Earrings inspired by beautiful Aotearoa New Zealand native trees, flowers and more!
Brighten your day and lighten your footsteps with these 100% recycled earrings! But wait, there's more - $2 from every pair sold is donated to Trees That Count to support the planting of native trees, meaning that there will be one tree planted for every 5 pairs sold!
Kawakawa is a special plant that grows throughout Te Ika-a-Māui (North Island) and the top half of Te Waipounamu (South Island), it has culinary and medicinal uses. It is said that kawakawa was the first of the healing plants to be planted by Tāne-māhuta who imbued it with the healing qualities of all the other plants giving it pride of place among rongoā rākau (medicinal trees). Kawakawa has beautiful glossy heart-shaped leaves which often contain holes caused by the kawakawa looper moth caterpillar. Remix Plastic love the combination of practicality and beauty embodied by the kawakawa leaves!
Kākābeak / Ngutukākā is endemic to NZ and critically endangered. There are fewer ngutukākā plants in the wild than there are kākāpō - there are only 150 plants left in the wild. Ngutukākā is delicious to deer, goats and pigs and can grow on rocky, steep bluffs. Māori used ngutukākā for gifting and trading.
Remix Plastic’s Kākābeak earrings are laser cut from sheets of 3D printer waste from Tūranga library and the small green (looks brown in some light) tops are cut from green single-use plastic bottles.
Kōwhai Flowers: The bright yellow flowers are loved by New Zealanders due to the way they burst into life which heralds the arrival of spring and the lightness of our steps. Laser cut from ice cream container lids and plastic bottles. This is the first of Remix Plastic's range to use PET bottles!
Kōwhai Leaves: Inspired by the beautiful symmetrical leaflets of the native Kōwhai plant. Said to symbolise personal growth, these are a great reminder to reflect and take time out for ourselves.
Mānuka is found throughout New Zealand and when mature, it is very tolerant of drought, waterlogging, strong winds and frost. Similarly, floral accessories are pretty timeless - these recycled plastic mānuka flower earrings will provide an ongoing, 'slow-fashion' addition to your wardrobe. Available with both hooks or hoops to suit your style.
These Mānuka flower earrings are laser cut from sheets of 3D printer waste from Tūranga library, along with a stockpile of pink plastic from a few other sources collected over the years.
Monstera deliciosa leaf earrings to match your favourite houseplant! Show off your love of house plants with a pair of these luscious leafy earrings. Made from recycled PLA (3D printer waste).
Pōhutukawa: The blazing red pōhutukawa flowers around Christmas time have earned this tree the title of New Zealand's Christmas tree! These earrings are laser cut from red 3D printer waste and have hand painted golden tips that shine like the beautiful native flowers. Designed to be Christmas-y but chic enough to wear all year round!
Poppy Flowers: Honoring the timeless symbol of remembrance, the poppy. Wear these sustainable earrings as a heartfelt reminder of those who have served and sacrificed, carrying the spirit of remembrance with grace and dignity. $2 from every pair of Poppy Earrings sold will be donated to the RSA to help improve health and wellbeing outcomes for New Zealand’s veterans of all ages. Made from salvaged acrylic offcuts and the black flower head is made from ice cream container lids.
Poroporo Flowers: Also known as "New Zealand nightshade" or "kangaroo apple" is found throughout New Zealand - it has stunning purple flowers and fruit like berries. These berries when green and unripe are poisonous along with the leaves. But when the berries turn orange and are bursting, they are edible and were historically used in Māori medicine - the plant makes a steroid compound. These Poroporo Flower Earrings celebrate the natural allure of this star-like flower, offering a stylish and symbolic connection to the beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand's flora. Embrace the spirit of the Poroporo flower and infuse your style with a touch of nature's elegance (and danger, with the poisonous fruit!). These Poroporo flower earrings are laser cut from sheets of 3D printer waste from Tūranga library.
Werewere-kōkako/ Blue Mushroom: The bright sky-blue colour of Entoloma hochstetteri resembles the blue wattle of the kōkako bird; hence the Māori name for this fungus, werewere-kōkako. It is sometimes common in lowland conifer–broadleaf forests and is unique to Aotearoa New Zealand. Made from recycled PLA (3D printer waste), this cute asymmetrical pair includes one large mushroom and one smaller with a drop chain.
Autumn Leaves: Laser cut from salvaged leather scraps, these earrings draw inspiration from the natural beauty of autumn leaves. The intricate patterns of their delicate veins are brought to life through the texture of leather and the simple design. The result is a stunning piece of wearable art that captures the essence of the changing seasons. A wonderful tribute to the natural world and the importance of sustainability in our everyday lives.
Akaroa Daisy: Who doesn't love a daisy?! Inspired by the naturally rare, Akaroa Daisy, which is only found in a small part of part of Banks Peninsula. These stunners are made from salvaged acrylic offcuts and the orange flower head is made from yogurt container lids which would otherwise be going to landfill. Stainless steel, hypoallergenic hooks.
Size:
- Kōwhai flowers: The diameter of the hoops is 2.5 cm and the flowers measure 3.4cm at their longest point.
- Kōwhai leaves: 1.7 cm x 5.3 cm.
- Kākābeak flowers: 4 cm long and 3 cm at widest point.
- Mānuka: 2 cm top to bottom, Hoops: 2.5 cm diameter, Flower size: 2 cm in diameter.
- Monstera leaves: 2 cm wide x 2.5 cm high.
- Kawakawa leaves: 2 cm wide x 2.5 cm high.
- Pōhutukawa flowers: 4 cm long and 3 cm at widest point.
- Poppy Flowers: 2 cm diameter.
- Poroporo Flowers: 1.5 cm diameter.
- Werewere-kōkako: 2 cm wide x 3.5 cm high.
- Autumn Leaves: 2.2 cm wide x 5 cm high.
- Akaroa Daisy: 2.8 cm x 2.8 cm flower.
Materials:
- Hooks: Hypoallergenic and silver in colour.
- Hoops: Hypoallergenic stainless steel.
Each pair of earrings is perfectly unique with its own embossing from the ice cream container lids - we celebrate their uniqueness, and we hope you do too!
We stock a number of different items from Remix Plastic's range of recycled and zero waste products. The other collections include:
Remix Plastic’s kōwhai earrings are made from ice cream container lids and plastic bottles. The earrings are tipped with brown plastic which has been laser cut from single-use bottles - the first of the Remix Plastic range to use PET bottles. Like ice cream container lids (which are not collected by local recycling services), there are also problems with single-use plastic bottles - even though they are a type of packaging we confidently throw into our recycling bins thinking that the environmental impact is small.
Reuse, not recycling, is the answer and our Kōwhai earrings challenge you to switch to reusables whenever you can. Like Kōwhai flowers you can burst into spring with a positive climate action, making small changes for big environmental change!
Even though plastic bottles can be easily recycled we need to consider whether it is a good idea to make a disposable product from limited resources. This is a prime example of a take, make, waste linear economy: we take scarce resources from the ground, make a product designed to be used once and then throw it out. Earthlove and Remix Plastic both support a circular economy in which products are used again and again and again - conserving resources and reducing waste.
Every year in NZ we throw away more than 1 billion plastic bottles - and most of these are made from virgin, not recycled, plastic. The plastic used (PET, resin code 1) is made from petroleum which we all know is a limited resource and a major contributor to climate change. The manufacture of these bottles uses a horrendous amount of water - an estimated 5.3 litres per bottle! And the numbers being produced are significant - PET plastic makes up 10.2% of global plastic production.
But what if I reuse my plastic bottle? Unfortunately PET plastic is not suitable for reuse. The plastic leaches chemicals into the liquid if exposed to heat, i.e. if you leave it in the sun (or in a hot car!) and a recent study showed that all bottled water contained microplastics. So don’t use that old Pump bottle as your refillable drink bottle!
At the end of its short working life the plastic used for drink bottles is theoretically easily recycled but with 20,000 plastic bottles being produced every minute there’s no way recycling facilities can keep up. In reality only 7% of bottles are collected and turned into new products. Most end up in landfill or the ocean, where bottles join plastic bags as part of the top two most dangerous ocean pollutants.
In addition, most of NZ’s recycling goes off shore so your fizzy bottle is likely producing yet more carbon emissions as it travels to a recycling plant across the oceans.
Single-use plastic bottles are embedded with huge amounts of pollution from their manufacture as well as potential pollution from their end-of-life. They embody the disposable attitude that causes many current environmental problems including climate change, water scarcity and plastic pollution.
Remix Plastic’s Kōwhai earrings use a tiny amount of plastic, they weren’t created to solve the plastic bottle problem, nor to relieve feelings of guilt about single-use plastic bottles. They are a means to tell the story of plastic bottles. Whenever you wear them you have an opportunity to encourage your family, friends and colleagues to choose to reuse!
