and accessories.  The North American company carries the largest selection of bags and accessories from the Women’s Cooperative and sells (and therefore fully supports) only eco-friendly bags made by the Women’s Cooperative.

By transforming “basura”, the Filipino word for garbage, into a unique collection of eco-chic bags and other accessories, millions of juice containers are kept out of crowded landfills and more resources that would have been used to make products from virgin materials are conserved.  Bazura Bags is committed to giving garbage a new life as fashionable new bags and accessories that support the environment and fair trade.

The company hopes their bags will inspire others to recycle post-consumer products into utilitarian items instead of products that ultimately end up in landfills.  “We are proud to support the Women’s Cooperative and its positive impact on their local community and the environment,” adds Duprey.

Bazura Bags are featured in over 80 styles in bright colors thanks to the colorful juice containers they are made from.  The eye-catching labels from the recycled juice containers feature exotic fruit and names like “Sun Glo”.  The recycled juice containers also give the bags and accessories a hint of the fresh fruit scent.  Bazura Bags enable shoppers with a conscience a guilt-free way to purchase bags and accessories.

Their most popular styles include grocery and market bags, backpacks, coin purses, messenger bags, lunch bags, purses and the Doy bag.  “Doy packs” are what the drink containers are called in the Philippines.  New styles include woven bags and bags made from other recycled materials such as recycled rice bags and advertising banners.

Bazura Bags retail from $5.00 to $60.00 and are available at stores in the US and Canada and online atwww.bazurashop.com.  For more information about the company and its social mission, please visit www.bazurabags.com.