Just when you think European fashion houses have had enough of Asia-inspired accessories, a Swiss company is repurposing used Thai cement bags into chic accessories.
Following the popularity of Zara’s sarong skirt and Balenciaga’s market bag, Thai social media is blowing up with people sharing photos of the familiar logos seen at Thai construction sites. The all-too-common Tiger and Insee Diamond cement bags have been turned into luxury goods sold in Europe.
The Facebook page that first shared the photos wrote, “My friend in Germany sent me these pictures. They look so familiar. The cement bags from our home [in Thailand] have been turned into products sold at [European] shopping malls. The customers love these and think the bags are so chic.”
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The bags, which are combined with Italian leather, are from Swiss company Elephbo. The fashion house turns the used cement bags into backpacks, sneakers, hats, and wallets that retail up to 249 Swiss franc or THB8,300. The company’s objective is to benefit the environment.
Thai netizens laughed at the idea: “This is so funny!” one wrote while another said, “Look at the value that worthless stuff in Thailand turned out to have.”
Some Thais love the idea of recycling and praise the company for also giving jobs to villagers in Cambodia.
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me4175 says
The bag looks really cool and is easy to wear, but it has a serious issue: the zipper for the rear compartment always gets caught in the inner seam and every use is a disappointment. With a product in this price range, I’d expect that they test it properly to remove such obvious design mistakes before shipping it out to customers! Cannot recommend.