How to make luxury handbags from salmon skins
From capture to processing, the fishing industry produces large quantities of fish waste. Of an estimated total resource of 80 billion kilos every year, approximately 43% ends up as products for human consumption, and the remaining 57% becomes fish and shellfish waste. At this moment, only 1% of all fish skins are recycled.
Ms. Bay believes there are great opportunities in using fish-leather. This handbag brand creates products made of rescued waste material and following fair-trade manufacturing ethics. The main material in their collection is salmon-leather, which has qualities similar to regular leather but is processed in a more environmental-friendly way and is highly durable. Salmon skins are collected as a waste-product from the fishing industry.
In addition to using innovative materials, the company strongly believes that also design (timeless, with slow collections), manufacturing (respecting the basic human rights and needs of workers) and other daily operations (keeping in mind the company's ecological footprint) are important parts in future-proof businesses.
The fashion Industry is very polluting. Not only does it have a huge water footprint, it also makes an extensive use of chemicals and the waste produced by fashion fills up landfills worldwide. Ms. Bay aims to use modern knowledge and techniques to prevent this, and can attain the following results:
- It produces about 2000 bags per year, saving about 12000 salmon skins from being wasted
- In addition, it keeps on researching new alternatives to constantly improve its sustainability
- It contributes to reducing waste by reusing natural materials
- It aims at cleaning the oceans of plastic pollution
- It supports cooperatives and fair trade certified companies
- It contributes to creating awareness regarding sustainability and ethics in fashion.
