London-based brand Petit Pli is an innovative, material technology company that reinvents fashion by maximizing sustainability and efficiency while still making it fun.
Their brand emphasizes circular design that cuts down on waste and is inspired by space-age efficiency. The result is clothes that are complexly folded, avant-garde in style but down to earth in practicality – working towards a sustainable future for planet Earth one pleat at a time.
The inspiration:
Inspired by children growing out of clothes so quickly and the amount of wastage in the fashion industry, Petit Pli’s team of aeronautical engineers, neuroscientists, and designers create sustainable clothing that grows with you. Ryan Mario Yasin, aeronautical engineer and founder of Petit Pli, was struck by his nephew outgrowing his clothes. By the time a gift from Ryan had arrived, his nephew had already outgrown them.
Finding that the children’s clothing industry hadn’t bothered to address the rapid growth rate of kids, Ryan applied his own unique background in aeronautical engineering to clothing. Aeronautical engineering is designing products for space travel and in space, clothing must be adaptable, essentials only, low impact, and extremely durable.
Inspired by these standards Petit Pli came up with clothes that do exactly that – last longer, are recyclable after use, and take less to produce. By upholding outer-space standards, Petit Pli works towards saving the planet.
The innovation:
So, Petit Pli’s team of aerospace engineers, fashion designers, sociologists, and neuroscientists began working to make this vision happen. For the solution, they emphasize circular design. In short form, circular design eliminates waste in the entire lifespan of the product, from production to during use to after use. To do this, Petit Pli’s products derive from traditional origami techniques and recycled materials.
During production, Petit Pli cuts down on waste by recycling plastic bottles into durable and comfortable fabric and by partnering with a Portugal-based company that uses 100% clean energy -i.e. solar, water, biomass, and wind energy.
During use their “Clothes that Grow” line also cuts down on waste. It is designed specifically to be worn by kids even as they grow from nine months to four years old and is inspired by the origami panels for outer-space satellites. The complex origami pleats and folds allow for the clothes to stretch as needed, almost like an accordion but is still tough enough to retain its shape. One single piece of clothing can grow up to seven sizes in total, eliminating costs for the consumer, the producer, and the planet to produce too many clothes that will be outgrown in weeks or months.
And, since all their clothing is made of recycled materials, the clothes can once again be recycled after being worn. It is design come full circle – circular design. All their patented folded-cloth designs are held up to the Mars Test to be as sustainable and efficient as would be needed for space travel.
They even got creative with their unique “jet-packaging.” It’s exactly what you think. Sustainable, cardboard packaging delivered as the box for your clothes with instructions so it can be folded and coloured in to look like a jetpack. It is truly a “sustainable childrenswear revolution.”
The impact:
All this design has already impacted the environment and caught the attention fashion and media publications internationally.
The lifespan of each Petit Pli product is at least 9 months longer than that of traditional clothing. This nine-month extension alone cuts down carbon and water footprints by 20-30% already. Each piece of clothing takes at least six recycled bottles out of landfills and repurposes them into fabric material. By 2025, Petit Pli’s mission is to have recycled millions of bottles into clothing.
Amongst many other awards, the TIME: 100 Best Inventions list in 2020 recognized Petit Pli’s MSK (face mask) as one of the best inventions of the year. It follows the same origami design as Petit Pli’s other products, with recyclable/recycled material, maximal flexibility for all sizes, breathability, and high-quality filtration. And Petit Pli does not intend to stop there. They have expanded into sustainable adult clothing and even more innovations are pending patents.
As per their vision statement, “Petit Pli aims to clothe the future of humanity; we’re just starting with the next generation.”
All images in this article are courtesy of Petit Pli.
