In fast fashion ‘drops’ are used to respond to our ‘on demand’ society where we expect instant gratification and constant novelty. Mass produced items are offered for short periods creating hype around a limited edition product. In fast fashion, this means overconsumption of products we don’t need as we fill our wardrobes with more and more clothes to meet our desire for something new. In fast fashion the items manufactured determine the amount of waste created.

Remix Plastic has decided to take the fast fashion concept of a ‘drop’, turn it on its head and apply it to our products. Our drops will be different: instead of the item determining the amount of waste produced, the amount of waste will determine the items we produce.

Remix Plastic uses local waste to create products with a sustainable story - diverting waste from landfill and engaging people in a conversation around reducing single use plastic. This embeds concepts like kaitiakitanga and circular economy into our pieces highlighting issues of waste in the fashion industry.

Because Remix Plastic will never make products from virgin plastic (no matter how high the demand) our supply chain is dependent on waste from other projects. The popularity of the huia feather earrings meant that we outstripped the supply of waste PLA and ran out of stock. Many people commented that they were surprised that we didn’t just purchase virgin PLA to keep up with demand. But for Remix Plastic, that would have been completely at odds with our philosophy. 

Huia feather earrings are made from recycled white and black PLA - which is not always available as a source material.

Yes we would have made more money but it would have been greenwashing our customers. ‘Made from partially recycled material’ is a common phrase, but as we’ve seen with mainstream products, with no regulation this could just be a token amount of recycled material to ease the conscience of customers. You can be sure that Remix Plastic’s products are made from completely recycled materials.

So how will it work? 

Some products will be in the ‘Foundation’ range, these are ones where we can consistently guarantee supply - like the new Straight and Narrow earrings.

Straight and Narrow earrings are made from mixed recycled PLA.

Other products like the Huia Feather earrings will be released as Limited Drops as source material becomes available. Inventory will be tracked so you’ll know that what we’ve got on the website is what is available.  And we’ll let you know when drops are happening through social media and our ‘Back-in-Stock emailing list.

So follow us on Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know about exciting and unique limited products!