The Recycled Felt Tote

Just arrived! The recycled felt tote is the perfect carry-all bag for your fall/winter season. Indeed, its features represent what we expect now from evolved designers.

Made in Japan by Plantation1982, it’s a stylish accessory made out of recycled PET bottles.

Although made with oil, natural gas and raw materials, PET is 100% recyclable. Ok, the starting point is oil, and it would be better to find other materials. But at least, the flip side is reasonable.

To be clear, we must reduce the enormous amount of waste we produce daily. To this end, it is crucial to stop using disposable goods, plastic most of all. And limiting the number of plastic bottles we use by refilling our water bottles is one of the actions we can take immediately.

Discover The Recycled Felt Tote

The Recycled Felt Tote by Plantation1982
The Recycled Felt Tote – Plantation1982

Anyhow, planning multiple solutions make the strategies viable.
If we think about the tons of plastic bottles we use all over the world daily, the idea of giving them a new life sounds interesting. Whether it means going back to their original shape or finding new forms, that’s a valuable chance.

Since waste does not disappear, recycling materials is a meaningful way to reduce our impact on the planet.

Further notes about the material:
It’s a thick felt. Specifically, an Italian felted fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. Sturdy but flexible and eco-friendly. The warm touch texture is comfortable for the winter season.

About the design:
Simple but functional. Open top. One front external pocket and one inside. Two top handles, you can carry it by hand or over your shoulder. It is a convenient bag because it is large enough for everyday use. Moreover, it is very lightweight.

The size: H31 W24 D20
Big enough to carry an A4 size file.

The colour:
A shiny green. Inspired by nature, it will brighten up your fall/ winter outfits.

This bag has high-quality finishing materials that are durable, supple and environmentally friendly.
Cool design #formodernhumans

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Smells like marketing

Fashion smells like marketing. Not creativity. Marketing.
It’s embedded into the product, making everything look the same. Brands united by a flat cloying language.

It would be interesting to understand why designers do everything except what they are supposed to do: create beautiful clothes. There must be a reason for it.

After the fashion weeks, the Gucci Love Parade in Hollywood was yet another weird event, representing the many futile proclamations navigating the sea of marketing.

Some designers want to ban leather; if not that they’ve always used synthetic materials to make their accessories (which is worse). Some others became a B-Corp but lost the beauty of their collections. Others tell us to buy vintage instead of new clothes. Maybe those proposals have to do with a sustainable lifestyle, blindly giving the benefit of the doubt. But, leave good design aside.

Designers forget the purpose of their role.
Instead of doing their job – making beautiful clothes – they suggest alternative lifestyle strategies.

Marketing and the purpose of a fashion brand

If you are a designer, you should have a vision and express it through your creativity. That is an opportunity to trace new pathways, inspiring others. But the issue is that clothes have no point anymore.
The design is not the focus of a collection, the chit-chat that surrounds them is.

Well, designers, the viable idea is to make much smaller collections. Reduce – a lot – the number of pieces and create a timeless aesthetic.

But please, put your creativity to work and make curated creations that reflect your visions.
We appreciate your lifestyle suggestions, but creativity is what we expect from you. All the other proposals have to come along with it. Otherwise, it seems like you have no ideas except marketing claims.

Wittgenstein said that “ethics and aesthetics are one.”

In the latest fashion proposals, apart from the questionable aesthetics, the supposed ethics smell like marketing. Just empty claims!

You can hire marketing gurus. But new ideas and creative designs are hard to find!

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The island in the desert

Talking about the cost of fast fashion and the madness of disposable items can be upsetting and frustrating. No one wants to listen.

We could define it as a hidden cost, assuming people do not see it directly. Except that there’s nothing hidden anymore. And so, we call it the true cost because it happens before our eyes. Although, people refuse to see it intentionally.

To illustrate the abnormity, perhaps a visual image helps awaken the conscience more than words.

Atacama desert in Chile - fast fashion leftovers
Atacama desert in Chile – fast fashion leftovers

Here, in front of your eyes, is the Atacama desert in Chile, the driest desert in the world. And that is an island of discarded clothing, including Christmas sweaters and ski boots, piling up in the desert.

Chile is a hub for secondhand and unsold clothing coming from all over the world. USA, Europe and Asia. Approximately 59,000 tons of garments arrive there every year. Clothing merchants buy part of it, but the majority, about 39,000 tons, end up in rubbish dumps in the desert.

That happens because those garments contain chemicals and are not biodegradable, therefore not accepted in the municipal landfill.

We wonder what’s going to happen over time.
Do you still feel ok with fast fashion and disposable goods?

On Monday, we posted about the need to shift our consumption habits. After reading this, the sense of urgency becomes imperative. It doesn’t need any further explanation.

Educating ourselves towards thoughtful consumption habits is fundamental.
If brands don’t produce items made to last, we don’t buy from them!
Stop overconsuming. Stop purchasing disposable items. That is how we bring our contribution.

We know that expecting a change from brands is an illusion, and it’s just a way to exclude ourselves from the game. If we pretend we do not play an active role, we hide our responsibilities.

On the contrary, we have to educate ourselves in order to become conscious and make intentional choices.

Break the loop. Take action now!

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The Asymmetric Sweater

Among the new arrivals, The Asymmetric Sweater by Plantation1982 is a piece that perfectly completes your Fall/Winter capsule wardrobe.

The pullover has a simple design with its back falling to the side, but it has a unique, edgy silhouette.

As Jan Tschichold said: “Asymmetry is the rhythmic expression of functional design.”
Indeed, it’s interesting to explore asymmetry as a design pattern, its intake to a functional style, and the movement that allows the body. We find fascinating the idea of not being too obvious or somehow predictable while giving the chance to create modern and stylish garments.

Discover The Asymmetric Sweater

Some notes about the material:
It is a worsted yarn sweater. The high gauge knitted yarn avoids pilling easily, and although it is 100% extra-fine wool, it has a soft texture that does not give the peculiar tingling of wool. You have to feel it on your skin.

The asymmetric sweater by Plantation1982
The Asymmetric Sweater – Plantation1982

The design point:
The asymmetrical hem created from the beautiful drape is the design element that stands out and makes it unique.
It features a ribbed neckline, cuffs, and hemline. The neckline accompanies the neck gently.
Accented by a draped hem, this knit is comfortable to wear because it is compact around the shoulders but wide. Moreover, it does not pick up the body line.

The colour: a bright melange grey, not a solid colour, so it has a soft and gentle impression. Also, extremely versatile.

Some styling options:
You can put together structured coordination when combined with basic bottoms such as stretch pants and denim, the beauty of the silhouette stands out while being cool.
Or, match the sweater with a skirt, and you’ll get an A-line silhouette, giving it an airy and natural look.

It is a knit that gives a plain yet gorgeous impression just by wearing it.
Function and style are beautifully blended.

We don’t wear labels. We wear style!

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Black Friday & promotion spam

Retailers spam promotions, and if Black Friday was not enough, early black Friday is here too!

Still the distribution model has clung to this policy as the only strategy to attract attention. Forget evolution from brands and retailers. Educating people towards an improved and conscious consumption model is not on their agenda. Not worth it.

Obsessive promotions are the outcome of a hyper-saturated market derived from the overproduction model.
Also, the lower the quality of products, the higher the mark-up, allowing discounts (real or fake?) that can reach -70%.
But the purchasing illusion is safe.

Heavy discounts and obsessive promotions are indicators of a sick system.
The environmental impact fostered by Black Friday and never-ending promotions is really huge. Not to mention the ethical implication, if you do not pay the full price of products, someone will pay for it. So we go back to the disturbing modern-day slavery.

As a matter of fact, there is too much of everything, and our blind habits contribute to feeding this vicious cycle, which has no way out.

Black Friday & promotions spam - Image of a shopping bag - Pointless shit
Image via: drops of devotion – Tumblr

The solution to Black Friday & obsessive promotions

Is it possible we cannot find a better system?

In fact, the solution is a distribution model that abandons large quantities to shift towards good quality. A sustainable production system that grants proper living wages and limits its impact on the environment. Things made to last and healthier consuming habits.

In this balanced context, promotions and discounts would be necessarily limited.

Changing attitude is a necessity. We started from us first, adjusting our activity to an evolved lifestyle. So, we offered a thoughtful consuming model represented by a capsule selection of quality pieces.

We don’t lure consumers by offering crazy discounts. But, we try to educate ourselves and our audience on meaningful consumption.

We respect people, and we understand the worth of their work. We appreciate the products we select. We value quality, and we value our customers.

Modern humans are conscious consumers.
Say no to Black Friday! We don’t need all that stuff.

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