The Man In The Big Hat Supports A Bigger Cause

Featured Image Credit: Bionic Yarn

Putting the word bionic in front of any word automatically makes it cool. For example: bionic man, bionic legs, bionic yarn… just trust us on this one. Even if it doesn’t sound THAT cool, Bionic Yarn really is awesome and we’re gonna blow your minds when we tell you why.

Founded in 2009, Bionic Yarn is an impressively forward thinking company that is creating a recycled polyester product out of plastic bottles from the ocean. The NYC based startup is sweeping the shorelines for ocean debris and turning it into yarns and fabrics.

Bionic Yarn comes from tiny shredded bits of plastic polymer. Image Credit: Bionic Yarn

In the last 3 years alone, over 7 million bottles have been turned into a range of clothing items like ski jackets and jeans, to other items like boat covers and furniture. With a creative director like Pharrell Williams, yes that Pharrell, their clothing can’t help but burst onto the fashion scene.

Plastic bottles and polyester are both made from the same polymer, making it a relatively easy process for Bionic Yarn to break down the bottles and turn them into “recycled polyester.” Personally, we still think the company should have their own episode of How It’s Made.

In a CNN Interview, the music mogul explained that “It was a way to not kill plastic off but at least slow down the production of it and slow down the production of new polyester when we can just recycle the plastic from bottles.”

Plastic bag floating underwater at Pulau Bunaken. Image Credit: National Geographic News

Here’s the reality that companies like Bionic Yarn are fighting:

• By 2050, the ocean will contain more plastic than fish mass.
• There are roughly 100,000 pieces per square kilometer in some areas of the ocean.
• More than 8 million tons of plastic are added to the ocean every year -that’s a load from a garbage truck every single second.

Why are kick-ass companies like Bionic Yarn so important? Well with no definite solution to the ocean pollution problem, anyone who is willing to think outside of the plastic bag, bring attention to important issues, and work hard to put even the smallest dent in a problem deserves recognition in our book – or blog rather.

Read more about Bionic Yarn and the difference they’re making here.