Recycling Fun into Furniture
Ecobirdy produce a line of children’s furniture with a unique twist, that is, it’s 100% recycled. The line uses a new recycled material developed in house called “ecothylene”, which gives the furniture its unique Terrazzo look.
Ecobirdy, furniture collection source: ecobirdy.com
Ecothylene has been created by Ecobirdy to recycle plastic toys into a new material free from harmful chemicals with a great look to boot. Ecobirdy have set themselves a target to recycle 25 tons of toys. No timeframe given for this, but a positive goal none the less. As far as consumer goods go, Children’s toys are one of the most intensive categories in terms of use of plastics, with 90% of toys for babies and toddlers being made of plastic[1].
By creating this material and “giving old plastic a new life, our [Ecobirdy’s] aim is to free our ecosystem from its pernicious impact”. The recycled plastic is created without the addition of any pigment or resin by sorting it into similar base colours creating a signature dappled aesthetic.
Rhino Lamp (strawberry) source: ecobirdy.com
The development of Ecothylene has gone hand in hand with the brand creating their own collection and recycling system to close the loop on waste. The toy recycling and furniture production is all done within Europe. This offers the added benefit of reduced transport miles when selling to their European clientele rather than the common international shipping of mass produced items from Asia.
Closing the loop with plastic toys and turning them into furniture is a great opportunity to teach kids about the circular economy, a principal by which materials that are brought into production get reused indefinitely instead of being disposed of and heading to landfill.
Charlie Chair (strawberry) source: ecobirdy.com