Waste Not Want Not
“I was very struck by the realisation that there is no waste in nature. We must start seeing waste for what it is, which is ‘a resource’. How we can continue our efforts to strive for circular wasteless fashion using creativity and craftsmanship. This is a journey but one that we need to accelerate fast.” - Anya Hindmarch
Introducing new recycled nylon
To continue our work around the circularity of materials, we are so pleased to share that each new addition to the nylon collection will be made from recycled ECONYL® nylon. The current collection will transition across as and when each piece sells out to avoid any unnecessary waste.
Waste such as fishing nets from our oceans, fabric scraps from mills and carpets destined for landfill are collected and cleaned to recover as much nylon as possible. The nylon waste is recycled back to its original purity through a radical regeneration and purification procedure and is then processed into a textile yarn. Finally, the regenerated nylon (which is as good as virgin nylon) is made into our luxurious nylon bags and accessories.
The Patchwork Collection
It is estimated that 92 million tonnes of textile waste is created annually from the fashion industry. Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned globally. The problem of dead stock and waste is enormous. In an effort to reuse what we already have, we created the Patchwork collection.
Historically, due to the varied sizes and shapes of leather skins, only the centre and largest part of a skin is used to produce a bag. Whilst the rest of the skin may be used for smaller items such as straps and handles, it is typically considered waste. In 2017, the United Nations revealed 800,000 tonnes of leather off-cuts are wasted annually.
The Patchwork collection combats this and ensures a larger proportion of the skin is used. Due to the complexity of using a leather patchwork technique in luxury accessories, we worked with one of only a few suppliers in Tuscany specialising in intarsia and patchworks.
How It’s Done
Each piece of leather is skived down to create a uniform thickness and to ensure the final patchwork is perfectly flat. It is then laser cut and every edge is hand polished. It is then placed onto a panel using water-based glue to create each design.
Due to the intricate nature of the designs it is not possible to sew the patchwork through a programmed machine. Instead a skilled operator has to manually control each stitch from beginning to end.
Made-to-order I Am A Plastic Bag Tote
Continuing to explore how we can achieve less waste in our work and seeing waste for what it is, ‘a resource’, we are launching an exclusive made-to-order bag for a limit time only. This combines our two most important projects: I Am A Plastic Bag and Waste Not, Want Not.
Each tote is made to order using patchwork offcuts of our innovative I Am A Plastic Bag fabric in our favourite colours. This cotton feel fabric is made from used plastic bottles so not only does this tote help to reduce waste by using fabric that otherwise would have been thrown away but also saves bottles from going into landfill. Each bag is finished with the collection's signature 'I Am A Plastic Bag' logo.
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We’re proud to have been awarded the Butterfly Mark from Positive Luxury.
This is a symbol of trust earned by brands that have adopted sustainability as a business strategy.