Selected Case Studies
Solving single-use play for Burger King
In 2019, Pentatonic began a partnership with Burger King UK to transition the restaurant chain away from single-use plastic toys. The brief was to create re-usable play applications, using the very toys that were being discontinued. The campaign was a proactive response to schoolgirls’ Ella and Caitlin McEwan’s petition for quick serve restaurants to “think of the environment and stop giving plastic toys with their kids meals.”
In true leadership form, Burger King immediately ceased distributing toys and appointed Pentatonic to transform all the now obsolete inventory into new, reusable ways to play. This initiative formed the sharp point of the Meltdown campaign.
As part of the Meltdown campaign, Burger King’s customers were also invited to bring in old, broken, or disused toys from home as part of a ‘toy amnesty’ that would also be recycled.
HEY FASHION! Fashion's Waste Crisis and How to Solve It
HEY FASHION! is a digital platform by The Eileen Fisher Foundation (EFF) that refines the complex topic of textile waste into tangible actions to initiate change, containing comprehensive content backed by key industry insights and rigorous research.
HEY FASHION! exposes textile waste issues while conveying the financial, environmental and social opportunities that textile circularity can offer. EFF’s larger mission is to prove to the fashion industry that there are benefits to confronting the climate crisis, urging other brands, foundations, innovators, waste collectors and consumers to get involved in moving circularity forward.
The platform provides key tools, advice and information to assist the transition to circularity. Key takeaways educate industry entities on how to drive tangible action, avoid greenwashing, and mitigate risk; influencing improved decisions toward net zero ambitions and systems change. Such content prepares companies to be successful leaders in sustainable fashion during a time of new legislation and rising consumer pressure.
Revolution in air filtration with Masuku One by LoveAir™
A joint venture between Pentatonic and Natalia Vodianova, LoveAir™ has been in the works for more than four years, when we embarked on this journey based on a simple insight – that masks are, and always will be, a critical matter of public health. They are a necessity in protecting us from ever growing allergens, pollution and pathogens.
But as consumer products, masks were missing the mark on all fronts from comfort and breathability, to style and sustainability, with mass market products driven almost entirely by virgin synthetics.
To truly revolutionise a product category, you must start from scratch.
Both Masuku One and the Masuku Daily carry unique filtration technology, never-before used in any mask to date. Its bio-based membranes are over 100 times lighter than the filters in masks that you wear today.
Infinity Hanger x Heron Preston
Rethinking material applications in fashion
A pioneer in the move towards sustainable fashion, Heron Preston was an early adopter of Pentatonic’s Infinity Hanger. With Heron Preston’s edition, we used 100% recycled PET from water and soft drink bottle flakes. Currently in use at HP flagship stores, including Hangzhou and Shanghai, and live now in Selfridges London.
Headwear enters a New Era
New Era approached Pentatonic to re-engineer the company’s most iconic hats as part of the headwear label’s 100th Anniversary Celebration in 2020. Pentatonic’s brief? Produce a statement about the next 100 years of product creation.
The famous 59FIFTY silhouette, loved by sports and streetwear fans around the world, will make its debut as a new generation, mono-material product. This means every single component is from a single polymer, PET, setting it up for more viable recycling and material recapture at the end of its usable life. Smart labelling in the product enables the user to eventually return it to us for reprocessing. Performing just like the original, the 59FIFTY can now be reincarnated in future products or components, to keep materials in use for longer.
The New Era 59FIFTY by Pentatonic New York Yankees edition is coming soon.
The Pebble by OTHERWARE
Designed and produced by Pentatonic for Pharrell William’s creative collective, i am OTHER, the Pebble is a personal cutlery kit that eliminates the need for single-use eating utensils. Complete with knife, fork, spoon, chopsticks, and a straw, the Pebble was designed to remove waste and worry from eating on the move.
Nodding to Pharrell’s wide-reaching global influence as an artist and producer, the Pebble’s case is ‘made from music’ using obsolete CDs. Similarly, the utensil handles are crafted from waste food packaging, while the anodised, titanium-coated steel tips, which add to the longevity of the product, are made from recycled sources. Following the principles of circular design, the Pebble has been designed with its end of life in mind. It can be completely disassembled for onward recycling or, via our take-back programme, returned to us so we can reuse the materials.
Since debuting in July 2020, the Pebble has demonstrated its appeal and versatility with a number of new iterations including special collaboration editions with the New York design pioneers, Snarkitecture, and the streetwear label and lifestyle brand CLOT.
Pentatonic x Snarkitecture: Fractured
Reinventing the relationship between art, design and materials.
Rethinking the relationship between art, science and materials, ’Fractured’ was our first collaboration with New York’s iconic design practice Snarkitecture. Their designers reimagined the circular technology and precision engineering attributes of our AirTool modular furniture system, resulting in a unique bench and table combination that both absorbed and jarred simultaneously.
The Bean Chair for Starbucks
A furniture icon made ready for the future.
To support Starbucks with its plan to decrease its environmental footprint through innovative store design, we’re working together to create store furniture that’s designed for disassembly, refurbishment and eventual recycling.
Our first project together was re-engineering the iconic Starbucks ‘Bean’ chair, made with waste plastics repurposed into the frame, cushioning and upholstery. Launching in European Starbucks cafes through 2022.
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