Upcycling and sustainability fuel these two fashion designers

The hottest fashion designers are turning to the past to create the style of the future. Two Phoenix-based designers, YEK and Samantha Vo, will have their work featured in a new Facebook travel series. Inspired by tradition and fueled by upcycling, their creations bring the past and present together to create the looks of tomorrow.

YEK drew from his Indigenous heritage to create his moccasin sneakers. Vo was inspired by her Mexican heritage and vintage military styles to transform military surplus bags into new, fashionable works. Inhabitat interviewed these two designers to explore how they’re using sustainable materials and practices for fashion.

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All of your bags are sold out! When’s the best time for shoppers to look for your bags, and is it possible to pre-order bags?

Vo: At the moment, I’m still getting into the flow of producing bags as it is a timely process for me since I make them myself and from my home studio. The best way to find out about my drops is through my Instagram @dwn2mrz. For now, commissions are closed, so I can focus on the next set of designs.

What are your bags made from?

Vo: My bags are made from military surplus and thrifted materials. I source everywhere from thrift stores, garage sales and Facebook Marketplace.

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What gave you the idea to create these designs?

Vo: I had so many military surplus liner jackets I had collected and stopped wearing. I loved the material and wanted to reimagine another use for it. I’ve made everything from bags, laptop cases and planters. The bags stuck the most for me, so I started making “mini totes” for my friends out of heavy-duty military surplus fabrics.

When did you get interested in fashion design? What was the first thing you ever designed?

Vo: I’ve always been interested in fashion design, but I thought of it as a very formal craft. It’s been nice exploring my own process within it. The first thing I ever designed was Selena’s Astrodome outfit with my mom.

What are your sneakers made of?

YEK: Until we have the opportunity and resources to create our own silhouettes, we generally find slightly used sneakers, then use recycled lambskin leather to make the woven tassels. The nickel conchos and buckles we use are sourced from a local leather supply store.

What gave you the idea for this unique design?

YEK: Besides the pride for my Indigenous roots, Japanese-Americana has been highly influential for me in the past few years. Frankly, it’s provided a sense of confidence in my Native designs, knowing that they can be appreciated by a vast audience and are becoming more socially accepted.

What inspired you to get into fashion design?

YEK: Growing up, art was a constant motivator in my life. Studying my dad’s sketching style and my brother’s graffiti techniques helped set an artistic foundation for me. In my teens, I discovered a love for sneakers. Specifically, I collected Nike SBs, which fed my artistic mind even more. Their shoe designs and color palettes in the early 2000s were abstract and even had themes for each pair.

Sneakers then led to an appreciation for clothes, and eventually, I worked a handful of retail jobs/internships. Although it seems like much has played its role, my family tree takes things deeper. My Mexican grandmother would make dresses for my mom as a child, while my Lakota grandmother would make star quilts for all her grandchildren. Hard to say there’s a particular thing that inspired me to get into fashion, this kind of just seems like the right path for me. I’m excited for what the future holds.

Where can people buy your shoes?

Y: Our website (yek0ne.xyz) solely showcases the work. For now, the best way to place an order is by messaging me directly via Instagram @yek0ne.

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These two designers are certainly following the idea of “reuse, repurpose and recycle,” or in this case, upcycle. By upcycling, fashion designers can conserve resources and prevent pollution. This way, waste that would otherwise end up in landfills or the oceans is never created at all. Aesthetically, upcycling also allows yesterday’s waste to pave the way toward a more sustainable, energy-efficient future.

Young designers like Vo and YEK use upcycling to create brand-new, sustainable fashions that can inform the designs of tomorrow. Inspired by their cultural roots and with an eye on the future of style, Vo and YEK are part of a new generation of designers changing the fashion landscape for the better.

Both Vo and YEK are featured in the first episode of the Facebook series “On the Map.” The series showcases innovators around the United States. Check out episode one of “On the Map” here.

+ Samantha Vo

+ YEK

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Wanderruff makes puppy products from recycled bottles

Wanderruff is a line of eco-friendly essentials for your furry friend. These sustainable pet products for dogs are designed in Vancouver by local animal lovers Anisa Musmary and Paul Irwin. Wanderruff pet products were inspired by “adventure and a passion to help protect the great outdoors.”

The brand is already a leader in crafting eco-conscious dog accessories. Wanderruff combines comfort and consciousness by using recycled plastic bottles to create canvas dog leashes. Their line include durable leashes, collars and harnesses. The leashes use recycled materials instead of new fabrics or plastics to help with the planet’s plastic pollution problem.

Related: Dog toy and treats from Project Hive help save bees

Furthermore, Wanderruff collars come in a variety of color combinations and sizes. We love the cute collars with contrasting colors. Also, the harnesses that look like they’d fit even biggest-chested dogs, something that can be surprisingly challenging.

Additionally, the company uses sustainable packaging. They are a member of the 1% for the Planet, which means one percent of the company’s revenues goes toward environmental causes. This helps companies avoid greenwashing by donating directly to climate-related causes.

To top it all off, Wanderruff also partnered with Pacific Parklands Foundation. The foundation looks after Metro Vancouver Parks for the sake of man’s best friend.

You can buy Wanderruff products one at a time, or in convenient “walking kits” that provide everything you need. Whatever you decide, your puppy will not only be happy, but the planet too.

+ Wanderruff

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How to help plastic pollution with Junes sustainable totes

Plastic bags have been banned in California and they’ve been rightly blamed for contributing to a huge environmental crisis. Reusable, washable tote bags are surely the answer…but you want to look stylish, too. Junes tote bags are fashionable, sustainable and they’re going to help you save the world.

Plastic bags seem like they’ve been around forever. But in actuality, plastic bags have done all their damage starting in 1960. That’s when Swedish company Cellplast patented their brand of plastic bags called “T-shirt plastic bags.”

Related: These bags are made with Fairtrade Certified organic cotton

Today, more than 730,000 tons of plastic bags, sacks and wraps are used each year. More than 87% of this ends up in landfills and in the oceans. Carrying a tote bag can make a huge difference. Even if you use just one less plastic bag a year, you can make a big impact. If every American used one less plastic bag a year, more than 200,000,000 plastic bags would stay out of landfills and oceans. That’s a big difference for a tote bag to make.

The fashion industry is a huge polluter. Plastic wraps, bags and packaging are used in excessive amounts. Junes Founder Janean Mann decided to find a way to change the fashion industry with her company by responsibly sourcing materials and checking every step of the supply chain to minimize plastic waste and carbon footprint. The company created an internal recycling program to keep plastic bags from ending up in landfills.

But it wasn’t enough. That’s why Junes tote bags are made with Bio-Knit, a signature fabric. The mesh fabric is infused with a special additive that allows natural microbes to consume the fibers, the same way they consume natural cotton fibers. Bio-Knit softens over time as it is washed, which you can do in the machine on the gentle cycle. Additionally, it is made with recycled plastic bottles, as part of Junes’ commitment to creating no new plastic.

Furthermore, Mann wanted to help not just the plastic pollution problem but the many issues women face. While looking for materials for her totes in 2014, she noticed rows and rows of fliers desperately seeking missing women.

As a result, Mann decided to employ the women of Juarez, forging an all-female sewing co-op. This helps them provide for themselves and their families. Additionally, a portion of all tote bag sales goes to the Global Fund for Women, an organization that empowers and protects women from gender-based violence.

+ Junes

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Stone Road grows sustainable cannabis on a biodynamic farm

Stone Road is not just any cannabis grower — is a sustainable operation with unique products. You may have tried cannabis by now in one of its many forms, but have you tried sustainable cannabis grown on an off-grid biodynamic farm? What about cannabis made into sauce or sugar packaged in recyclable plastic-free wrapping? Yeah, Stone Road is all the way sustainable like that.

Stone Road is a queer-run, California-based grower and producer of sustainably grown cannabis products for “a new age of conscious consumers.” Stone Road flower is sun-grown on a 57-acre, off-grid biodynamic farm in Nevada City, California. This isn’t just good for the planet, it also ensures that each joint is “potent, pure and hand-rolled with love.”

Related: We need to talk about the environmental impact of marijuana

The brand aims to keep cannabis affordable. Unlike many new cannabis websites that use THC and CBD to create edibles, Stone Road sells straight joints, loose flower and a few unique products like cannabis sauce and cannabis sugar.

“Stone Road is reimagining what affordable cannabis products can look, taste and feel like for a new generation of smokers,” the company said in a press release. “All Stone Road packaging is 99% recyclable and made from 100% post-consumer recycled goods so you can feel good about feeling good.”

In 2016, founder Lex Corwin created Stone Road to be a queer-led family brand that focuses on accessibility, affordability and style. Corwin worked as a co-manager of a cannabis boutique in Portland, Oregon, working in the medical and legal cannabis space in cultivation, manufacturing and distribution.

Now, Stone Road is one of the fastest-growing cannabis companies in the California and Oklahoma markets, with products available in over 120 retail outlets in California and 55 in Oklahoma. A New York expansion is on the way, too.

The farm is seven hours north of Los Angeles, operating with only a half-acre worth of greenhouses on a 57-acre parcel. This keeps most of the land rural. “All of our water is straight from an artesian well, 460-feet-deep, at the ideal 6.4ph, which allows us to water straight from the earth,” Stone Road states on its website. You can visit the farm from May to September if you call ahead.

Stone Road is also working to develop a sugarcane-based biodegradable bioplastic to shrink-wrap their joint boxes. The company has been working to bring as much of the operation in-house as possible, including packaging. It’s sustainable farming on a level rarely seen.

Elaborating on the brand’s farming processes, the Stone Road website explains, “We utilize living soil to create mini ecosystems in each bed where our ladies live. The soil is an amalgamation of living organisms that creates natural pest barriers and encourages healthy plant growth. We never treat our plants with synthetic products – even if they are organically occurring – instead opting to use nature’s intended resources — ladybugs, predator mites, and a medley of beneficial fungi.”

+ Stone Road

Images via Stone Road

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New York design studio recycles waste into beauty

Slash Objects, an award-winning design studio based in New York, recycles materials to create durable quality products and furniture. Some of their items includes coasters, placemats and mirrors.

“Our work is rooted in a fascination with materials and how they are brought together,” the designers said of their work.

Related: ChopValue recycles 25 million chopsticks into furniture and decor

Featured in Elle Décor, Cultured, Dwell and Vogue, Slash Objects triumphs aesthetic with an eco-friendly mission.

Founder, Designer and Architect Arielle Assouline-Lichten wanted design to transform how humans experience the world. Assouline-Lichten works with multidisciplinary design firm Slash Projects to create her beautiful objects de art. She hopes to reframe our understanding of the resources we have through tactile stories. Therefore, creating a sense of intrigue into our material world.

Now she’s everywhere from FastCompany, Metropolis and The New York Times to HBO Max. Assouline-Lichten aims to change how we think of the objects we use every day and uses recycled materials for that reason.

“We believe in a future of beautiful products made using sustainable materials which take the environment’s wellbeing into consideration,” Slash Objects said. “We believe that design can change the world through the choices we make.”

Furthermore, caring for the environment means starting by avoiding waste in the first place with a long-lasting design that diverts waste from landfills.

As a result, the collection of pieces is designed in New York City and made by hand from recycled tires and similar materials to repurpose our waste into beauty. Not only are they sustainable, the pieces from Slash Objects are touchable, durable and usable.

+ Slash Objects

Images via Slash Objects

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CarbonCure is the concrete solution builders need

After Rob Niven received a Masters in Engineering and went to a United Nations summit on climate change, it got him thinking about ways to reduce carbon emissions. It lead to CarbonCure, a company that reduces carbon emissions on an ongoing basis with concrete.

After studying concrete in college, Rob knew that CO2 can be converted into a mineral that’s within concrete. He wondered why this process can’t be used in everyday building concrete.

Related: These recycled plastic concrete blocks are zero-waste

It’s a chemical process. The CO2 becomes calcium carbonate when it interacts with the concrete, making the concrete even stronger. And this is what Rob Niven’s CarbonCure is all about. When cement is mixed using CarbonCure technology, CO2 is reduced by an average of 25 pounds per cubic yard.

It’s not a cure for CO2 emissions, nor does it capture carbon dioxide. However, it does reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment. CarbonCure Technologies is actually a range of technical innovations that are designed to help concrete producers add carbon dioxide to their concrete. This creates concrete with a reduced carbon footprint and makes concrete more competitive in the green building market.

Once it’s used in the manufacturing process, CO2 is permanently embedded in the concrete. The carbon footprint of concrete is reduced, but performance is not compromised. Using CarbonCure to create concrete will help reduce cement use and reduce the carbon footprint of the concrete industry.

There is no cost to concrete producers that want to use the technology. They pay a monthly licensing agreement that requires no initial investment. The technology is installed within hours and works with all existing batching software.

So maybe it’s not exactly a “cure” for the carbon emission levels that are killing the planet…but it’s certainly an amazing solution for reducing the carbon footprint in the building industry. It’s a way for manufacturers to offer a more Earth-friendly option and it’s a really impressive bit of science. Industry, technology and advancement are what led to the current energy crisis. Maybe science can help the world out of it.

+ CarbonCure

Images via CarbonCure

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Escape to Australia in this rentable off-grid tiny home

Built on historic farmland in New South Wales, Australia, by architect Cameron Anderson, Gawthorne’s Hut is a luxury, rentable tiny home deep in the peaceful countryside. A galvanized exterior, steeply pitched solar panel roof, and abundant use of glass and wood make this off-grid tiny home the perfect sustainable getaway.

Gawthorne’s Hut offers accommodations for two. There is a kitchenette and breakfast bar with beautiful views of the surrounding grasslands and hills. A full bath and shower with large glass windows create a quiet place to rest and rejuvenate. In the bedroom, a handmade king bed perfectly fits the space. The home even has a full-size wood-burning stove.

Related: This tiny home makes a big impact with a small footprint

While Gawthorne’s Hut has WiFi and all the trimmings, it remains off-grid. The property is far from any stress and has its own barbecue pit with plenty of space outside. The angled roof allows for a lot more ceiling space (at least on one side) than you see in most tiny homes. Paneling and wood furniture create a warm and cozy interior for occupants.

Unique design and custom modern features help this project stand out. For example, an overhang has been integrated into the single-pitch roof, creating a beautifully shaded porch. Surrounded by an open valley and trees, Gawthorne’s Hut is just steps from a private pond.

In the center of the tiny home, recycled bricks were sourced from an old building on the property — the “original” Gawthorne’s Hut. Wild Willow Timber Designs handmade furniture for the new space. Moving through the interior, other features of interest include the full-size tub, built-in bookshelves and the unbroken views of hills in the distance.

The brick wall that acts as a headboard for the bed also creates a partial dividing wall with the bathroom. With only this one dividing wall, there isn’t much private space in Gawthorne’s Hut. Polished concrete floors flow seamlessly from the tiles of the tub and shower to the kitchen and bedroom.

+ Gawthorne’s Hut

Via Yanko Design

Images via Wilgowrah

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El Yunque Visitor's Center restored and redesigned by Marvel

The El Yunque Visitor’s Center in Puerto Rico has been renovated and redesigned after damage from Hurricanes Maria and Irma. Now restored, the center will serve as a gateway to Puerto Rico’s natural treasure, El Portal, the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. park system. The center was closed in 2017 and only just reopened after a redesign by Marvel, an architecture, landscape design and urban planning practice with offices in New York and San Juan.

The renovation cost $18.1 million and added a host of new sustainable features to the center. New features of the El Yunque El Portal Visitor Center include a new entry plaza, gardens, a cafe, exhibition and meeting areas, a kitchen, pavilions and a walking trail.

Related: Brutalist home in Puerto Rico is resistant to weather

“Our challenge for this project was to envision a refreshed design, that would respect and harmonize with the beautiful natural surroundings of El Yunque, integrate environmental sustainability factors and build upon the previous structure,” said Jonathan Marvel, principal of Marvel. “El Portal is an integral part of one of Puerto Rico’s biggest tourist attractions and, as such, it is an iconic destination.”

Passive ventilation was integrated into the exhibit, cafe and pavilion spaces via new roof structures with clerestory windows and new shading structures. To achieve LEED Silver certification for El Portal, Marvel implemented solar-ready infrastructure and water harvesting.

Marvel also designed the only accessible trail in the entire National Forest, developed within El Portal’s site. Interpretative exhibits were designed by Split Rock Studios. The reception desk and interior signs at El Portal were designed and built by Puerto Rico Hardwoods with recycled local mahogany boards.

Elements of the original design include the main hall, the upper courtyard and a water feature, but these were also modified to fit the new design vision and to meet new building and sustainability standards.

“Marvel seeks to promote initiatives and tackle construction projects that favor sustainability and resilience. The renovation of El Portal exemplifies our philosophy, and we are proud to be a part of this historic and significant project for Puerto Rico,” said Edna Echandi Guzmán, AIA, Director at Marvel’s Puerto Rico office.

+ Marvel Designs

Images via Joe Colon

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