Hand-made Retro Wallets Made From Recycled Cassette Tapes
by Kathreen Ricketson, Canberra, Australia 
on 04.26.07
Cassette tapes are a now obsolete technology (thank goodness), but I imagine there are plenty still out there in the bottom of peoples drawers soon to be heading to junk shops and rubbish bins. One designer has found a pretty groovy use for them. Marcella Foschi, tears apart found cassette tapes and joins them back together with zippers, all handmade and her own original design, they made their debut at the Tokyo Designboom 2006 Mart where young design professionals showcased their latest products. These are fun, practical (they are more of a pouch or purse than a wallet) and neon coloured, with the added benefit of nostalgia (check out some of the artists represented). Best of all though they make use of a something that would otherwise end up in landfill.
Check out some past TreeHugger stories on wallets made from recycled materials, such as the recycled bike tube wallet, wallets made from recycled tractor inner tubes, and from recycled tarpaulins.
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While turning trash into treasure is certainly the right thing to do, I'm not sure if this is a good way to do it. It appears to me that the tape halves are being glued onto the outside of an already usable pouch, which means they are redundant (and would be wasteful if they weren't already waste). I'm hoping I'm wrong, and the tapes holes are just sealed with a small patch rather than a complete side to the pouch, but perhaps there is something the tapes would be more useful for.....
Still, If everyone thought of a use for one type of trash, we could probably deal with it all.
These look perfect for digital cameras.
What about CD cases? Anyone reusing them yet?
First it was 8 tracks and now cassettes. As technology develops, it leaves other products in the dust. I think it is a great way to recycle old cassette tapes, and looks awesome as well. As a firm believer of recycling, I am an advocate of this idea. I am sure that in the future I will make wallets from trash to cut down my input to landfills. Not only is this idea retro and fashionable but it’s affordable and good for the environment.
Cool!
You're on http://www.ri-creazione.info/index.php?title=retro_wallets&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
My question is what is she doing with the tape innards?? Are they being recycled?
Here's an idea of what some people are doing...
Cassette Tape Handbag