To continue our #CarnivalSeries we're looking at how Carnicycle can help YOU to minimise your #costumetrash after you play mas.
But what is Carnicycle?
Carnicycle is a social enterprise that seeks to bridge the gap between Caribbean culture and sustainability. This is done by recycling carnival costumes, providing eco-friendly merchandise and educating persons on sustainability.
Founded by Danii McCletchie and Luke Harris, both from Tobago, Carnicycle was born as the result of their desire to start a business while pursuing their passion for environmental sustainability.
They shared that from a young age, they each had a deep admiration for nature and enjoyed being outdoors. As they got older, this flourished and began to affect the decisions they made, first manifesting itself in the clubs and activities they gravitated to and then leading to deeper thoughts with regard to the kind of impact they were going to have on the planet and how they could make a difference.
When trying to decide what their start-up would entail, they initially began looking into how they could manage plastic and organic waste, for example, through waste-to-fuel technology, under the brand "Fuellite Caribbean".
However, being a two-person team, they faced a flurry of obstacles and began searching for another niche they could fill. Soon enough, their eyes were opened to the huge gap in the carnival industry - from the general waste produced, to the costumes that are made yearly and eventually go to landfills - Carnival has a LONG way to go in its journey towards sustainability.
Furthermore, it was not just a local, but a global problem that was not being addressed. In fact, at that time, there was no entity in the world that was recycling carnival costumes or aiming to change the culture of waste management during the season. As such, they quickly realised that their project not only had to give citizens the opportunity to recycle, BUT, also had to show persons that it was also easy and fun.
Thus, Carnicycle was born in November 2018, while Luke was completing his 3rd year in University and Danii was working as a Project Manager at a Food and Beverage company in the USA. Their first carnival recycling costumes soon followed in April 2019 during Jamaica's season, having partnered with many environmental groups and hotels.
Carnicycle's success relies on a large network of persons and entities who aid in various parts of the process. Their key processes include:
Costume collection (by setting up strategic collection sites during and after the parade. These are announced on their Instagram)
Costume stripping (separating it into its constituents)
Sanitation (using eco-friendly products and methods)
Donation (of recycled costume components)
But...what is done with the costume components?
Wire Frames - Donated back to local designers, lessening the purchasing of virgin producers.
Gems/Beads - Donated to anyone who is interested in reusing them.
Feathers - Cleaned using environmentally friendly methods and resold to local designers at a discounted rate, helping to sustain the recycling service.
Bras - Donated to local women shelters for use, re-sale or upcycling purposes - this year they are donating to Barter for babies.
However, as with any start-up, they do face some challenges with regard to building capital and optimizing their processes (to reduce cost and expand their reach). They also have a hard time encouraging persons to recycle with them as many persons may not see the point in recycling their costume. As such, they have been trying to figure out what incentive they can provide to encourage them to bring their costumes in.
When asked if they think that persons value sustainable initiatives and sustainably-produced items, they shared that they believe there is a growing niche market as it's increasing popularity worldwide is beginning to reflect in the mindset of Caribbean consumers. However, they do not believe it is yet a top priority.
Regardless of this, they hope that they can get more persons in influential positions such as band leaders and entities like the National Carnival Commission (NCC) to promote the initiative as they can use the most appropriate marketing methods and have a bigger impact on masqueraders. With such a collective effort, they truly believe there can be a significant change.
In the future, they hope that they can expand to cover global carnival celebrations as Carnival is a multi-million dollar industry that attracts thousands of masqueraders from all parts of the world.
Want to learn more and play your part? Well, check out their Instagram page (@carnicycle) for updates!
If you enjoyed this post, please comment below, share with your friends and check back next Sunday for the last post in our #CarnivalSeries! ~
- Jamala A.