The Brilliant Innovation of the Repurpose Schoolbag
by Sangeeta Haindl
Every now and again, we stumble across ideas and projects that are making a real heartfelt difference to people’s lives, and when it directly impacts children there is nothing better. This is a powerful innovation project from South Africa involving school bags and it starts with a group of people who wondered if they could change the experience of going to school for a child living in a rural area and if so, what would it look like? Out of their design process they ended up creating something phenomenal: the ‘Repurpose Schoolbag.’
It’s made from recycling plastic bags into a textile equipped with ingenuity to glow in the dark through retro-reflective material that integrates solar technology. The solar panel charges during the child’s walk to school and transforms into a solar lantern to study for up to 12 hours. Many of these children leave for school early in the morning and need to be visible while walking. These special schoolbags are reflective, allowing these children to be seen and safe on the roads. The ‘Repurpose Schoolbag’ is also seriously cool and a lot of creativity went into to design to make them trendy and to stand out from the crowd, and if that wasn’t enough, they are also waterproof.
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Photo Credit: Repurpose Bag Website
Sangeeta Haindl writes on social innovation, social enterprise, and social entrepreneurs. She is the owner of Serendipity PR, in London, U.K., where she works with high-profile brands and organizations in the public, non-profit, and corporate sectors, winning awards for her work from the communications industry. She describes herself as a Spiritual Entrepreneur, Conscious Explorer, and Futurist. She enjoys helping others, paying it forward, and being a mum.
