Dezeen Magazine

Bow Bins by Cordula Kehrer for Areaware

Bow Bins by Cordula Kehrer for Areaware

These half-plastic, half-wicker waste paper bins by German designer Cordula Kehrer for American brand Areaware are made with the Aeta people of the Philippines.

Bow Bins by Cordula Kehrer for Areaware

The villagers use traditional basket weaving techniques to attach sustainably harvested rattan to the plastic pieces.

Bow Bins by Cordula Kehrer for Areaware

Fair trade organisation Preda commissioned the project.

Bow Bins by Cordula Kehrer for Areaware

Here's some more information from Kehrer:


Designed by Cordula Kehrer and commissioned by fair trade NGO Preda, these whimsical wastebaskets are made by the indigenous Aeta people of the Philippines using traditional basket weaving techniques.

Bow Bins by Cordula Kehrer for Areaware

Made with sustainably harvested rattan, they achieve simple and unpretentious shapes that catch the eye.

Bow Bins by Cordula Kehrer for Areaware

This project, which combines hand-woven natural wickerwork and colourful plastic, also asks us to consider larger questions about the nature of design, the role of the hand-made, and the place of craft-based cultures in a globalised economy.