Seagrass Baskets
Sea grass baskets are all hand woven from renewable sea grass grown on the river banks in Northern Vietnam. Some styles are made with recycled vinyl handles for better comfort, some are natural for a more traditional look. Sea grass LOVES the water. Soaking them in water will restore their color and shape.
The Seagrass basket story is as close as you are going to get to a true “grass roots” story. Families work together creating an amazing network of a community based industry.
It all starts with the cutting of the grass. This happens about every 4 months when the grass is then set out to dry. Once the grass has been cut and dried the family who cut it will sell it to the next family who will weave it. Over 10,000 people in this small Vietnamese village support themselves by weaving these baskets. Typically they will weave the baskets in their home where they can then care for their children as well. The average Weaver is able to weave about 2 baskets per day. In that economy this provides them with the basics they need to support and care for their family. These families are not employed by the factory but run this as their own home-based business. Our supplier has even been awarded the BCSI compliance certificate for good and fair treatment of those who do the work for them.
Once the baskets have been woven they are then sold to the factory where they go through quality control and then get dried, glued and packed for shipment. The factory actually starts the whole process as well. Once they receive an order for export they send the order out to the weavers so they know what to weave next. In this way all baskets are truly made specifically for each shipment.