Considering framesets there have been alu and carbon for the „techboys“ and steel and titan for the „retros“ and „esthets“ – SO FAR!
Since 1 year BlackStarBikes from Amsterdam adds one more material, where – not only – pandas are happy about: BAMBOO!
BlackStar is combining social and ecological sustainability in a very interesting way. Producing the bamboo frameset in Ghana, they
create an avantgarde concept of locomotion, accessable for everybody (with the very good price of 849 EUR).
BlackStarBikes are: Imke, Seb and Taco. We met them in their pop-up store in the center of Amsterdam on 14th of July 2012.
Thanks Imke, Seb and Taco for havinig us! We are very curious to see what your next steps will be.
14.07.2011
During the years we lived and worked in Africa, one of the issues that kept us thinking is the lack of export of manufactured goods. Africa provides enormous amounts of raw materials, from crude oil to tea, cocoa and coffee and this is well known. But what does Africa manufacture? Africa’s raw materials are shipped to western countries and to China, to be processed there. In other words, African countries are unable to enjoy the maximum of profits from their natural resources. The profits made by a Ghanaian farmer on a bag of cocoa beans are low, but the profits made by household chocolate brands, which contain those very same beans, are very high indeed.
In this sense, the BlackStar brand is not only a business concept, it is a statement; give Africa the chance to process its own raw materials into consumer goods. By doing so, the African labour force and African entrepreneurs are not only pulled up the supply chain where profits are bigger, in addition, formal employment, with all its benefits, is created. We at BlackStarBikes want to deliver a product which embodies not only the future of development, but also the future of green consumption. Ending Africa’s poverty means trade, not aid. Western consumption requires a green revolution. For that to happen, we believe, sustainable products should not involve compromises, not in terms of quality, but also not in price. Therefore we offer a bicycle which in terms of price, design and quality, can compete with other urban bicycles.“
Source: BlackStarBikes
During the years we lived and worked in Africa, one of the issues that kept us thinking is the lack of export of manufactured goods. Africa provides enormous amounts of raw materials, from crude oil to tea, cocoa and coffee and this is well known. But what does Africa manufacture? Africa’s raw materials are shipped to western countries and to China, to be processed there. In other words, African countries are unable to enjoy the maximum of profits from their natural resources. The profits made by a Ghanaian farmer on a bag of cocoa beans are low, but the profits made by household chocolate brands, which contain those very same beans, are very high indeed.
In this sense, the BlackStar brand is not only a business concept, it is a statement; give Africa the chance to process its own raw materials into consumer goods. By doing so, the African labour force and African entrepreneurs are not only pulled up the supply chain where profits are bigger, in addition, formal employment, with all its benefits, is created. We at BlackStarBikes want to deliver a product which embodies not only the future of development, but also the future of green consumption. Ending Africa’s poverty means trade, not aid. Western consumption requires a green revolution. For that to happen, we believe, sustainable products should not involve compromises, not in terms of quality, but also not in price. Therefore we offer a bicycle which in terms of price, design and quality, can compete with other urban bicycles.“
Source: BlackStarBikes
