Taoyuan Upcyclers Give Back to the Environment and Their Community
The Carpenter's House, an upcycling company in the northern city of Taoyuan, is one of the few firms in Taiwan to repurpose wooden furniture and clothes. Over 25 years, it has expanded its mission to include education and helping disadvantaged groups.
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00:00This store in northern Taiwan may look like a regular second-hand shop, but there's more
00:07to it than meets the eye.
00:10It's called the Carpenter's House.
00:12For the past 25 years, it's been giving products that were thrown to the trash heap a new home,
00:17and the people from disadvantaged backgrounds who work there a new lease on life.
00:21We hope people can learn from their mistakes, and learn from their mistakes, and learn from
00:26their mistakes.
00:27So that we can all find a chance to start afresh at the Carpenter's House.
00:34Woodworker Zhong Lifang is the mastermind behind these new counters for a local cafe
00:40made out of discarded bat frames.
00:42She's among the many workers here who have found themselves in need of some help or a
00:46career pivot.
00:47I got in touch with the Carpenter's House because even though I'm not in the best shape,
00:52I don't have as many counters as I used to, but I have a special love for woodworking.
00:58So I had this idea to start with a good environment and a good design.
01:05To upcycle old items, you need to start with good materials.
01:11The Carpenter's House receives truckloads of unwanted shipping containers and wooden
01:16furniture every day.
01:27Once they filter out the unusable items, the rest go straight to the studio.
01:31Where it's broken down and finished, they're reassembled into cell phone stands, coasters,
01:36tables, or whatever their clients want.
01:51The company also transforms discarded clothes into stylish new products.
01:55With the rise of fast fashion, designers here say they receive 10,000 bags of second-hand
02:00clothes each year.
02:02Many of them had never been worn.
02:04These assorted denim jeans have been remade onto this patchwork jacket.
02:08But designer Huang Qianrou says it's not easy to sell items like these.
02:24The Carpenter's House has won the praise of sustainability experts and worked with fashion
02:29design students in doing fieldwork and competitions.
02:44Last August, the company was forced to find another warehouse after the lease was terminated
02:48early.
02:49It has recently announced its official new location and has displayed some of its work
02:54in a local furniture store.
02:56Once it settles in its new home, the founders and workers at the Carpenter's House can
03:00get back to work.
03:02Saving waste from the landfills by giving a new life and new homes in the local community.
03:08Dong-Feng Chen and Irene Lin for Taiwan Plus.