ECO-FRIENDLY PACKAGING and OTHER PRODUCTS: January 2010

When my husband Andrew Patrick (Andy) Boyle and I thought about a business that we will cherish and love, my mind immediately went back to my childhood days. The days back in the Philippines with all the beautiful handicrafts made by the poor artisans. But I have observed these people stay poor and it is the rich exporters that are the only ones getting richer.

Then Andy and I talked about eliminating the middlemen (exporters) and having our own production facilities, working directly with our own artisans and people. This way, we can talk to them directly about their concerns, suggestions and needs. They are our inspiration and because of them we have reach our fulfillment and dreams.

We also have projects that give back to them and the community. We love what we do---Helping people, giving hope to our artisans and bringing to the market those elegant and beautifully crafted products that are made from eco-friendly materials.

Today, our company ECO-FRIENDLY MARKET is known around the world for its Natural, Sustainable and Fair Trade Products and its giving back to the community.

We can proudly say---We wake up each morning with a smile on our face and looking forward to a different challenge---We love our people, work and you our valued clients!

We want to share with you the STORY BEHIND EVERY PANDAN BOX AND OTHER PANDAN PRODUCTS.

PANDAN PLANT

This plant is a perennial and needs to grow in warm, damp areas in partial sunlight. The soil must be kept moist. This plant grows about twenty-six feet high and the fruit heads are approximately eight inches in diameter and looks like a green pineapple. The leaves are used for aromatic flavoring but mostly in connection with rice. These leaves are very popular in Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and India. The leaves are also used as fragrant wrappers for rice, chicken and other food.

The woven leaves are made into elegant boxes, bags, and other products.
To see more of PANDAN PRODUCTS, check our website: www.pandancollection.com
The medicinal uses of this tree are as follows: The entire plant is used as a diuretic, the roots have anti-diabetic properties and the leaves are used for treating skin diseases. Strips of the leaves are used in making woven baskets, decorative items, bags and many other products for home, spa, hotels etc.
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. Plants vary in size from small shrubs less than 1 m tall, up to medium-sized trees 20 m tall, typically with a broad canopy and moderate growth rate. The trunk is stout, wide-branching, and ringed with many leaf scars. They commonly have many thick prop roots near the base, which provide support as the tree grows top-heavy with leaves, fruit, and branches. The leaves are strap-shaped, varying between species from 30 cm up to 2 m or more long, and from 1.5 cm up to 10 cm broad.

They are dioecious, with male and female flowers produced on different plants. The flowers of the male tree are 2-3 cm long and fragrant, surrounded by narrow, white bracts. The female tree produces flowers with round fruits that are also bract-surrounded. The fruits are globose, 10 to 20 cm in diameter, and have many prism-like sections, resembling the fruit of the pineapple. Typically, the fruit changes from green to bright orange or red as it matures. The fruit is also edible.

Michael Maslog (Themi) our Director for Overseas Operations with Jun, our Production Manager visits the remote villages to harvest the Pandan Leaves

Going to our artisan's villages is more than 8 hours of travel via unpaved roads, high and zigzag dangerous in another side of the country via land and sea travel.

Despite all this, the place is a perfect scene for tranquility and joy. People live a simple life with the abundance of vegetables and catch from the ocean.
Life is so simple but full of HOPE!