When Angela Greene, 45, learned that her backpack's pocket
was made of truck and tractor inner tubes and that local tire
centers offered free discarded inner tubes, she began
experimenting. With Ken Kobrick, she created handbag prototypes in
2001. And in 2004, they founded Richmond, Virginia-based Passchal
and landed their bags in the Billboard Music Awards goodie
bags.
The conversion of inner tubes to luxurious handbags with
customizable leather trim and Smartlyte Interior light systems is
miraculous, considering the original farm equipment tubes "are
dirty and smell like rotten eggs," according to Greene.
Kobrick, 47, proudly mentions that, in addition to boutiques,
recycling organizations and automotive and tire stores now carry
Passchal. The
business projects 2006 sales of $200,000 and is creating a line of
evening bags with fiber optics, proving they're fearless when
it comes to treading into the unfamiliar.
Taking his fondness for recycled crafts to new heights, Garret
Croft Stenson, 26, created and sold duct tape wallets from his
college dorm in 1998. The marketing major used every project
assignment as an opportunity to test out his hobby. Stenson later
began making the wallets on a larger scale and set up booths at
Portland, Oregon, street markets and events, where tourists and
store reps alike were taken by the idea. Sales for 2006 are
expected to reach $500,000.
Content Continues Below
Stenson's business, Db Clay, now makes all wallets from gaffer's tape.
"We're really stepping up in terms of quality and
design," says Stenson, who notes that artists designed the new
mixed-media billfolds. With manufacturing secured, Stenson plans to
eventually transition into a full designer label with bags,
accessories and clothing. Selling his products via boutiques and
his site as well as internationally in Canada, Japan and New
Zealand, Stenson is amazed he's reached beyond his original
skateboarder and punk-rocker demographic. "[We've learned]
people were treating [the wallets] like art pieces. A woman
carrying a Prada purse bought one of my wallets."
For Miami-based Ecoist, rejects are its thing. Since 2004,
Jonathan Marcoschamer, 29; his mother, Helen, 56; his brother Yair,
31; and his sister-in-law Gabriela, 29; have created products made
from misprinted or discontinued lines of snack bags, soda labels
and candy wrappers mostly from Mexican brands. And Ecoist works
with organizations in Mexico and Central America that teach people
how to use these recycled materials to help build and sustain a
living. "We were seeing a trend in the markets toward
sustainable products," says Jonathan. "We believe this
consciousness will go into other industries."
The colorful accessories are currently in 250 stores in the
U.S., Canada and Japan and are sold online at www.ecoist.com. Talks
with some major U.S. snack brands may lead to limited collections,
and 2006 sales are already projected at $1.5 million. "We
consider ourselves to be driven not just by the need to make
money," says Jonathan, "but to be active in social
causes, however small they may be." Junk food never looked so
good.