Bags, knick-knacks out of excess fabric

IN a display of Cebuano ingenuity and resourcefulness, a Mandaue cooperative makes bags and other knick-knacks from excess fabric.

The Dedon Employees Multipurpose Cooperative (DEMCO), gets excess German-made fabric from outdoor furniture company Dedon Manufacturing, Inc.

Dedon donates the excess fabric to the cooperative as part of it’s corporate social responsibility.

Cooperative manager Belinda L. Mag-uyon said the members themselves sew the fabric into bags and other knick-knacks, which are sold to the cooperative.

Backpacks, coin purses and other knick-knacks were among the products displayed by Mandaue cooperatives in Parkmall. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

The cooperative then sells the products with a slight margin.

“We pay only for the labor and local materials,” Mag-uyon said.

DEMCO was among the exhibitors during the Mandaue exhibit and bazaar held at Parkmall last month.

Dedon employees create a variety of affordable products, such as knapsacks, wallets and sling bags. They also take commissioned items, such as water bottle holders.

Wallets cost P21 apiece. Knapsacks range from P450 to P850 apiece, depending on the size and type of fabric used. Sling bags sell for around P300.00 apiece.

“(Our) customers are guaranteed quality items because the fabric is (of) export quality,” Mag-uyon said.

“As a buyer, you don’t have to worry about the fabric used because it follows export standards,” she added.

The cooperative, which began to operate in 2006, relies purely on word-of-mouth in marketing their products.

“Some people go to the office to buy,” Mag-uyon said.

The cooperative is now toying with the idea of exporting the products.

More than anything, however, the cooperative is focused on uplifting the lives of its member employees by providing a secondary source of income.