Published: April 26, 2022 Updated: October 1, 2024
Ever wondered what good can be done with plastic waste? ...Besides throwing it in recycling bins, old plastic can be worked into in many of the items we use every day.
Outside of reusable bottles, storage, and gum (yes gum), plastic is giving conscious retail a whole new meaning.
Don’t believe us? Check out these 6 cool brands that keep reimagining plastic.
Parkland Design & Manufacturing creates bags and accessories for everyday life. The exterior fabric of all Parkland products is made from 100% recycled water bottles. Their mission is “to inspire others to make sustainable choices by offering products that combine purpose, style, and quality at an accessible price”.
Rothy’s is a retail store that “puts the planet and its people first”. The company transforms eco-friendly materials into wardrobe staples and has turned millions of single-use plastic water bottles into thread they use for products. All Rothy’s products are knitted to shape to reduce production waste. The company is committed to keep every Rothy product out of landfills with a recycling initiative for all consumers.
Swaggr wanted to find a way to create comfortable and high-performance socks without adding to the problem of non-organic fiber usage. Their socks are made from up to 91% recycled plastic bottles with the vision to conserve and create a cleaner ocean. Plastic bottles are collected from coastlines and once converted into beads, the beads are melted into synthetic fibers which are woven into a plastic-based yarn. When people are finished with Swaggr socks, they can be sent back to the company to be recycled into new socks or other products.
Fair Harbor “was born out of deep care for the ocean and a desire to protect the place we love”. The company takes recycled plastic bottles and makes fashionable men’s swimwear. So far, they’ve removed over 26 million plastic bottles from the environment where all signature pieces are made from upcycled plastic bottles.
Made primarily from recycled milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles, Tangent creates structural and durable building materials that are a heavy-duty wood-alternative. The plastic lumber is manufactured into 7 product lines, each with unique performance characteristics, that are best suited for commercial applications in numerous markets. Over the last 20 years, Tangent has helped keep hundreds of millions of pounds of plastic out of landfills.
Norton Point Sunglassesdeveloped the first line of eyewear made from recovered high-density-polyethylene (HDPE) ocean plastics.The company is passionate and committed to the ocean as they “reinvest 5% of net profits into research, education and development efforts towards stemming the impact of ocean plastic”. Norton Point also removes one pound of plastic from the ocean every time one pair of sunglasses is sold.
