THE STORY OF BOTTLETOP AND #TOGETHERBAND

BOTTLETOP was founded in 2002 by Cameron and Roger Saul with the belief that people should be able to own beautiful things that also leave a positive impact on people and the planet.

In 2001, Cameron spent nine months living with an Indigenous community in the mountains of southeastern Uganda. Inspired by the beauty of African craftsmanship, he returned with a bag made from recycled bottle caps and a desire to use sustainable design to support local artisans and raise funds for health education programs.

BOTTLETOP then applied its recipe for intercultural collaboration to music with the album "Sound Affects Africa," which features rare Afrobeat from Nigeria and Ghana from the 1970s, as well as remixes by electronic artists such as Bonobo and Quantic. Profits supported health education projects in Kenya, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe.

Oliver Wayman was working as a scout for Island Records and joined BOTTLETOP in 2005 to support the release of the album and its successor "Sound Affects Brazil" in partnership with Mr Bongo Records. This led BOTTLETOP to Brazil, where Cameron and Oliver met Luciano Dos Santos from Itapuã, Salvador, and discovered a handcrafted technique using local women weaving recycled aluminum can tabs.

They were immediately enthusiastic about this lightweight recycled knit fabric and realized the potential to develop it in different ways, using it to support the skills and livelihoods of women in the local community, led by Luciano.

Starting in 2008, BOTTLETOP presented seasonal collections in London and Paris, selling to many of the world's leading fashion retailers and design stores. Former Liberty CEO Iain Renwick joined BOTTLETOP as Chairman in 2009.

The development of the Zero Deforestation Leather program in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation in Brazil was fundamental to BOTTLETOP's work in raising public awareness about the impact of livestock farming on the Amazon rainforest. This led to the development of BOTTLETOP's signature, the Mistura weave, a handcrafted combination of leather and metal developed in partnership with former LVMH Creative Director Vincent Du Sartel in Paris.

High-profile creative projects in the fields of music and contemporary arts followed. The BOTTLETOP Full Circle contemporary art series, with exhibitions and auctions in support of the BOTTLETOP Foundation, began in 2009 at the Roundhouse, Phillips de Pury and Victoria Miro galleries, and featured works by iconic artists such as Rachel Whiteread, Vik Muniz, Adriana Varejão, Ernesto Neto, Chris Ofili, Yayoi Kusama and Peter Doig, among many others.

In 2011, the All-Star BOTTLETOP Band was formed. Prominent artists from the UK and Brazil — including Arctic Monkeys, Libertines, VV Brown, Eliza Doolittle, Gruff Rhys, Fink, Kassin, Domenico, Rodrigo Amarante, Moreno Veloso and many others — collaborated on the album Dream Service , an original work by BOTTLETOP, produced by Maric C in Los Angeles.

A long-term collaboration between BOTTLETOP and iconic New York designer Narciso Rodriguez was launched in New York in 2014 at the Sikkema Jenkins gallery, attended by Anna Wintour, Candice Swanepoel, Gigi Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, and Clare Danes, and received the Eco Age Green Carpet Challenge award. The partnership introduced more structured designs and the application of BOTTLETOP's Mistura weave to panels, as well as expanding BOTTLETOP's atelier in Salvador. Candice Swanepoel became the face of BOTTLETOP.

In 2015, BOTTLETOP collaborated with DKNY on a capsule collection of designs produced in its Salvador atelier, presented on the runway in New York during the last season and show of iconic designer Donna Karan.

BOTTLETOP was hired to design costumes for artists and dancers for the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and Brazilian supermodel Lais Ribeiro, from Piauí, became the face of BOTTLETOP.

BOTTLETOP collaborated with renowned contemporary artists Wangechi Mutu and Idris Khan on limited-edition capsule collections as part of the Art On Canvas series. Hand-screen-printed in Nairobi, Kenya, and detailed with repurposed metal from car parts.

In December 2017, BOTTLETOP opened its concept store on Regent St, the world's first zero-waste, 3D-printed store made from recycled plastic.

After three years of development, BOTTLETOP launched the non-profit #TOGETHERBAND campaign in partnership with the UN Foundation in London on Earth Day 2019, with the mission of generating global awareness and action in support of the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals through creativity and culture. At the heart of the campaign is an invitation for people to choose a bracelet in the color of the UN Goal that most resonates with their hearts and take action in support of achieving that goal.

The bracelet clasps are made from award-winning recycled metal Humanium, obtained from seized firearms, helping young people stay away from violence in El Salvador. The thread is made from Ocean Plastic Parley, collected from the coast of the Maldives.

The 'Classic' and 'Mini' bracelets are made by women rescued from the streets and human trafficking by the NGOs Maiti and Rokpa in Kathmandu, Nepal, and by Projeto Arrastão, which supports communities on the outskirts of São Paulo.

In December 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, #TOGETHERBAND held '#TOGETHERLIVE Brazil', a concert featuring iconic artist Seu Jorge, to spread awareness about the importance of handwashing and social distancing to prevent the spread of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. The show was hosted by Samantha Shmutz and featured video messages from Brazilian icons and #TOGETHERBAND Ambassadors such as Cauã Reymond, Sasha Meneghel, Alessandra Ambrosio, Lais Ribeiro, and Bruno Gagliasso, among many others. The concert focused on UN Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation and raised funds for handwashing and hygiene stations in Belo Horizonte and São Paulo.

The #TOGETHERLIVE Mexico event took place in March 2021 with the lead band REIK, supported by Mexican ambassadors from across the cultural spectrum, raising funds to support the creation of a temporary field hospital and hygiene stations at Central de Bastos, the largest food market serving over 500,000 Mexicans daily, which had become a virus hotspot.

#TOGETHERBAND collaborated with British artist Morag Myerscough to promote the importance of clean energy with flags made from recycled ocean plastic in the canals of Glasgow during COP26 in 2021. The flags then traveled to Oxford St, Regent St and Piccadilly Circus with their bold artistic statements of action: 'WIND', 'SUN' and 'AIR'.

In December 2021, #TOGETHERBAND launched the 'Don't Choose Extinction' campaign and collection in partnership with UNDP at Art Basel Miami, featuring Brazilian street artist Speto. Based on the film in which Frankie the dinosaur gives a speech at the UN inviting the world to stop using fossil fuels, the 'Don't Choose Extinction' campaign aimed to engage the world in a universal message to end the use of fossil fuels.

Handcrafted in the Amazon rainforest using açaí seeds, Parley Ocean Plastic yarn, and recycled metal from illegal Humanium firearms, #TOGETHERBAND launched its #TOGETHERBANDs Amazonia in partnership with the Yawanawá Indigenous community on Earth Day in 2022. The campaign focused on raising awareness and preventing the 'Marco Temporal' (Time Frame), which aims to make the demarcation of over 800 unofficially recognized Indigenous lands unfeasible and to cast doubt on all other Indigenous lands that have been legally recognized by the Brazilian State in recent decades. The campaign was supported by Indigenous leaders and local and international figures from across the cultural spectrum, including Txai Surui, David Beckham, Rodrigo Santoro, Celia Xakriaba, Alok, Bella Gil, and many others.

In September 2022, BOTTLETOP launched a capsule collection of accessories and bags with Nepalese designer Prabal Gurung. Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio became the face and brand ambassador for BOTTLETOP.

In May 2023, the Discover The Cosmos campaign was launched, a collaboration between #TOGETHERBAND and Airbus, featuring designs made for the first time from recycled satellites and spacecraft known as Spacecraft Honeycomb. The campaign featured NASA astronauts and scientists speaking about the importance of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education for women and people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In June 2023, #TOGETHERBAND released a collaboration called Pride with Maserati MSG.

During London Climate Week in June 2024, #TOGETHERBAND launched its 'Radical Optimism For A Healthy Planet' collection and campaign in collaboration with Smiley, featuring activists and advocates such as Alice Aedy and Isabella Noero from Earthrise, Sierra Quitiquit from Time For Better, Kevin Patel from One Up, Dilys Williams from the London College of Fashion, Isaias Hernandez from Queer Brown Vegan, Kalpana Arias from Nowadays on Earth, and Christabel Reed from Earthed.

To date, the #TOGETHERBAND campaign has generated over 10 billion impressions, with more than 1,000 ambassadors from around the world, including icons from fashion, music, sports and film, scientists, astronauts, youth and Indigenous leaders.

• 45,950 trees planted
• 22,656 tons of carbon captured
• 38.7 hectares reforested
• 173,137 meals donated
• 155,207 kg of plastic removed from the ocean
• 1 ton of illegal weapons seized
• 253,769 hours of handcrafted work
• 55,000 medical face shields donated
• Over $2 million donated to projects advancing the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals.