Reflecting changing times and a shifting world, Prada launches a pioneering new project, Re-Nylon, introducing a sustainable line of iconic Prada bag silhouettes executed in a unique new regenerated nylon, ECONYL®.
To showcase the cutting-edge processes behind the Re-Nylon initiative, National Geographic, Prada’s Storytelling Partner, has produced a short video series, What We Carry.
Expressing the aims, intentions and actuality of Prada Re-Nylon, as well as transparently underscoring the supply-chain of these unique projects, this series of short films takes viewers through a remarkable journey across every continent of the world, from Africa to America, Asia and Oceania to Europe, revealing the inner workings of this unique enterprise.
The first instalment, debuting Prada Re-Nylon, takes us to Phoenix Arizona, to the first US carpet recycling facility which can recycle up to 16,000 metric tons each year. Less than 3% of the 1.6 million tons of carpet discarded in the US each year is recycled: in this video, actress and Prada reporter Bonnie Wright and National Geographic explorer and creative conservationist Asher Jay show us one of the sources of ECONYL® nylon and unpack a new cyclical supply-chain upending traditional notions of production for a new generation.
As the name underscores, the focus is on the individual, the self - the notion that what each of us carry can affect the burden of the planet, for bad or for good. That personal input can have a global impact, that everyone and everything can make a difference.
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Prada Re-Nylon
Prada Re-Nylon reinvents the idea of timeless, as something that can truly last forever.
Re-Nylon is a bold move towards total sustainability - towards an ultimate goal of converting all Prada virgin nylon into regenerated nylon ECONYL® by the end of 2021. It reflects the focus of the Prada Group on promoting a corporate culture that aspires to increasingly sustainable balances, incorporating into its daily work the idea of a return of value to society.
The product of a partnership between Prada and the textile yarn producer Aquafil, ECONYL® nylon is obtained through the recycling and purification process of plastic waste collected from oceans, fishing nets, and textile fibre waste. ECONYL® yarn, through a process of depolymerization and re-polymerisation, can be recycled indefinitely, with no loss of quality.
Underscoring the importance of awareness and responsibility, a percentage of proceeds from the sale of the Prada Re-Nylon capsule will be donated to a project related to environmental sustainability. Prada in partnership with UNESCO is developing educational activities that involve students from several countries to implement dedicated lesson plans using plastic and circular economy topics to inspire learners. The approach of the educational program is built around two axes - learning and take action – and one of the outcomes will be an awareness raising campaign designed by the students.
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National Geographic