Rubber is a durable material that takes ages to decompose in a land fill. Although millions of scrap tires and tubes are discarded yearly, there is a growing market for using old tires, inner tubes, and other various car parts as materials for fashion.

Designer Heather English of English Retreads has reinvented the way we look at truck inner tubes. Instead of garbage destined for the trash heap, they become material for high-fashion vegan accessories.

The inner tubes used for English Retreads are sourced from truck stops near Boulder, Colorado. Each truck inner tube is likely to have 60,000 miles on it before it gets reinvented into a handbag, wallet, or belt. The colorful linings are made from 100% post-consumer PET recycled from water bottles, and the bags are made in the USA.

The toughness of the material is showcased in stylish silhouettes and given quirky car-related names like the “Model T” and the “Fan Belt”. Check them out at www.englishretreads.com, purses range from $38 to $198.

Images courtesy of English Retreads.