Unique products made from loofah in Da Nang city

Starting from the idea of ​​utilizing loofah to create environmentally friendly products, Ms. Vo Thi Ngoc Thu (born in 1984, Thanh Khe district, Da Nang city) started a business and produced daily-life products from loofah such as dishwashing sponges, night lights, slippers, back scrubbers, face scrubbers, shoe insoles, etc.

These products have contributed to reducing plastic waste and environmental pollution. Currently, these products are exported abroad and are popular in markets such as North America, Canada...

Ms. Ngoc Thu next to products made from loofah. Photo: Mai Huong

According to Ms. Ngoc Thu, the purchased loofah is washed many times in water to remove seeds and slime. Then it is dried in the sun before being shaped. Products made from loofah are often very durable and non-toxic, reducing waste of resources. Therefore, these products are favored by foreigners because of the benign, environmentally friendly nature of loofah.

"Loofah fiber after being processed is very soft so it is suitable for sensitive skin... By using environmentally friendly products, consumers will feel more secure and conscious of protecting the environment" - Ms. Ngoc Thu shared.

Talking about the squash growing area, Ms. Ngoc Thu said that she buys squash from farmers in Quang Nam . To proactively source raw materials, Ms. Ngoc Thu signed contracts with local farmers to guarantee the output of squash.

At first, the farmers were hesitant about her idea, because for many years they had been growing vegetables and tubers, and now they were not really confident about switching to growing squash.

Before shaping the product, the loofah is cleaned and softened. Photo: Mai Huong

Then, Ms. Thu had to mobilize each household, convince them to understand and commit to purchasing products from each household. Up to now, there have been about 15 farming households that have signed contracts to grow raw materials, providing a stable source of loofah fiber for the production facility.

Before starting her business, Ms. Thu spent a lot of time researching the process of growing squash. She spent several hundred million to test the planting. Each squash seed is calculated at 1,000 VND and there are many sacks of squash seeds for testing, so the amount of money Ms. Thu had to spend was very large.

Loofah fibers are dried in the sun. Photo: Mai Huong

After stabilizing the product, Ms. Thu started looking for ways to bring the product to e-commerce platforms. Through the Amazon e-commerce platform, Ms. Thu exported products to the US, Canada, Australia, Korea, etc. markets with regular quantities.

When putting the product on Amazon, foreign customers really liked it and ordered a lot. Not only putting loofah products on e-commerce platforms, Ms. Thu also actively participated in promoting at fairs, exhibitions, domestic tourism events and selling through e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop...

"The products that are popular with consumers are the motivation for me to continue developing loofah products. Hopefully, each loofah product will be more welcomed by consumers and help people raise awareness of environmental protection" - Ms. Thu shared.

Source: https://laodong.vn/kinh-doanh/doc-dao-nhung-san-pham-lam-tu-xo-muop-o-tp-da-nang-1394186.ldo