The Gift of Plastic Waste

Deasy Esterina works with garbage collectors and housewives in running her eco-friendly business.

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

Deasy Esterina

Deasy Esterina (30) has successfully transformed plastic waste into luxury bags worth anywhere from hundreds of thousands to several million rupiah. She works with garbage collectors and housewives in running her eco-friendly business.

Deasy’s passion for the world of handicrafts grew as she neared the end of her interior architecture studies at Ciputra University in Surabaya, East Java. Before submitting her final project, she interned at a number of organizations, one of which was Tobucil & Klabs in Bandung, West Java.

There, she learned to knit as well as to interact with individuals of various professions, such as writers, musicians and others in the creative industry.

Also read: Processing Waste, Empowering People

After her internship ended, Deasy continued making handicrafts for her own pleasure and her friends. In 2014, her friends urged her to take part in the Design It Yourself Surabaya (DIYSUB), a festival and bazaar that exhibited the works of designers, artists and musicians from the East Java capital.

So Deasy decided to submit a number of her creations made from recycled plastic bags. Her reason was simple: to make use of waste, which cost nothing.

“There were many plastic bags in my rooming house, so I thought, why don’t I take advantage of this?” Deasy said on Thursday (8/4/2021) when contacted in Semarang.

Also read: Designing Zero Waste Fashion

KOMPAS/SHARON PATRICIA

One of the works of the founder and CEO of Kreskros, Deasy Esterina, uses plastic waste to make trendy and environmentally friendly bag products.

She used the plastic bags to make notebook covers, tote bags and pencil cases. Unexpectedly, her products sold out, and people kept asking her to restock them. At that point, she started mulling over the possibility of developing her hobby into a business.

At the end of 2014, Deasy returned home to Ambarawa in Semarang regency, Central Java. For the next year and a half, she studied business development and planning with fervor. Two years later after first exhibiting her produce, she launched her brand Kreskros, an acronym derived from keresek (plastic) and crochet.

Also read: Empowering Women

As her business grew, Deasy started inviting the neighborhood housewives to join her. She gave the women the freedom to work in their spare time at home. Before the pandemic, she employed 17 individuals, including three knitters and three tailors.

Deasy also worked with plastic waste collectors. Once every 3 to 4 months, she receives 70-150 kilograms of plastic waste. After they are washed, the plastic waste is then woven together and cut into certain patterns. Other materials like leather and organic cotton are then added to “transform” the woven plastic into a variety of products, such as handbags, backpacks, laptop bags, souvenirs and gift items.

Also read: Small Steps, Huge Benefits

Kreskros produces up to 500 products in a month, which Deasy sells on various online platforms as well as several physical outlets in Jakarta and Bali. Her products have also attracted international consumers from Australia, Canada and Singapore, among other countries.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Deasy Esterina

Environmental concerns

Kreskros has grown quickly since 2016. Deasy guesses that the main driver for the brand’s rapid growth is the concern over environmental issues that has increased in recent years. As a result, products made from recycled waste like Kreskros’ products have grown in demand.

Also read: Sewing Up Community Welfare

“Profits have skyrocketed from around Rp 10 million per month to Rp 300 million per month,” she noted.

In the beginning, Deasy used only plastic bags as the raw material for her products. However, as time went by, she started to realize that her business could contribute to environmental protection. This motivated her to look more closely at the environmental impacts of business.

“This is why now, we not only sell products, but also provide training,” said Deasy.

This pandemic has also become an occasion to share my skills.

As with other businesses, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit Kreskros’ finances, with profits slumping 90 percent. Deasy has had to reduce the number of her employees from a dozen or so employees to just two knitters and two tailors.

However, the pandemic has also presented Deasy with another opportunity. She now has the time to offer training workshops on creating products from recycled materials at universities, businesses and villages.

In this way, she is able to pass her knowledge on recycling and repurposing waste to others. “This pandemic has also become an occasion to share my skills,” she said.

Deasy Esterina

Date/Place of birth: Dec. 7, 1990, Ambarawa, Semarang

Education:

· Bachelor degree in Interior Architecture, Ciputra University, Surabaya (2008-2013)

· SMA State 1 Salatiga senior high school (2005-2008)

Awards:

· Youngest female entrepreneur in recycling plastic waste, from the World Achievement Institute of Indonesia/Leprid (2019)

· Sustainable Business Awards Indonesia (2018)

· Indonesia Good Design Award (2018)

This article was translated by Astria Z. Nabila.