Racso Jugarap’s campaign for eco friendly fashion

Racso Jugarap, a Brussels based artist best known for his wire sculptors announced this week the launch of his newest design on Kickstarter: a sustainable rattan bowtie which will be released in Belgium and the USA.

As an artist, Racso has tapped into his creativity in “Efforts to inspire eco-consciousness to consumers,” and a call to provide “sustainability and genuine care for the environment” without compromising the stylistic integrity of fashion or the needs of the future.

Working with zero waste by using materials deemed unsuitable for basket and furniture production, these collected pieces are crafted into something new and useable; maximizing the life of the raw material.

Growing up the youngest son of a jeweller in the Phillipines, Rasco saw the potential intricacies and nuances that rattan offered, and with his later schooling in design, got the idea to combine them. This eco-friendly bowtie is hand weaved using traditional techniques that draw parallels from Rasco’s own finely thread sculptors. Resulting in smoothly woven threads that provide structural integrity and a fresh look to a traditional concept. The item is completely new and is the first of its kind to reach the market and has already recieved praise from notable websites like Trendhunter.

With a core principle of the campaign being eco-friendly, the bowties also helps provide livelihood to local artisans out of cooperatives from provinces around Southeast Asia.

“We are currently working with a group of artisans from a co-op in Southeast Asia. Being able to work from their households, our expert artisans take about 15 to 20 minutes to carefully craft one bow tie. Giving them a source of income through these rattan bow ties is just a step in our mission to continue to empower the small farmer.”

Adding “We look forward to future partnerships with artisans around the world in creating ethical products and of course, making consumers look fantastic!“