While those who can afford to spare some change are donating to various charities out there, those who can't afford it are volunteering their time.

This one local fashion brand, however, is offering their expertise and their creativity to help underprivileged children.

Upcycling done right

Neng Kho Razali, a fashion brand based in Kuching, has been turning used GrabFood carrier bags into school bags.

According to the brand, they have been working with the food delivery platform since December 2020 to upcycle used carrier bags to give them a new lease of life.

GrabFood delivery riders are required to change their carrier bags every few months, and instead of letting them rot at a landfill somewhere, they are sent to Neng Kho Razali to work their magic on it.

When the bags reach their hands, they are immediately sanitised and ripped apart.

They would then determine which parts of the bags are still reusable, as months of wear and tear and exposure to extreme weathers would make it difficult to upcycle the entire bag.

Once the parts have been segregated, they would begin the tedious process of soaking, washing, scrubbing and drying to ensure that the parts look as brand new as possible.

When the parts are fully dried, Neng Kho Razali then starts cutting them into pieces and reassembling them into new products.

According to Neng Kho Razali, these carrier bags have been repurposed into school bags, pencil cases and small pouches to carry money or face masks.

Sorry, you can't buy it!

But here's the bad news: these new products are not for sale.

Instead, Neng Kho Razali have donated them to orphanages so that underprivileged children can make full use of them.

So far, they have turned around 200 GrabFood carrier bags into 400 new items, and they've been distributed to the Yayasan Anak Yatim and Tadika Istika Jaya orphanages as well as SK Long Pelutan school.

Nevertheless, thank you, Neng Kho Razali, for giving old bags a second chance at life. If, in the future, you decide to put them up for sale, we will definitely be queuing up.