Hallenstein Brothers has collaborated with Coca-Cola and Will.i.am to produce a range of eco-friendly suits targeted at millennials that are manufactured from up to 25 recycled PET plastic bottles.
The suits come in five different styles that are currently being worn by the likes of Will.i.am, Stan Walker and US indie band The Kin. And Glen Hunter, the general manager of Hallenstein Brothers, explains that it was important for them to move away from “traditional eco-friendly garments that are usually considered green and rough”. Historically, sustainable items have only been popular in fringe subcultures, making broader commercial appeal difficult.
Hunter admits that the innovation of the Ekocycle suit didn’t come overnight when he says, “We’ve tried different things over the years; we’ve tried organic cottons and recycled goods as well, and we’ve found that it always comes at a premium and never sells.”
Hunter explains that while people might care about the environment this isn’t necessarily going to encourage them to fork out extra money if they don’t have to. He likens it to online flight bookings, saying, “no one I’ve spoken to has paid the extra money to offset their [carbon]footprint on a flight.”
“A product with recycled content should not have a premium. It should be priced as it would be for a non-recycled garment. It should be able to stack up against it. You shouldn’t be paying a premium for something that’s good,” he says.
At the outset of this project, Hunter thus set three standards that the product had to meet: it had to be reasonably priced; it had to be fashionable; and it had to feel great.
Paul Ellis, the publicist for the project, says, “When the conversation first came up, I don’ think that Coca-Cola thought a company from New Zealand could do it. But then it was turned around within four months.”
Using technology that had been developed by US company Unify, Hunter says that they were able to produce a garment that had a 60 percent plastic composition, that was stronger, and, somewhat surprisingly, softer than the non-recycled alternative. Nike has also used similar technology to produce a range of football jerseys for the Football World Cup.
Hunter says that they created something unique in the sense that these suits “tick all the boxes plus price”. The suits are sold at the same price ($199) as their non-recycled offerings, meaning that customers can now choose to make an ethical choice without the usual bite of an ethical premium.
Hip-hop star Will.i.am launched the range on 28 September 2013, as part of his collaborative efforts with Beats (by Dr Dre), Levi Strauss and Coca-Cola to promote ethical alternatives to the production of merchandise.
