You’ll Never Guess What This Rug Is Made Out of…
Your closet has probably gotten a good spring cleaning, and you’ve already donated or sold all of the clothes that you don’t want anymore, right? Right?! Yeah, we didn’t think so. Well, in that case, you should send them to Carpet of Life. Women in M’hamid El Ghizlane (just south of Morocco) will immortalize your duds into super stylish rugs.
Belgium sisters Hendrikje and Marion Meyvis started the company at the beginning of this year after seeing the hardships in the region. After a harsh drought, many of the men left the region. The women in M’hamid El Ghizlane were left to uphold their households alone. One of the traditional crafts of the region is rug making, but the resources and supplies to make a living off of the skill are hard to come by. That’s why Hendrikje and Marion stepped in, to empower and employee these women through art.
The women are creating rugs with your clothes, not only because you have too many of them (probably, right?), but because there’s a serious textile shortage in the region.
All you have to do to get your rug is wash and send the clothing you want to repurpose (towels and sheets work too!). They suggest keeping the colors you’re sending in mind too, because those will be the colors in your carpet. You’ll need at least 18 pounds of clothing, so don’t be modest. Just pick a pattern and ship it off.
The price of the carpets range from $430 up to $1,550, but considering it doesn’t get more handmade than this and you’re helping to employ and empower women, we think it’s totally worth the dough.
Do you know of any other companies like Carpet of Life? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!
(photos by Pam Kat, styled by Sander van Eyck)
