Your old Barbies could be turned into speakers, power banks, and more.

Gomi, a sustainable U.K. design studio, put out a call for old Barbie dolls for its Childhood Memories Collection, a new collaboration with the Mattel-owned brand to give old plastic dolls a second life as tech products.

The collection includes $371 speakers, $95 power banks, $61 wireless chargers, and $45 tracker tags that are compatible with Apple devices and have a built-in alarm. Each is made from recycled plastic that comes in a one-of-one design, a marbled pattern of melted-down Barbie dolls, accessories, and other recovered plastics that make for a bright, playful palette of swirled pink, purple, turquoise, and Barbie blonde yellow. The batteries for the speakers and power banks are also recycled, using lithium from damaged and retired e-bike batteries.

Gomi was founded in 2017 with the goal of creating sustainable technology products. It focuses on flexible plastic waste, which isn’t recycled in much of the U.K. The company created its first product, a speaker, in 2023, and each one is made from the equivalent of about 44 plastic bags. The swirl effect on the products is created after plastic is melted at the lowest possible temperature. Once molten, color layers are stacked, twisted by hand, and cut.

Working with different waste streams is a challenge because plastics vary in quality and shrink rates. To allow for these inconsistencies, Gomi uses a textured mold to ensure every piece looks and feels desirable.

Gomi made speakers out of Barbies after the 2023 movie came out.

Source link