Why we choose recycled PET for our kids backpacks and toiletry bags
When designing products for children, every decision matters.
When designing products for children, every detail matters.
A kids backpack needs to be light, practical and comfortable. It has to carry school essentials, snacks, water bottles, extra layers and all the little treasures children collect along the way. A toiletry bag needs to be useful, easy to handle and strong enough for travel, school bags or everyday family life.
But for us, good design is not only about function. It is also about choosing materials with more care.
That is why our Maju Backpacks and Toiletry Bags are made with recycled PET polyester, also known as rPET.
What is recycled PET?
PET is a type of plastic commonly used to make bottles and packaging. Recycled PET, or rPET, is made from existing PET plastic, often post-consumer plastic bottles, that has been collected and processed into a new material.
The process usually starts with used plastic bottles. They are sorted, cleaned and broken down into small flakes. These flakes are then processed into fibres, which can be spun into yarn and woven into fabric.
For our Maju collection, this fabric becomes a strong, lightweight recycled polyester used to create kids backpacks and toiletry bags designed for daily use.
Each Maju Backpack is made from the equivalent of 22 recycled plastic bottles.
Each Maju Toiletry Bag is made from the equivalent of 4 recycled plastic bottles.
Not as a metaphor, but as a real material choice: existing plastic transformed into something practical, useful and made to be used again and again.
Why rPET makes sense for kids’ products
Children’s accessories need to work hard.
A backpack may be carried to school in the morning, taken to the forest in the afternoon and packed again for a weekend trip. It may end up on the playground floor, beside a tree, in the car, on a picnic blanket or filled with books, pine cones, leaves and snacks.
This is why the material needs to be strong, but not heavy.
Recycled PET polyester allows us to create fabric that is lightweight, durable and suitable for everyday movement. For children, this means a backpack that is easier to carry. For families, it means a product that can be used regularly without feeling delicate or overly precious.
Our Maju Toiletry Bags follow the same idea. They are small, practical and made to hold everyday essentials such as tissues, sunscreen, hair accessories, toiletries, travel items or little objects children like to keep close.
Reducing the Need for Virgin Plastic
Using recycled PET does not make a product impact-free. The material still needs to be collected, cleaned, processed and turned into fabric.
But it does help reduce the need to create new plastic from virgin, fossil-based raw materials. Instead of starting from new resources, rPET uses plastic that already exists and gives it a new purpose.
For The Melon Explorer, this is part of a wider approach to product design: using recycled or natural materials wherever possible, creating pieces with practical details and focusing on products that are made to last beyond one season.
Sustainability is not about perfection. It is about making better choices, step by step.
Designed to be used for longer
A more responsible product is not only about the material it is made from. It is also about how long it stays in use.
That is why we focus on timeless colours, clean design and practical features that children and families can enjoy over time. A backpack that is loved for longer gives more value to the resources used to make it.
Our goal is to create outdoor essentials that can move from one little expedition to the next:
from school mornings to forest walks,
from playground days to family holidays,
from one season to another,
and even from one little explorer to a younger sibling.
A better beginning for everyday adventures
At The Melon Explorer, we create children’s accessories inspired by nature and made for little explorers who love moving, discovering and spending time outside.
Choosing recycled PET for our backpacks and toiletry bags helps us combine function, durability and a more thoughtful material choice.
Because we believe children’s products can be practical, beautiful and responsibly made at the same time.
Made from recycled materials.
Made for little expeditions.
