ADVOCATING FOR BETTER MENTAL HEALTH
headwear with purpose
What makes v1bes headwear so unique? Each piece is ethically handmade by artisans in Cigondewah, Indonesia. We work together with Topiku, an Indonesian – American-based hat manufacturer as part of our v1bes and Friends initiatives. All our hats are made of upcycled & recycled waste materials sourcing scraps, offcuts, leftovers, and deadstock fabrics directly from local manufacturers.
With each purchase, we are giving back to the people of Cigondewah. For us, it was important to not only find a partner but a family. Topiku is the only employer of women in the Desa Rahayu neighborhood and offers both men and women equitable work opportunities by paying them a fair living wage to support their families.
v1bes and friends initiatives
Our commitment to industrial change will form the basis for long-term sustainable environmental, social, and economic growth among communities we work with.
The ultimate vision for our v1bes & Friends initiatives is to create a resilient society that can survive and thrive long term. We select our partners carefully – each with the same underlying objective; drive social change.
what goes into our headwear?
For starters, our hats are handmade by local artisans. Each component of the process has been carefully worked by skilled hands with the utmost care and love for the product. Producing our hats the old fashion way might take a little more time but we think it’s totally worth it.
RECYCLED HDPE PLASTIC
brims
All of our brims are made from Recycled HDPE Plastic. Topiku works together with local pemulung (trash pickers) to salvage HDPE plastic buckets from landfills. Although HDPE is made from petroleum, a popular fossil fuel, our recycling process focuses on reusing the waste but not the petroleum which reduces the carbon footprint of our brims. After the buckets are collected, they are shredded, washed, melted and then remolded into brims. It’s that simple.
GOTS-CERTIFIED ORGANIC COTTON
fabrics
We’re proud to say that we source some of the best GOTS-certified organic cotton twill that Indonesia has to offer for the main base of our hats. Our friends at Topiku work closely with a manufacturer in Solo, Central Java, to collect their deadstock inventory (aka verified old, leftover, or over-ordered fabrics). Instead of allowing these leftovers to catch dust in some warehouse before being thrown out to make room for new orders, we reuse them in an effort to stop them from ending up in landfills. No additional energy, water, or chemical inputs necessary – just scavenging for hidden treasures buried in the basements of factories.
REUSE DISCARDED SODA CANS
buttons
Soda cans are so much more than just a beverage. We reuse discarded soda cans for the buttons on our hats instead of using new metal for the buttons. The cans are thoroughly cleaned by local workers, cut in sheets and treated so we can turn them into buttons for our head ware.