Business development

3Quarters & Thela: functional and stylish urban zero waste

Two brands dedicated to making accessories from different types of plastic urban waste learned that combining their slightly defective products can result in one-of-a-kind products that explore the distinct features of each material, opening up infinite possibilities.

The companies involved

3Quarters was founded 11 years ago by Yiannis (John) Pitsakis and his sister Garyfalia Pitsaki as a company that makes accessories out of large scale synthetic urban textiles. The main target of their upcycling was for many years the sun shades that exist on every balcony in Greece. They also made some products out of commercial banners, such as from the local meat market and a nearby contemporary museum. Recently, they came across a new and truly underutilized source of waste and are now entirely dedicated to finding product solutions with these items: decommissioned lifeboats from the ferries that connect the Greek islands. Limited to yellow, black and the classic orange, these rafts are gigantic, covered inflatable boats, full of straps and valves that need to be removed, cut up and washed to make them usable. But John and his team are undeterred and address these giants one bag at a time.

Théla is a company founded by Athens-resident Diti Kotecha, who hails from India. She addresses the global waste problem of plastic bags, which are collected from landfills and other critical locations specifically in India, hygienized and spun to make a uniquely soft yarn. This yarn is hand woven on traditional looms by women in these areas where employment is scarce. As the fabric tends to fray when cut, pieces are woven to size and then sewn together to make practical and surprisingly durable accessories that are designed and sold in Athens.

The problem addressed

As Thela’s products are hand woven and come from a challenging material, that of plastic bags turned into yarn, sometimes there are defects in either the woven material, or in the confection of the accessories. At the same time, 3Quarters seeks to use all the parts of the lifeboats they are upcycling, but don’t quite know what to do with some of the stranger parts like large valves that appear in the midst of otherwise usable swaths of plastic.

The FABRIX solution

The two FABRIX awarded SMEs collaborated to find a creative solution. Ditti and John brainstormed to come up with some one-of-a-kind products that would turn the defects of their single products into a combined, unique and practical ones.

They created three co-branded prototypes, putting together for example a small pouch from Thela with a minor textile defect on a larger tote bag from 3Quarters’s black lifeboat material that was marred by a valve. They played with colour combinations and brand placement. Most of all, the collaboration led to reflections on the differences between the soft and hard plastics being used and what advantages there could be to combining their qualities. The lifeboats are waterproof and strong, which can provide useful rigidity and functionality to Thela’s more delicate, textured fabric. They can imagine a co-branded saleable product like Thela’s large tote that uses the lifeboat material to make the base more resistant. They’re also thinking about making a raincoat together. The two agree that the possibilities are endless.

Contributed by Cedecs-TCBL.