An example of the "trashion" bags created by XSProject. Photo: XSProject

Used plastics from Indonesia are being saved from landfills. And former garbage pickers are turning these plastics into fashion bags to sell in Singapore, Australia and the United States.

The fad known as "trashion" has gained mainstream acceptance with chic, urban designers worldwide now posting big profits by using leftover, discarded and found materials to create jewelry, clothing and housewares.

The type of plastic used in the bags is found in packaging ranging from soft drinks to detergent to toothpaste and is mostly aluminum bonded to plastic. Use of this plastic is on the rise because it costs companies less to produce, but because it's not recyclable, as hard plastic bottles are, it ends up costing the public more in terms of pollution and environmental damage.

So, the XSProject began as a way to recycle these plastics. Ann Wizer is an artist and environmental activist, who while living in the Philippines had the idea to use trash as her primary medium. This art progressed into developing the XSProject, a non-profit organization which buys plastics from trash pickers and trains trash pickers themselves to make the bags, providing much needed wages. Proceeds from sale of the bags go directly to help the trash-picker communities by providing assistance for daily needs, scholarships and health protection.

Most of us cringe at hearing the word inflation. It takes a toll on everyone's pocketbook, but for many Indonesians, it is also tearing families apart.

Many Indonesian parents are being forced to place their children in orphanages. In a country where 100 million people live on less than a dollar a day, skyrocketing costs of food and fuel are making it difficult for families to feed themselves. Childcare institutions offer the children not only food, but also an education and the chance at a brighter future.

"I know my children are angry with me, but I try to convince them that is the best choice for us.… As a mother I want to take care of my children but I cannot be selfish. I want the best future for them, so I have no choice," said Tinor Niang, a mother who brought her two sons to an orphanage in central Jakarta nine years ago.

Only 6 percent of the 500,000 Indonesian children in childcare institutions are orphans, according to a recent report released by Save the Children in conjunction with UNICEF and the Indonesian government. Many of the institutions were understaffed, the report found, with nearly half running on less than $10,000 a year. When not being schooled, the children were found cooking and cleaning while caring for themselves and those younger than them.

While rising costs put financial pressure on parents, the children bear the price emotionally. "I just want to be with my parents, even if it means I cannot get an education," says 13-year-old Yulianto who has spent half his life in an orphanage.

Some parents argue that education is worth the emotional toll. "I just want him to get a proper education," says one mother who had to take her 11-year old to an orphanage. "I hope that one day he'll do something useful for this country and help his brothers, because we are living in poverty."

Photo: sektordua (flickr)

Fuel prices have risen 40 percent since the start of the year.

Skyrocketing fuel prices make people angry. How angry you ask?

• Truck drivers in Spain started an indefinite strike on Monday, threatening to bring the entire country to a standstill. A growing number of gas stations have reported to have run out of fuel as a result, and supplies of fresh food are running low.
• From Portugal to Italy, commercial fishermen have protested rising fuel prices by blockading ports and refineries
• Last Thursday, more than 500 motorcyclists staged a “go-slow” demonstration outside Manchester, UK.
• Over in Asia, angry Indian consumers burned tires and blocked traffic after the government raised fuel prices. The protests shut down schools and businesses in West Bengal State.
• In Hong Kong, 500 buses and trucks colluded to bring traffic to a standstill in the central city.
• Enraged by the government’s recent 41-percent fuel price hike, Malaysians have planned a nationwide strike and a major demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on July 12.
• Truck drivers in Thailand are threatening to wreak traffic-havoc next week by clogging the roads with 400,000 trucks.
• In South Korea, truck drivers threatened to strike on Monday, ignoring the $10.2 billion government aid package designed to cushion the impact of soaring fuel prices.

What other angry reactions have you heard about?

An Indonesian mother and her baby outside a North Jakarta health clinic. Photo: Bunga Sirait/Mercy Corps

You may have heard the news that American mothers are breastfeeding their kids at rates higher than ever before, according to data released last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The fact that 77 percent of U.S. infants born in 2005-06 were breastfed is good news for child health — studies link breastfeeding to a wealth of benefits, from lower infection rates to higher intelligence — as well as for families' pocketbooks. In the U.S., a year's worth of infant formula can cost well over $1,000. Overseas, the financial bite is even bigger in per-capita income terms.

If breastfeeding is cheaper and healthier, then why do six of every seven Indonesian mothers feed their babies formula?

One reason: Formula companies in Indonesia spend a lot of money convincing mothers their product is as good or better than breast milk, and they've successfully insinuated their product in healthcare settings, according to Mercy Corps.

Dr. Fransiska Mardiananingsih, Mercy Corps' Healthy Start program manager, says formula companies[']... "aggressive marketing has convinced many mothers and health providers that formula feeding is just as healthy for infants," she says, "but in fact it has significant negative effects on children's health."

Dr. Mardiananingsih says formula companies go as far as to deliver gift baskets to new mothers to encourage the continued use of their product.

Mercy Corps, Global Envision's parent, is helping build a more supportive environment for breastfeeding moms in Jakarta's poorest neighborhoods. They're also offering a way for you to help: $75 buys a "Breastfeeding Kit," a symbolic gift that supports the program and equals the cost of training a breastfeeding counselor. It was unveiled last week as a Mother's Day addition to the agency's regular Mercy Kit lineup.

Training midwives, health officials and support-group facilitators is one part of the program; marketing is another. Mercy Corps is working with local government leaders and holding rallies to spread the word about breastfeeding's benefits. They may not be able to match the formula companies' marketing muscle, but with both health and economic advantages on their side, they at least have an easier sell.

December's United Nations climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia could have ended in a logjam of indecision until Kevin Conrad, spokesperson for Papua New Guinea, took the floor challenging the United States to take the lead or get out of the way. In a recent interview, Conrad explains why the success of this agreement is vital to smaller countries like Papua New Guinea:

“I think collectively we as humanity have become more mature in this climate battle, and we understand collectively that we’ve got to turn off all the emissions sources in order to win,” he said. “The climate doesn’t know whether it came from a factory or from Papua New Guinea’s deforestation. We’ve really got to get all hands on deck and tackle all of the issues.”

Mr. Conrad said the potential breakdown in the session’s final hours was particularly vexing to him because New Guinea and other forested tropical countries were finally getting attention for a proposal of payments by rich countries for preserving tropical forests. Deforestation currently contributes about a fifth of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.

He said the rich-poor divide in the talks, which crystallized in the final clash in Bali, is a distraction from the reality that all countries have agreed, by the end of 2009, to do something new: define a threshold for greenhouse gases beyond which the world will not go.

Mr. Conrad's willingness to stand up for his cause will hopefully have positive results in furthering global cooperation on vital climate change issues, but in the very least, his willingness to speak out has brought greater heed to his country’s situation.