THE STORY BEHIND OUR PLASTIC-FREE CAP
During the heights of the pandemic – when purchasing a bag went low on the list of priorities for many – the QWSTION team suddenly had a bit more time to think about what products to place in our development pipeline. One day Paolo, who was part of our design team back then, showed up with a prototype of a cap he had made, using our ‘recipe’ for plastic-free and circular products which we had developed over the years: A natural fibre shell, sewn with biodegradable thread, and using wool felt for the brim. The team instantly was captivated, especially as there are almost no plastic-free caps available in the market today.
Funny enough, full plastic is the norm. Even among outdoor brands, who’s customers (like us) usually love nature and are very much aware of environmental issues. In our research we didn’t discover even a single head piece that was designed with an end-of-life solution. Even the ones we found made from cotton or another natural (and biodegradable) material use plastic brims, headbands and closures, and are designed in a way that the materials can’t be separated – at some point they become waste.
So we went ahead making a couple more prototypes testing different constructions. But it wasn’t until we met Andràs Markus, the mind behind AKLA, that we felt like everything was falling in place to launch our first cap.
Andràs has a background in eyewear design, which is a rather specific field within product design – it requires great precision, as fractions of millimetres make all the difference in terms of the character of a frame. Apparently this is owed to the fact that our eyes are biologically trained to look for smallest movements when we ‘meet another eye’ – in anticipation of any danger. Eyewear designers tend to be exceptionally detailed and precise (or even: absolute nerds...).
A few years ago Andràs began approaching the topic of caps with the same rigour he was applying to eyewear, and created AKLA, as a platform for himself to experiment and learn about the construction and creation of caps. He was doing this in his home studio in Zürich, and decided to work with dead stock fabrics from Schoeller® and other technical fabric producers. He didn’t stop at the sewing machine, and also explored dyeing techniques in his home kitchen – check his Instagram to see the wonderful results.
When we asked him if he’d like to collaborate on a plastic-free cap, he was immediately on board, much to our excitement.
A couple months on, and we explored different versions of our Bananatex® material, settling for our Medium Weight 410g Oxford and Light Weight 225g Twill. We tested constructions and material variations for the brim and headband, choosing german-made merino wool felt. An aluminum adjuster buckle keeps the overall weight low and circularity high. We used bio-degradable Tencel® thread for all seams, and vegetable tanned, waxed natural leather for the strap – including a subtle QWSTION x AKLA branding.
We are now launching 10 unique, handmade, plastic-free caps – 5 specific material combinations in two sizes each, to be exact. All are designed for circularity and crafted in Zürich by Andràs of AKLA. Mark your calendar for the chance to own one: we will release them on June 23rd 12.00pm CET
This may, or may not be the beginning of a captivating new range of products – we’re excited to hear your feedback.
