Working with waste material means never producing two products that are exactly the same. That’s why a STARTRASH product is unique STARTRASH is a trendy brand that imports products from recycled materials in developing countries and offer them for sale in The Netherlands.
Sophie van den Berg, one of the founders of STARTRASH, shares her view on waste, trends and, of course, STARTRASH.
STARTRASH is about recycling and turning waste into trendy products. What’s your fascination with waste and how do you see waste?
I see waste as a resource instead of seeing it as a nuisance as most people do. For more than 20 years, I’ve been fascinated about waste materials, recycling and about the opportunities hidden in waste. I lived in Nepal and Bolivia and I always was surprised about the creativity of the people turning waste materials into utensils or beautiful craft products. When I was on a market always I came across something stunning made out of waste materials.
Is waste different in developing countries compared to developed countries?
People in developing countries recognised waste as a resource material a long time ago, long before people in the West realized that we cannot use our resources endlessly. In developing countries waste provides income for thousands of people who search the waste for valuable materials which are sold to scrap dealers. Another difference is that waste collection is not a very well organized system as it is in, for example, The Netherlands.
Your products are trendy and aimed at the Western market, not the markets where they’re produced. Who’s behind the design?
The collection we now have available in the webshop are designs which were available in the different countries themselves. We just tapped into the experience available. I notice that in developing countries more initiatives are started making products out of waste materials.
That’s great, seeing what’s there and making use of it! Do producers also learn design through STARTRASH?
Yes, STARTRASH gives feedback on the designs and we will develop new products based on existing designs. For example in June two designers will go to Ghana to support the producers there with new designs and products.
Where would you like to be with STARTRASH in five years time?
I hope STARTRASH will be a very wel known trademark and that we can provide many producers in developing countries with extra income.
So do we at Grazzhopprz, good luck with your good initiative, from the Grazzhopprz team!
