Coasters, Table Mats and Bowls

 Raw material - Old newspaper and magazines, thread, starch and glue.

 Manufacturing – The tablewear is assembled in the Philippines by members of the Women's Multipurpose Cooperative located 250kms north of Manila in the Philippines. Before the cooperative was organised, the women, who are from indigenous tribes of the region's mountain ranges, operated individually doing basket weaving, knitting and crocheting to cater for the local tourist market. It was as a response to a series of misfortunes, including their husbands losing their jobs at the local mines, a major earthquake and a volcanic eruption, that the co-op formed. Despite these challenges the women did not lose hope. Out of necessity to feed their families, they knew they needed to find a solution and hopefully a new market for their goods. In 1996 they formed the Women's Multipurpose. They felt they would have better bargaining for raw materials, rent and freight and the opportunity to share their expenses. They also felt that as cooperative, they were better placed to raise their concerns with the government regarding assisting them to promote their products on a larger scale through organised trade fairs and to the export market.

The coop experienced a slow start due to the fact that the women could only afford to contribute a small amount of their own funds for the capital shares. However, they persisted and the coop has become very successful, as the women bond for a common purpose and work together on business education, product development, costing and skills training. There are new producer groups located in 10 different communities in the region with a total of more than 200 artisans.

Fair Trade certification (and labelling) does not exist for craft products, only for commodities such as cocoa, tea and coffee. However, there are ten standards of Fair Trade which relate to working conditions, wages, child labour and the environment. The activities of the cooperative have been reviewed against these standards and the sustainability of operations has been verified through Oxfam.

 Distribution – Newspaper is collected locally and transferred to the workshops. The products are shipped from their point of manufacture in the Philippines to the point of distribution in Australia in bulk and distributed within Australia by Express Post.

 Product use – The placemats and coasters can withstand heat and moisture from everyday use. However, getting them wet should be avoided.

 Waste management - The old newspapers and magazines used for the tablewear requires no treatment prior to use. At the end of their life these paper coasters and places can be recycled and are also biodegradable. Packaging is minimised during distribution and cardboard boxes used to transport items overseas is recyclable.