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BOTTLETOP recently launched its new collection of vibrant handbag designs all made from their signature ring pull chainmail fabric from their Salvador Atelier and Amazon Atelier to highlight the importance of protecting the biodiversity of the Amazon and its indigenous communities.
Inspired by old, bright and eye-catching design aesthetic of the 1980s Memphis Milano movement, the collection also includes the zero-waste Leda Mini Tote. Leda is the first bag to be designed at the new atelier in the Amazon rainforest in partnership with the Yawanawá Indigenous community. The bag takes its name from Leda, the leader of the Yawanawá and the matriarch of the Matrinxa community. The vegan bag is handcrafted by using 100% waste materials.
The body of the bag is crafted using food waste; açaí seeds, which are leftover once juice has been made juice for the community. The açai is a sacred berry and a fundamental pillar of health for the Yawanawá, supporting brain, heart and skin health. After the seeds are dried, polished, drilled, sanded and dyed they are woven together with Parley Ocean Plastic® thread, and a single Humanium Metal seed cast from confiscated illegal firearms carries the BOTTLETOP brand icon.
With extensive preparation, each piece takes two days to make, using 895 hand-finished açaí seeds. The Leda Mini tote is a powerful symbol of the conservation of the Amazon’s remaining biodiversity, the economic empowerment of Indigenous communities, ocean conservation, and the importance of peaceful societies. This partnership is helping to protect the community’s cultural heritage and provides a vital source of income for the Yawanawá people. Empowering Indigenous communities to protect their natural ecosystems and biodiversity is fundamental for BOTTLETOP in the fight against climate change.
“Our precious forest is under great threat. It is burning. We are partnering with BOTTLETOP to create these designs as a symbol of hope for the future of the forest and our community. With this bag, we can preserve our community’s cultural heritage and craft and provide a livelihood for our people. Help us protect mother nature. Help us protect our home.”
– Tashka Yawanawá, Chief of the Yawanawá.
In her Ambassadorial role for BOTTLETOP and its #TOGETHERBAND campaign, Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio is dedicated to using her voice and visibility to support the economic empowerment of women, Indigenous communities and the natural world.
“It has always been important for me to support organisations dedicated to the economic empowerment of disadvantaged women in my home country Brazil and abroad. They have been closely working with local women at the heart of the community in Salvador, creating beautiful designs using waste materials, since 2005,” said Alessandra.
“BOTTLETOP has also been instrumental in supporting the Yawanawá Indigenous community. Empowering them to continue their way of life, protecting the Amazon and our precious biodiversity in the process. This matters to us all, and I’m proud to use my platform to support this work.”
The Salvador Atelier employs over 20 local women full time to weave recycled metal tabs together to make accessories that support people from the Salvador community – the area of Brazil with the highest unemployment rate, especially amongst women of colour. BOTTLETOP provide skills training for their signature crotchet and ‘Mistura’ weave, a braiding technique that combines upcycled metal with zero-deforestation leather.
The ring pulls are collected by “catadores” or “trash pickers” from the streets in Brazil an important source of income for people who are often homeless. Once the batch has been selected, they are washed, clipped, filed, and polished before being painted. Only then are they woven together to start their new life journey as part of the BOTTLETOP signature chainmail fabric.
The Amazon Atelier empowers indigenous communities to protect their natural ecosystems and biodiversity in the fight against climate change. BOTTLETOP was introduced to the Yawanawá, an indigenous community in the Amazon rainforest, by the activist and author Lily Cole. This led to the opening of their workshop and atelier beside the Gregorio River in the heart of the Amazon in 2022.
Acaí berries grow naturally in the rainforest there and for hundreds of years the community have harvested this superfruit because of its incredible health benefits. The seeds are dried, polished, drilled, hand dyed and woven together. The açai seeds in their YAWA designs represent the importance of protecting the biodiversity of the Amazon and its indigenous communities.
The seeds are threaded together on specially woven thread from Parley Ocean Plastic® intercepted from coastlines and marine environments. The thread represents the need to conserve rivers, seas, and oceans globally. Their YAWA designs feature a single seed cast from confiscated illegal firearms through the Humanium Metal Initiative embossed with the BOTTLETOP icon.
ABOUT BOTTLETOP
BOTTLETOP is a British regenerative fashion brand that is dedicated to supporting economically disadvantaged women and Indigenous peoples through the creation of environmentally friendly design and delivering a healthy planet through its #TOGETHER global advocacy campaign. BOTTLETOP was founded in 2002 by Cameron and Roger Saul through a handbag design collaboration with iconic British fashion house Mulberry, supporting artisans in Africa and local health education projects.
Oliver Wayman joined as a Co-Founder in 2005. With BOTTLETOP ateliers in Salvador, Kathmandu and the Amazon rainforest, the brand provides skills and livelihoods for artisans in disadvantaged parts of the world. The brand is also a technical innovator, working to develop and apply the most innovative waste and sustainably sourced materials to its collection, including upcycled metal, marine plastic debris, Humanium metal (recycled decommissioned firearms), Zero Deforestation Leather and wild rubber.
In November 2017, the brand opened on Regent Street with the first ever 3D printed store created from waste plastic and launched its #TOGETHER Campaign on Earth Day 2019. BOTTLETOP launched the first zero waste designs from its atelier in the Amazon rainforest in partnership with the Yawanawá Indigenous community in September 2022.
ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN
This campaign, photographed by Edgar Berg in the gardens of the Ambassador’s residence of the British Embassy in Paris, features the brand ambassador Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio alongside indigenous model and activist from the Amazon rainforest Zaya Guarani, Suzane Massena from Salvador and sustainability consultant Marina Testino. All the clothes featured in the BOTTLETOP SS23 campaign were kindly provided by Sonia Carrasco, Alfie Paris, Olistic The Label, Deadwood, Olly Lingerie, Virón.
For more information or to browse through the collection please visit bottletop.org
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