Plastic fantastic – brands go green with recycled products
There is no doubt that consumers are becoming more aware about sustainability and recycling. The good news is that brands are responding with an increasing number of products that tick those boxes.
The National finds five companies that are turning recycled plastic bottles into well-made and desirable – not to mention useful – products.
Levi’s
In July, Levi’s added a backpack to its range of environmentally responsible products. It is made entirely from recycled plastic and waste scraps and is a revamp of its existing L-Pack and L-Pack 2.0 versions.
Tucked away inside is a tag that reads: “Made with recycled plastic bottles. Designed with the planet in mind.”
The bag comes in three sizes – mini, small and regular – and a range of colours, including black, lilac, mustard, maroon, camo green and two-tone blue. Prices start from $35 (Dh128) to $65. Surprisingly smart-looking, it is available with different pocket configurations, making it useful for everything from school to hiking.
Anya Hindmarch
In 2007, designer Anya Hindmarch released a £5 (Dh24) canvas tote bag embroidered with the words: “I am not a plastic bag”. It was sold in supermarkets in an attempt to convince consumers to stop using plastic, and the waiting list in the UK quickly ballooned to 80,000 people. In Taiwan, shoppers became so desperate for the item, 30 people ended up in hospital.
Thirteen years later, Hindmarch is back with a new version. And this time, it is made from plastic.
The tote is available at Level Shoes in The Dubai Mall and is made of high-quality recycled PET plastic reclaimed from bottles, in a process that took two years to finesse. Using an impressive 32 500ml bottles to make each bag, the result feels like cotton canvas, with a protective laminated layer derived from recycled windscreens.
It’s trimmed with leather handles, patterned with a block monogram and has the words: “I am a plastic bag” printed over the top, in the same typeface as the original.
Swedish Stockings
Swedish Stockings was founded in 2013 after friends Nadja Forsberg and Linn Frisinger realised that tights were made from harmful petroleum products – and are too easily damaged. The pair began thinking about how they could stop tights ending up in the dustbin after only one or two wears.
Their solution is a range of high-quality socks, stockings, tights and cycling shorts made from recycled plastic bottles and Econyl, a nylon made from reclaimed ghost nets. These discarded fishing nets drift unchecked into the ocean and are thought to kill or injure up to 650,000 marine animals every year, according to a report by the Natural Resources Defence Council, a US environmental advocacy group.
The recycled thread by Swedish Stockings is identical to the virgin yarn, and is clean and hygienic.
DGrade
A UAE company making big changes is DGrade, a brand that makes clothes out of used consumer plastic. It turns plastic bottles into a new type of yarn called Greenspun, from which the company makes T-shirts and caps. By mixing the material with different quantities of cotton, the resulting fabric is soft and breathable. The online shop displays the percentage of recycled plastic used in each item.
Ahead of Expo 2020 Dubai, DGrade has also released a range of T-shirts embossed with the event’s logo.
Five Oceans
Founded by surfers who were sick of paddling through plastic litter in the seas around Indonesia, the company is dedicated to turning that same rubbish into something useful. Local communities gather the discarded water bottles, which are then repurposed into fins – the small rudders that are fixed to the underside of a surfboard to help with steering and control.
Each set of fins made by Five Oceans uses about 100 bottle caps, helping to clear the waters around Java and Bali – both top surfing destinations.
Five Oceans is now using the same process to create frisbees.