In the bag: Recycled plastic bottles are being reused for designer backpacks

Photo Credit: Solo New York

Talk about stylish sustainability: A U.S.-based designer of backpacks, totes, duffels, briefs, and sleeves is using post-consumer plastic in its latest bag collection.

Each bag from Solo New York’s new Re:cycled Collection of bags, which debuted at the CES 2020 consumer technology show in Las Vegas in January, repurposes plastic from three to eight plastic bottles, depending on bag size.

With the first Re:cycled Collection product run alone, nearly 90,000 plastic bottles will be recycled, keeping them from ending up in landfills.

Solo’s Re:cycled Collection will soon be available at major North American retailers and online, further demonstrating that retail partners and consumers are looking for stylish products made with care for the environment.

Taking its sustainability efforts a step further, Solo has partnered with the National Forest Foundation (NFF). For every bag purchased from the Re:cycled Collection, Solo is working with the NFF to plant a tree to help regrow U.S. National forests. The company has also added a pledge page to its website, and an additional tree will be planted for anyone who takes the pledge to avoid plastic water bottle use for 30 days.

“Our goal with the Re:cycled Collection was to make sustainable bags available to anyone who wants to make a difference, as well as for the new bags to meet the high standards that Solo has for quality, style and functionality,” said Serkan Anders, Solo New York’s vice president of marketing. “The entire Solo team is incredibly proud of the Re:cycled Collection, and it has caused us to rethink many of the ways we do business and source materials for our products. We’ve since revamped all of our packaging and hang tags which are now also made from recycled materials, and our hang tags are biodegradable. Many more sustainability-focused changes are ahead for the brand.”

The company’s New York City headquarters building is 100 per cent powered by its own rooftop solar array and uses exclusively LED lighting. The company also has a strict policy of no single-use plastic bottles, offering employees reusable water bottles and a refill station.