Textile Passion: A chat with Brenda Sacks, designer & founder of BottleCloth

You obviously have a passion for the environment.
Yes, I do — I would wonder where all the trash went and worry about it and that’s how I came to be an avid recycler! For as long as I’ve been living in California, I’ve been concerned about water wastage and being eco-friendly is something that I feel driven to do. There’s a conscience about how I treat the earth and what my footprint is, but it’s a work in progress — there are so many areas where one could improve on.

Why wasn’t it fulfilling enough to just produce reusable grocery bags via The Earthwise Bag Company?
Once Earthwise was up and running, I was not involved on a daily basis and there was a lot of time to think about what to do next. It was then that I recalled a time in my life when I was doing something I really enjoyed, and that was designing in Los Angeles in a garment business during the 1980’s. Having gone through the creative process and then the sale of that item to a store… All of that was thrilling to me! So I set my heart on designing and making something then selling it.

What’s your personal favourite home item?
I love tablecloths — I don’t know why, or I do know now! They’re like big canvases and I’ve spent a fair bit of time looking out for interesting table cloths. I entertain often and have always had an anxiety over the tablecloths in my linen closet. They were always creased or stained when you needed them, and to have to deal with that whilst cooking always stressed me! Also, my pet peeve was with placemats that looked nice when you bought them but would turn into a crumpled mess after only one wash. This inspired the initial product I set out to make: a modern-looking placemat that would look good after washing, wouldn’t lose its shape or fade, and was made of recycled material.

How did you chance upon this unique opportunity to produce BottleCloth?
It took me a couple of years to look for the right material. I’d gone to a fabric show in New York and found 100 percent recycled polyester that was made of recycled bottles. So I began working with a company in Taiwan and then in China to get the fabric to a right weight for tablecloths, placemats and runners. Sure, it was garment weight fabric but still, I was very excited about the find!

Where do you go for inspiration when it comes to the designs?
In the beginning, I was very drawn to Hitsuzendō – or better known as zen calligraphy – that used big brushes and black ink. If you were to combine this and my general muses from art and design, the creative process would just start to flow. Apart from that, I would also visit museums and galleries, flip through magazines and take pictures of anything I see on my travels.

Take us through the process of how plastic bottles are transformed into tablecloths.
The bottles are collected from recycling centers all over the world and prewashed to be separated from any trash and debris before being sent through laser sorting machines where beams of light detect the difference between clear plastic and green plastic. Once they are zapped to the correct colour conveyer system, the bottles are washed in a soapy mixture that’s hot enough to detach labels and caps. After that, the bottles are ground into cornflake-sized pieces, washed again and dried, and heated again to eliminate any contaminants. These recycled plastic bottle flakes (rPET) will be shipped to manufacturers in the United States, China and beyond. Upon arrival, the flakes are heated, melted and forced through a sieve into long strings, which will be fluffed, carded and spun into threads. Finally, these bobbins of thread are woven into the fabric you see on our products today.

If it weren’t for plastic bottles, what other eco-friendly alternatives would you have opted for to help save the planet.
I’m thinking of selling shower timers to municipalities. This way, they can send them out to their customers and teach them to be more aware of how much water they were using and wasting! There’s always something new to be found from recycled products.

What are your dreams for BottleCloth?
I would want us to make many other products from recyclables. Not just from plastic bottles but other plastic products like yogurt and margarine tubs, milk cartons etc. There’s a dire need for us to help spread awareness of how important it is to reuse these products!