Spotted: US shoe brand Rothy’s has launched a handbag collection made from 100 per cent recycled materials (other than the metal zippers and hooks).

The brand, known for creating knitted women’s footwear made from upcycled plastic water bottles, has released the first bag collection to use ocean-bound plastics. “Other brands experiment with ocean-bound marine plastics. Very few have commercialised full collections at this scale,” said Roth Martin, company Co-founder.

To create the recycled plastic material, plastics are sourced within 30 miles of coastlines and marine environments. After collection, they are broken into chips to be melted into pellets. These are then stretched into fibres and treated with air into yarn. The resulting thread is then combined with Rothy’s recycled polyester (rPET) thread for greater durability. 

Each bag is knitted at Rothy’s factory in Dongguan, China. The brand’s 3D-knitting method allows pockets, seams and edges to be formed in the process, meaning less waste is created compared to traditional bag manufacturing.

Co-founder Roth Martin said that using this type of plastic was also an important way for the brand to progress its environmental impact.

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