Does Recycling Plastic Bottles into Pricey Luxury Goods Make Sense?

Is this what “sustainability” looks like?

Clothing and accessories manufacturer Rothy’s has announced a new line of goods created in partnership with evian. The brand says “Rothy’s and evian collected approximately 72,000 evian bottles from New York’s largest tennis tournament last year (the U.S. Open), and transformed them into a stunning capsule collection using Rothy’s signature 3D knitting process.”

This “Rothy’s x evian” collection contains objects like:

A $75 visor (made from four water bottles’ worth of material):

A $195 fanny pack (19 bottles):

A $325 racket bag (33 bottles):

A $495 duffel bag (56 bottles):

Something about this really bugs me; it’s like they’re exploiting our gluttony twice. “Don’t feel bad about drinking water out of single-use plastic—we’ll give you the opportunity to re-purchase that plastic in the form of an overpriced luxury good!”

Stunningly, the description for all of the objects listed above reads: “This special edition was the first of its kind and sold out within hours—keep an eye out for one-time creations like these.” Perhaps I’m the one that’s out of step with society and what people really want.

Source: core77