‘Escama’ means ‘fish scales’ in Portuguese and that’s the look this San Francisco/Brazil fashion design outfit exudes with its flagship products: crocheted bags made from thousands of tabs from aluminum cans.
Incorporating sustainability into their productions processes, companies can enhance their eco-friendly brands that consumers can buy with a clear conscience. Escama does just that with
Escama Studio is a San Francisco based handbag company that collaborates with artisan collectives in Brazil to create a line of accessories that are sustainable and fair trade. The metallic handbags have the appearance of chain mail, but are made of hundreds of interlocking links of recycled aluminum pop tops and crochet.
From their humble beginnings in 2004, Escama Studio now sells their trendy bags in 30 countries worldwide and in high-end retailers such as MoMA, the Royal Academy of Art London, and Takashimaya department store in Japan. In the process, the venture has provided a fair living wage to over 80 Brazilian artisans and their families.
“Escama Studio is an ongoing experiment in sustainability,” explained co- founder Andy Krumholz. “We approach our business with the objective of a ‘triple bottom line’ – social, environmental and financial. So far we’re very happy with the way it’s gone. We have a great camaraderie with the artisans and it’s very rewarding.”
‘Escama’, means ‘fish scales’ in Portuguese.