Australian leather goods brand Bellroy has announced it will begin using recycled fabrics in its products, with the aim of removing 7 million plastic water bottles from landfills by 2021. 

Bellroy will chip and melt down recycled PET water bottles, which will be woven into a polyester yarn and turned into new, sustainably made bags to exist alongside its leather goods.

While the goal is to convert 100 per cent of its products to be made from recycled materials, Bellroy has committed to make 90 per cent of its woven products out of recycled materials by the middle of 2021.

“This is just the first step for us, and we are working hard on moving more of our materials in the range or other more sustainable materials that help us move towards our overarching environmental goals,” Bellroy head of product development Arya Ghavifekr said. 

“There are more exciting new materials in development and testing, which will be added to the range soon.”

Bellroy has said its number one goal is to make products that will last for a long time, but until now hadn’t found a way to make durable products using recycled materials. Getting the material right without compromising on quality, durability or aesthetics took many trials, according to Ghavifekr. 

“Through many lab tests and yardages of fabric, we have worked hard to make sure the resulting products will look great, and last a long time,” Ghavifekr said. 

Bellroy recently raised US$8 million ($11.4 million) from external investors in order to expand into new categories, and to grow its global presence.

“We task ourselves with bringing genuine insights to each new category we enter, and so our product expansion is slower than many other brands,” Bellroy founding designer and CEO Andy Fallshaw told Inside Retail.

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