How Shoprite’s Partnership With Indofurn And 3Fold Life Support Helped To Sustain Families From The Cape Flats
How Shoprite’s Partnership With Indofurn And 3Fold Life Support Helped To Sustain Families From The Cape Flats. The plush toys that were available in Shoprite and Checkers stores during the festive season brought joy to the little ones that receive them as gifts, and did the same for the Cape Flats, Cape Town families who helped to make them.
Local manufacturer Indofurn and Mitchells Plain-based Non-Profit Company (NPC) 3Fold Life Support was contracted by Shoprite and Checkers to stuff and stitch its imported teddy bear and other plush toy skins. This initiative created employment for 26 people, many of whom are single mothers, including René April who is now able to support her children, mom and extended family with the money earned from this project.
“I have two teens and one of them is in matric this year. Before this project, I relied solely on SASSA to make ends meet. Now I am able to provide for my family,” she says. The factory has produced more than 56 000 plush toys since September and supports the circular economy as the stuffing is made from regenerated unicurl which is manufactured locally from recycled plastic bottle caps that are spun to make it soft and fluffy.
“70% of the families we work with were once on our list for poverty alleviation and were eligible for biweekly food aid from the NPC,” explains Donavan Witbooi of 3Fold Life Support. “Since the Shoprite employment contract, they are able to sustain their families and the aid can be redirected to other families in need.”
