Marine pollution into bags

Experts predict that in 30 years, there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish. One study estimates that 90% of seabirds have consumed some form of plastic waste. All that pollution on beaches and in the sea is harmful to both marine life and humans.

So Cecchi de Rossi is trying to stop some of that plastic by partnering with NGOs. Our goal? To turn marine pollution into bags.

It all starts at the beach. Plastic bottles are collected from coastal areas around the Mediterranean. The waste is then sorted, and the recovered plastic is sent to a processing plant.

We use plastic bottles that contain polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. And if it's something we can't use, like caps and rings? Those get sent to normal recycling facilities.

The processing plant crushes, washes, and dehydrates the waste, leaving nothing but small plastic flakes. The flakes are heated, dried, and cooled, then cut into small resin pellets. Normally, polyester is made from petroleum.

But Cecchi de Rossi melts these pellets to create a filament, which is spun into what we call Sea Plastic, a form of polyester yarn.

The recycled nylon is used for the body of the bags combined with leather straps and internal cotton textile. Recycled polyester uses less water and fewer chemicals which is the aim of the Shade line, bringing awareness to plastic consumption and pollution through the use of fully recycled filament, while maintaining the style of the brand.