Import Products

Import Products in Eltham, Melbourne, VIC is listed under Clothing Stores.

supplies in Australia

Handmade Seagrass Market Baskets were first introduced to Australia by Import Products in 2000. We import directly from our designers, the original designers and manufacturers for Europe since the early 1990’s.

Our Company encourages, respects and supports fair trade and opportunity. We continually work with our suppliers developing new styles, colours and designs.

Eco-sustainable All our products are handcrafted at village level in Northern Vietnam allowing income into rural communities where employment opportunity is minimal.

All our products are entirely natural and organic, grown eco-sustainably.

They will not take 1000 years to break down like plastic bags and even worse the so-called supermarket “green bags”. Our baskets are made very strong, will last indefinitely and at the end of their life will break down organically in a few months.

Do not be fooled by so called “green” and “Eco” bags, if they are not completely natural and organic they will be around for many lifetimes to come.The Products:

Seagrass

Seagrassgrows in fields near the shoreline, which are watered by sea water.

The harvest starts after 6 months growth or as soon as the grass has reached 2.5 metres height.

The evenness of the blades is essential for the production of all kinds of handwork but before starting the blades are air-dried to enable storage.

For decoration purposes the grass is tinted with  dye colours.Due to the material used and the nature of construction, the baskets are very strong which enables them to be flattened for shipping.

To return their shape at any time one simply needs first to soak by dipping in or spraying heavily with water, then after a short while one can push/pull and bend it the required shape.

To remove excess water after shaping, swing quickly with a throwing motion by the handle/s, then leave a short while to dry and it will become firm.

If a crease or fold in a basket will not flatten/shape, soak basket for 2 to 4 minutes (longer than this will NOT damage a basket) it will simply allow any crease to be undone and the basket to be reshaped as desired.

Water Hyacinth

One of the fastest growing plants known, water hyacinth reproduces primarily by way of runners, which eventually form daughter plants.

Each plant can produce thousands of seeds each year, and these seeds can remain viable for more than 28 years.

The common water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) are vigorous growers known to double their population in two weeks.

Since the water hyacinths are so prolific, harvesting them for industrial use serves also as a means of environmental control.

In the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam the water hyacinth’s stems are used as a braiding material and a source of fibers.

Strings of dried fibers are woven or interlinked together to form a braid or cord used for making bags, footwear, wreaths, hats, vases, Christmas lanterns, and more decorative materials.

Dried stems are used for baskets and furniture. Water hyacinth fibers are used as a raw material for paper.

Simliar to Seagrass, water Hyacinth products can be wet out and reshaped however as the fibre is thicker it will take longer to completely dry out.

In the case of both Seagrass and Water Hyacinth the best way to get baskets into shape is to use them.