Monsoon Vermont's "One World" Revolution:

Founded in 2005 by Julia Genatossio, Monsoon Vermont sells items made from trash. The plastic packets used in the making of our products are not recyclable and due to the insidious, non-recyclable nature of these plastic packets they end up littering the streets, landfills, and waterways of Jakarta.

Before moving to Vermont, Genatossio worked for Save the Children UK, where she specialized in developing sustainable businesses in Sri Lanka, Ecuador, and with the Bangladeshi community in London's East End in the late 1980's into the the 90's.

Many years later while shopping in her favorite vintage clothing shop in Brattleboro, Vermont she stumbled upon a simpler version of the bags she now designs. Genatossio recalls that when she saw the bag, she thought, "This is an important story that needs to be told".

She booked a flight to Indonesia and arrived two days after the tsunami hit the region in December 2004. "Traveling in Asia , all five senses are working all the time. Our products are a microcosm of that, working on many levels linguistically [and] stylistically… and they are useful objects. Each piece features an individually made collage".

Monsoon Vermont products create a commodity from garbage. This new 'commodity' elevates the scavengers socially, financially and politically to the level of agricultural workers. It has a deep and profound effect on their lives.

The trash we use is scavenged from the environment, sidewalks, waterways, landfills and is then sanitized before being sewn collage style into umbrellas, luggage, computer bags, shower curtains, tote bags, wallets, and recycle bins.

We are Trashion, and our products create sustainable work and livelihoods helping to alleviate poverty while providing clean water for families in Jakarta's slum villages.