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Category Archives: lifecycle topics

recycling: weapons into jewelry

Reuse and recycling are at the core of sustainable design, but in an ideal scenario you don’t just recycle…you upcycle. You make something of even higher value out of the material you are reusing.

fonderie 47 ring That’s what high-end jewelry and watchmaker Fonderie 47 is doing with confiscated weapons such as AK-47s. According to this Huffington Post article, founder Peter Thum got the idea when saw children in Kenya and Tanzania carrying assault rifles.

The company’s raw material includes a proportion of metal from melted down assault rifles. Mines Advisory Group, an international organization that removes and destroys weapons that remain after conflict, gets a portion of each sale that Fonderie 47 makes.Fonderie 47 At nearly $200K, not everyone can afford to buy this limited edition watch, which features “serial number of the AK47 from which the steel was wrought.” But if someone’s spending that kind of money on a watch, it should perhaps be this one.

Let’s Talk Fiber

Let’s Talk Fiber

This month a few fashion and textiles projects have been coming across the desk–raning from yarn, to bamboo to cotton cloth. First is this “upcycler” who’s turning men’s cotton, button-up shirts into kids clothing. Kallio, based in Brooklyn New York, works on sustainability throughout the whole supply chain, including making the clothes locally. Next upContinue Reading

fashion and technology combine for sustainability

100% recycled cotton dress This month I refer you to several interesting “threads” from the Guardian Sustainable Business Network: – A new Swedish fabric made of 100% recycled cotton using a process that is highly scalable – Solar fiber, that harvests solar energy through a photovoltaic fibre woven into fabrics – And finally, fiber madeContinue Reading

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