The circle of it: This company creates upscale bags made from sustainable and zero waste materials like upcycled aluminum ringpulls, among others.
bottletop
Summary
Bottletop creates fashion accessories from a range of waste materials, including their signature material: upcycled aluminum ringpulls sourced from trash pickers in Brazil. They were first used in Bottletop’s designs in Kenya and South Africa in 2002. The company pays these trashpickers per kilo and provide an important source of income for people who are living on the streets. Each ring pull is individually selected as around 30% are too damaged to be used. They are then cleaned, clipped, and polished before being painted and sent off to be anodized. They are then used in Bottletop’s designs. The company also utilizes food waste, in the form of acai berry seeds in their designs. The company also utilizes other zero waste or sustainable waste-based materials in their innovative designs.
Story
Father and son founders Cameron and Roger Saul started the company based on their experience working with indigenous communities in South East Uganda. Cameron Saul returned from Uganda in 2001 with an upcycled bag made from aluminum pulls. The design was edited and launched as the center of the Mulberry Bottletop campaign, which raised global awareness and funds in support of the prevention of HIV/AIDS through education. Mulberry was founded by Roger Saul. The Bottletop bag became a bestseller and has since collaborated with many luxury brands like DKNY, Narcisco Rodriguez and others, while also retaining their identity as a socially conscious upcycling brand.
Pic Credit: My Slow World (right) and Bottletop (top)
“Fast fashion is ultimately flawed. We just know it shouldn’t be possible for things to cost that little. It’s people in the supply chain and the planet that are ultimately paying the price. So, I would love to think that [fast fashion brands] are just going to go out of business because people continue to awaken, but I don’t think that’s really the case. I think the best we can do is hope to find ways to coexist with them, where there’s such a level of awareness that people aren’t choosing them as much as possible, but also that those brands are forced to have a product offering that resonates with an increasingly aware consumer base”
Cameron Saul in an interview
Founder(s)
Cameron Saul, Roger Saul and Oliver Wayman
Headquarters
London, UK
In business since
2002
Business type
for profit, mission driven
Impact
Technology
sourcing zero-waste materials, integrating zero waste materials like aluminum pulls into luxury fashion items
Material
aluminum pulls, acai berry seeds, zero deforestation leather, humanium metal
Website
Leave a comment