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Two Hong Kong designers create goods out of waste

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Two designers in Hong Kong are the driving force behind a recycling business aimed at turning old taxis into handbags. They're hoping their innovative designs will be able to compete with fashion from London, Paris, New York and Tokyo.

Hong Kong is renowned for its tall towers and even higher aspirations. But it hides a dirty secret.

In 2010, more than 10 thousand tons of waste went into landfills every day, and now Hong Kong is running out of landfill space a lot quicker than expected.

Billy Potts and Joseph Ng are designers who are doing their bit to help.

Their Handsome Bag Company aims to create an object of desire out of discarded materials.

Billy Potts, co-founder of Handsome Bag Company, said, "It's kind of an experience that a lot of people share, you know everybody has been in a taxi, and everybody understands the design aesthetic which we are going for because we take the livery of the taxi, the colors, the color scheme and translate it into the bag,"

Not only are Potts' and Ng's designs environmentally friendly, they have also created some job opportunities for people who are unemployed, but have the right skills for the project.

The Handsome Bag Company is expanding locally through different retail outlets and their own online shop, and they are also taking orders internationally.

Billy Potts, co-founder of Handsome Bag Company, said, "We don't have to look to the rest of the world to take our cues and say we are inferior or anything like that. I mean, if anything, we can be just as creative as anyone else, like London or New York or Tokyo and Paris."

Ng says that they would like to keep exploring and working with different companies and designers to keep their creative output high.

Billy Potts and Joseph Ng are designers who are doing their bit to help. Their Handsome Bag Company aims to create an object of desire out of discarded materials.

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