Rubber rubbish 'upcycled' into rugged travel gear

Rubber tires and inner tubes are useful enough when they're new. 

 

In the summer though, inner tubes become those black rubber donuts that people use on the beach to make their worries float away. Any other time of the year, they're a forgettable part of the car, just like the tires that enclose them.  

When they wear out or can no longer be used, inner tubes are discarded, left to pile up in landfills or garbage pits or wherever else, a cumbersome piece of junk that will take years and years to decay. 

 

Car tires suffer the same fate, they're sometimes used to weigh down roofs, or as makeshift road bumps. The hollow of old tires are also notorious breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

 

At Siklo Pilipinas, rubber is hardly just rubbish. Transformed into tough-looking travel gear by husband and wife team Lyndon Ecuacion and Clarice de Villa-Ecuacion, who “upcycle” the tires into pouches, bags, and backpacks that look nothing like the car parts or flotation devices they used to be.

 

"We mainly upcycle tire and inner tube rubbers. Since there is no known disintegration rate for tire rubber to decay, upcycling this material implies durability that can outlive our generation," Clarice told GMA News Online in an email correspondence. "That's what makes it more exciting."

 

Upcycling vs. recycling

 

What is upcycling? Unlike recycling, you can't remake the old material into something completely different from its origin. "Upcycling has totally different manufacturing processes because unlike recycling which you dictate the material (where you are the boss), in upcycling the material dictates you (this time, it is the boss)," Clarice said.

 

Clarice and her husband started their upcycling venture in 2011. As nature trippers who have backpacked across the country for over a decade, the couple definitely know a thing or two about travel gear.

 

"At first we thought we found an alternative solution to protect our gear for our adventure travel lifestyle. Inner tube and tire rubber [are] suitable, sustainable material," she shared.

 

From there, they started making small items such as belts and accessories, which they sold and continue to sell at their regular post at the Legaspi Sunday Market in Makati. Their products debuted with a splash – the Ecuacions were already invited to export to clients in Europe after their products went on sale for the first time.

 

"It was awe-inspiring," Clarice shared, saying that the initial response fuelled their creativity. 

" With my husband's insatiable appetite for creative challenges, we begun experimenting and testing," she said.

 

Travel gear by travel enthusiasts

 

Soon, their line expanded to accommodate the needs of their growing customer base. Travel gear such as bicycle panniers and bags then became part of their product line. Bags, Clarice explained, are more functional and consume more reclaimed tire rubber materials.

 

"People who saw our initiative are very supportive. We learned more from our conversations with them. We accommodated customers' suggestions and personalized their specific needs," she said.

Aside from being tough and  functional, the pieces also serve to make a statement. As Clarice shared, "this is where people like to express their being environmentally aware, a statement for eco-ethical lifestyle."

 

Of course, their project does not come without difficulties.

 

Tire rubber, in particular, is a challenging material to use – the very characteristics that make it durable and sustainable also make it very tough to handle.

 

As Clarice explained: "Siklo Pilipinas conforms to the innate characteristics of the tire and inner tube material. We learn by experience that no used materials are ever the same, thus subjecting it to standard manufacturing processes does not yield 100 percent success which translate to cost."

 

In fact, Lyndon calls their project "enslaving, very demanding." 

 

Ultimately though, Lyndon thinks it is a happy challenge, one that benefits both the environment and people – the Ecuacion's jobless neighbors are given work when they help with crafting the products.

 

"Upcycling makes greener sense.  It has very low carbon footprint in manufacturing and usually involves more people in the process," Clarice explained.

 

She said: "with reclaimed tire and inner tube rubber Siklo Pilipinas evolved and blossomed into an advocacy geared towards economic activity while promoting awareness to preserve nature... It's more fun going green!" – KDM/HS, GMA News  All photos courtesy of Siklo