Luggage Made From Recycled Plastic Water Bottles

[eridani]

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/03/05/green-travel-sustainable-luggage-plastic-water-bottles?cmpid=tpdaily-eml-2015-03-05-actions

Headquartered in a 7,000-square-foot plantation-style captain’s house built in 1882, LiteGear makes ultralight travel bags and suitcases out of recycled plastic water bottles. “We ship entire containers of plastic water bottles to China, but it’s time we stopped that,” said Raible. “Because if you think about it, it’s a natural resource, and we should treat it like one.”

Break plastic water bottles down into their essential components, and they’re essentially petroleum. Flaked, melted, and extruded into polyester fiber, the bottles yield a yarn that is very light and very strong. “Not one additional drop of petroleum is used to make our products,” Raible said.

LiteGear’s mission to produce sustainable travel gear grew from Raible’s long history in the travel industry. Starting at Berkeley, California–based North Face in her 20s, Raible rose to be the company’s director of product development and product acquisition, where she gained the product design and engineering skills that enabled her to develop LiteGear’s state-of-the art recycled fabrics.

“When I got the idea for LiteGear, one of my inspirations was North Face’s expedition backpacks, which had to be as light as humanly possible without compromising durability,” she said.

[Thor_MN]

1. +1 for recycling, but "Not one additional drop of petroleum"?

“Not one additional drop of petroleum is used to make our products,”

None of their employees drive to work? Their energy use in their facility is all renewable? The bottles are collected by pack mules?

I think he overstated the greenness a bit...