Sealand Gear Introduce Their Up-Cycle Product Range

A new and eco-conscious brand, Sealand Gear, has launched their product range in South Africa. The brains behind the environmentally-friendly brand are two surfers from Cape Town, Mike Schlebach and Jasper Eales, who had the vision of producing a range of bags, accessories and clothing from waste material.

Mike formerly ran a bag manufacturing company that used up-cycled yacht sail cloth as the core material, while Jasper won Design Indaba's Most Beautiful Object In South Africa 2014 for a surfboard rack he designed.

The initial idea of up-cycling waste product into a higher quality new product was challenging enough, but Mike and Jasper also wanted a range of products that are functional and practical, good looking and strong, as well as being durable enough to last a lifetime. 

"We identified four main sources of waste material, all extremely durable in the first-hand form, and that don't lose much strength in their second-hand form," said Schlebach. "The four being truck tarp, advertising billboard mesh, stretch tent material and old sail cloth. We then developed a range suited to these material properties."

For aesthetics, care has been taken to utilise the correct waste product. "We take great care to find the good, clean and visually pleasing sections of this material," said Schlebach. "This we craft into one-of-a-kind pieces."

Due to the fact that all material used in production was destined for the rubbish heaps, every single item produced from the waste will have a unique aspect to it, giving each Sealand item a personality all of its own. All of this, and still ensuring that every step of the Sealand processes are environmentally responsible. "All of our products are guaranteed to be 100% unique, and have a lifetime waranty," said Eales.

"We have made a committment to always placing the environment first in any decision-making processes," continued Eales, the creative mind behind this new brand. "In return this will reduce the amount of waste landing up in landfills."

Products on the initial range launch include backpacks, duffle bags, totes, laptop sleeves, multi purpose pouches and webbing keyholders.