Based in Antwerp, ecoBirdy is a design brand that recycles plastic toys for use in their products.
Creating chairs, tables, containers, and lamps, ecoBirdy’s product collection is made of 100% recycled plastic that is separated by colour, giving the products an “original and unique look”.
“Plastic toys use plastic more intensively than other consumer goods,” said ecoBirdy in a press release. “Our aim is to free our ecosystem from the sea of plastic waste. As we use innovative technologies, made for the reuse of plastic, there is no need to add any pigments or resin.”
ecoBirdy has also created an accompanying storybook and school programme as part of their mission to educate children about the circular economy in the hopes of inspiring the young to work towards a more sustainable future.
Setting Mind interviews Vanessa Yuan and Joris Vanbriel, the co-founders of ecoBirdy.
Setting Mind: How did you two initially meet?
Vanessa Yuan and Joris Vanbriel: We both (Vanessa originally from Taiwan and Joris from Belgium) started our professional career in Milan, Italy, collaborating with various international fashion and design studios. This is where we met the first time more than ten years ago.
Why and how did you start ecoBirdy?
Social and environmental responsibility always meant a lot to us, personally and professionally speaking! After years of working in the design and fashion industry we were questioning ourselves: why creating something new if so many good designs already exist from the past?
With today’s environmental problems and climate change in mind, we wanted to create something appropriate for our world. ecoBirdy is the result of two years of very intense researches and studies about plastic, plastic toys and it’s recycling and upcycling.
Why recycle toys and not other plastic wastes?
During our researches, we found out that plastic toys are among the most intensive users of plastic of all consumer goods. Children grow fast and their abilities and interests shift even faster, therefore toys are abandoned soon. This was when we came up with the idea of giving these toys a new life, bringing them back to their children to stay for longer, and so introduce kids to the circular design concept.
We have worked a lot on the material and the design to find the perfect combination between aesthetics and comfort to make sure we can produce high-quality products that are 100% safe for kids.
What is the origin of the name ecoBirdy?
ecoBirdy is the combination of two things. eco stands for ecological. We care about our environment. We think it’s important to respect the resources provided by mother nature. 90% of seabirds today have plastic in their stomach. Birdy stands for a healthy future of our nature, where birds will be able to fly freely and live well.
What is in store for the future?
We will continue to research materials to discover more ecological designs for our products. Our dream is that ecoBirdy one day will be a symbol for eco-friendly design.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
To learn more about ecoBirdy, click the link below.
