Monsoon Vermont is a distributor of upcycled products made in Jakarta, Indonesia. Their offices are located in Jamaica, Vermont. They make bags, umbrellas, backpacks, wallets and more!

Here's a little more about them:

Founded in 2005 by Julia Genatossio, Monsoon Vermont sells items made from nonrecyclable plastic collected by scavengers from the streets, landfills, and waterways of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city with more than 9 million inhabitants. The trash is triple-washed, then sewn collage style into messenger bags, wallets, umbrellas, computer bags, backpacks, shower curtains, wastebaskets, travel wallets, and more. Dubbed "Trashion™," combining trash and fashion, the items create sustainable work for those at the bottom of the economic spectrum.

Before moving to Vermont, Genatossio worked in crisis management for Save the Children UK, where she developed sustainable businesses in Sri Lanka, Ecuador, and with the Bangladeshi community in London. Shopping one day in Brattleboro she found a simpler version of the bags she now designs. Genatossio recalls that when she saw the bag, she thought, "This is a story. Garbage!" She booked a flight to Indonesia and arrived two days after the tsunami hit the region in December 2004. In the chaos, she saw people collecting trash from landfills, and this solidified her vision.

"Is it really garbage?" is a common question posed by visitors to the shop. What makes these textiles look new is what makes them potentially devastating to the environment: They never break down. According to Genatossio, there's so much garbage in Jakarta that the people who live in the landfills can die in avalanches. In the ashen gray fields of garbage, the bright plastic colors are "almost like flowers."

"My product creates a commodity from garbage," she said. "The price per kilo is the same as paid for rice. This elevates the scavengers to the level of agricultural workers. It's unspeakably wonderful. It has a profound effect on their lives. The scavengers are now very proud of themselves."

Monsoon Vermont's warehouse is attached to the Post Office in Jamaica, Vermont. The work is sold online and across the street in a boutique set up in the Jamaica Coffee House, where you can sip fair trade organic coffee six days a week (closed Wednesdays), from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Are you absolutely sure you want to delete this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.

Yes, Delete This Article

Are you absolutely sure you want to remove this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.

Yes, Remove This Article

Monsoon Vermont is a distributor of upcycled products made in Jakarta, Indonesia. Their offices are located in Jamaica, Vermont. They make bags, umbrellas, backpacks, wallets and more!

Here's a little more about them:

Founded in 2005 by Julia Genatossio, Monsoon Vermont sells items made from nonrecyclable plastic collected by scavengers from the streets, landfills, and waterways of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital city with more than 9 million inhabitants. The trash is triple-washed, then sewn collage style into messenger bags, wallets, umbrellas, computer bags, backpacks, shower curtains, wastebaskets, travel wallets, and more. Dubbed "Trashion™," combining trash and fashion, the items create sustainable work for those at the bottom of the economic spectrum.

Before moving to Vermont, Genatossio worked in crisis management for Save the Children UK, where she developed sustainable businesses in Sri Lanka, Ecuador, and with the Bangladeshi community in London. Shopping one day in Brattleboro she found a simpler version of the bags she now designs. Genatossio recalls that when she saw the bag, she thought, "This is a story. Garbage!" She booked a flight to Indonesia and arrived two days after the tsunami hit the region in December 2004. In the chaos, she saw people collecting trash from landfills, and this solidified her vision.

"Is it really garbage?" is a common question posed by visitors to the shop. What makes these textiles look new is what makes them potentially devastating to the environment: They never break down. According to Genatossio, there's so much garbage in Jakarta that the people who live in the landfills can die in avalanches. In the ashen gray fields of garbage, the bright plastic colors are "almost like flowers."

"My product creates a commodity from garbage," she said. "The price per kilo is the same as paid for rice. This elevates the scavengers to the level of agricultural workers. It's unspeakably wonderful. It has a profound effect on their lives. The scavengers are now very proud of themselves."

Monsoon Vermont's warehouse is attached to the Post Office in Jamaica, Vermont. The work is sold online and across the street in a boutique set up in the Jamaica Coffee House, where you can sip fair trade organic coffee six days a week (closed Wednesdays), from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Are you absolutely sure you want to delete this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.

Yes, Delete This Article

Are you absolutely sure you want to remove this article? This process cannot be undone and is permanent.

Yes, Remove This Article