"Ethical shopping" concept is all about following your heart! So you are choosing the good choices to the environment only. For example you can stop using disposal (one-use only) items and replace them with more durable items that lasts longer to save the trash. This will limit the Plastic crisis we do currently have.
Studies shows that each plastic bottle needs 450 years to vanish! An estimate of 13 billion plastic bottles are disposed annually worldwide. Because of the plastic garbage thrown to the oceans and sea, there are 1 million sea creatures killed annually worldwide. A study showed that since the 50s the world has produced 8.4 billion plastic items, 66% of which turned into waste in the landfills, oceans, and deserts killing animals, sea creatures, birds.
Upfuse is a local brand that re-cycles durable, everyday, casual bags from the plastic trash bags. They are using the "upcycle" model instead of "recycling", as they are creating a new product from trash with an upgrade in the quality of the final product. The whole idea of the project revolves around the fact that a plastic bag is used for a minute, however it needs almost 1000 years to decompose.
There process goes as follows:
Washing --> housewives in poor neighborhoods in Egypt, helps in collecting the plastic bags to wash them in a safe and clena process.
Compressing --> students and artisans in various NGOs, helps in compressing the plastic bags to become sheets.
Pattern making --> Upfuse and artisans start to cut and design the colorful sheets.
Sewing --> talented sewers start to sew and deliver the final product.
Upfuse are not only creating an environmental impact, but also they are creating a social impact through partnering with "Roh El Shabab" local NGO, located in the Garbage city in Manshyt Naser, Cairo. Where the team teaches the women and youth the upcycling techniques to help them generate income to their families. Currently, Upfuse are working with 16 women there.
Rotaract El Maadi has started a nice initiative to replace plastic bags with cloth bags while shopping to keep the plastic trash to the minimum levels. "Mesh Shanta Plastic" or "not a plastic bag" is their initiative to save the sea creatures from being killed from the plastic bags thrown away on the beaches everyday.