Jaden Smith has launched his latest, long-awaited venture – a range of high-end suitcases made from post-consumer plastic waste. Called the Harper Collective, it aims to help usher in a new era of sustainable travel.
Five years in the making, Harper Collective is the brainchild of Smith – an actor, musician, environmental activist and son of actor Will Smith – and ex-merchandise director of Selfridges Sebastian Manes.
Together, the pair set out to create a line of lightweight, durable cases from reclaimed plastic waste, which not only tackles the issue of plastic, but is good-looking enough to appeal to a discerning clientele.
The pair admit that there were "numerous mistakes along the way", but they have now revealed pieces that are stylish with a utilitarian design. They are offered in four sizes – cabin, medium, large and trunk – in black and dark green, with black or silver hardware.
Each case is lined in olive green, quilted recycled nylon by Barbour. Customers can have the luggage personalised, by getting their name engraved into the hardware. Prices range from £595 (Dh2,800) for the cabin size, to £795 (Dh3,741) for the largest trunk.
Working in conjunction with a German plastic specialist company Epsotech, each suitcase is moulded from strong, lightweight Sea Plastic polymer HDPE, which uses 70 per cent post-consumer waste, while the remaining third is virgin plastic.
This marks the first time this new formula of plastic has been used for suitcases, and Manes said that every step had to be tested and double-checked.
"We started with 98 per cent recycled plastic, but found we could not effectively mould it into an effective end-product," says Manes. “Developing the product has taken five years."
The use of virgin plastic seems to fly in the face of what the company is setting out to do – which is to reduce the use of new plastic, and instead rework some of the estimated 6.3 billion metric tonnes that litter the planet. However, Smith and Manes are quick to acknowledge that this is still a work in progress.
"We understand that perfection is not always attainable in manufacturing," they say. "But we believe in continuous improvement and innovation to produce better and more sustainable products for our customers."
Despite the use of virgin plastic, Manes says the final product still sits within the company's main objectives. "This material mix supports Harper Collective's promise that all materials are recyclable at the end of the luggage's lifetime,” he adds.
This is far from Smith's first foray into socially conscious business. At age 12, after witnessing plastic waste in the sea, he launched the social enterprise Just, using only replenishable rainwater bottled in packaging made from 88 per cent plant materials. He also worked with New Balance to create the Jaden 574 trainer, made using surplus materials, and also co-founded MSFTS, a sustainable streetwear brand.
He opened the I Love You food truck, selling only vegan food with the premise that anyone homeless could eat for free, while others not only had to pay, but would be charged over the odds "to pay for the person behind you," he explained to Variety. In 2021 he also enlisted his famous family to launch Hey Humans, a vegan beauty line.
More information at harpercollective.co.uk
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MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
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MATCH INFO
Championship play-offs, second legs:
Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0
(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)
Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')
Derby County 0
(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)
Final
Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
Kareem Shaheen on Canada
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Explained
Our commentary on Brexit
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Tomorrow 2021
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Rating: 3/5
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RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
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RESULTS
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner: Dirilis Ertugrul, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer)
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
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Winner: Raakezz, Tadhg O’Shea, Nicholas Bachalard
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
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3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
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4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
Winner: King’s Shadow, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
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Brahmastra%3A%20Part%20One%20-%20Shiva
Plastic tipping points
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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Carla Bruni
(Verve)
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
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The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
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Defence review at a glance
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• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
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Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
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'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
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The biog
DOB: 25/12/92
Marital status: Single
Education: Post-graduate diploma in UAE Diplomacy and External Affairs at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: I love fencing, I used to fence at the MK Fencing Academy but I want to start again. I also love reading and writing
Lifelong goal: My dream is to be a state minister
War on waste
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Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
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Star%20Wars%3A%20Episode%20I%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Phantom%20Menace
The view from The National
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
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Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
War on waste
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
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Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
The five pillars of Islam
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
Wicked
How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
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