Startup turns old tires into handbags

In 2010, Philippine startup Siklo Pilipinas began making bags from an unexpected new material: old rubber tires. Instead of leaving car and motorcycle tires piled in landfills as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, Siklo Pilipinas gave them a new ‘life.’

“We often go on adventures involving rivers and the sea, so we needed a bag that could protect our belongings from water. My husband thought of the tires lying near our home. As you know, rubber is generally durable and can protect belongings from drops and impacts.”, said Clarice Ecuacion, co-founder of Siklo Pilipinas.

After the idea emerged, product designer Lyndon Ecuacion, Clarice's husband, began researching the uses of rubber tires and experimenting with products such as belts, wallets, key rings and bicycle bags…

‘Because no data shows how long rubber tires take to decompose, we believe products made from tires can outlast a human lifetime. That makes them even more fascinating to us.’, Clarice said.

 

Difficulties in the production renewal process

To secure enough production materials, the couple approached bicycle shops, tire shops and even scrapyards around Metro Manila and Laguna. Instead of having sanitation workers take tires to landfill, Clarice and Ecuacion persuaded shop owners to contact them when they had many tires to remove, offering to buy them.

According to Ecuacion, after collecting the tires, they process and reuse them.

“This process is completely different from recycling. Reuse produces fewer carbon emissions and requires more human labor during production, while recycling produces more carbon because it involves machinery and consumes more energy.”.

“The reuse process leaves materials almost unchanged, whereas recycling transforms them completely.”, Ecuacion explained.

During production, the couple also realized that not all tires can be reused and that success rates differ by type: “That is why there are many recycled products but still very few reused ones.”

Each product made by Siklo Pilipinas sells for USD 30 to 80. Its main product lines include backpacks, clothing bags, shoulder bags, crossbody bags, and several types of clutch bags.

With a team of only about 6 people, Siklo Pilipinas has inspired many customers not only in the Philippines but also in other countries around the world.

“Although other countries also have products made from reused tires like ours, some customers still give us glowing compliments, such as: ‘I've seen similar bags in Thailand, but I think yours are better,’ ‘I took your bag to Vietnam and a friend of mine was very interested when they saw it,’ ‘I want to partner with you to sell Siklo Pilipinas bags in California because I don't have any better products,’” Ecuacion says.

Some customers currently propose putting their own brands on Siklo Pilipinas products to make it easier to reach local markets, but both Clarice and Ecuacion refuse.

“Our products speak for themselves.”, Clarice concluded.