These days, it’s hard to ignore the increasing influence that discarded plastic has in our lives. Videos and photos make the rounds on social media of wildlife caught in plastic six-pack rings, or marine life that has ingested a bottle cap or drinking straw. There is so much plastic in the world that recycling it seems like a bit of a daunting idea. But a few major corporations are finding ways to recycle plastic into useful, trendy products and eliminate the growing spread of ocean debris. So in this blog, we’ll take a look at some innovative new products that will be hitting the shelves soon, all of which are made out of recycled plastic.
Adidas Running Shoe. While just a prototype, the as-yet-unnamed shoe is created entirely out of reclaimed ocean waste consisting of yarns and filaments from illegal deep-sea fishing nets. The shoe was created in conjunction with Parley for the Oceans, a group that aims to raise awareness “for the beauty and fragility of our oceans and collaborate on projects that can end their destruction,” according to the organization’s website. You can find out more about this innovative footwear HERE.
Adidas is not the only footwear company getting into the recycled plastic game. Timberland is partnering with Thread, the sustainable fabric manufacturer. Thread’s Ground to Good fabric is made from plastic bottles collected in Haiti and Honduras. Timberland will release a collection of footwear and bags made from Thread fabric. The Thread line will not be Timberland’s first to contain recycled materials. In 2015, 18.4 percent of the materials used in the company’s products were renewable, organic or recycled (ROR). Timberland wants to increase its use of ROR by 2020, and to use only 100 percent responsibly grown cotton by 2020. You can find out more about these products HERE.
Moving away from footwear, some clothing manufacturers are starting to get on board with using recycled plastic materials. Hong Kong label Rumi X has started making active wear out of coffee grinds and plastic in an effort to promote more sustainable-sourcing of materials. The coffee, collected from various shops and stalls around the city, works to absorb moisture and eliminate odour from the fabric. Recycled water bottles are shredded, dried and melted to make yarn, which is used in Rumi X’s line of leggings. You can find out more about these products HERE.
Moving away from wearable recyclables, furniture and housewares giant Ikea is rolling out a new range of household products made from recycled materials, including plastic, early next year. A door for kitchen units, the Kungsbacka, is made from a combination of recycled wood and plastic from PET bottles, while a desk pad, called the Skrutt, has been made from reprocessed waste plastic film sourced from Ikea stores in Italy and France. The retailer is also launching the Odger chair, made from 70 percent recycled plastic and 30 percent renewable wood. Ikea product developer Anna Granath asserts that the unit is roughly 99.9 percent recycled, showing that a stylish piece of furniture built from waste doesn’t have to be a far-fetched idea. You can find out more about these products HERE.
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