[buoy] A brush stand made from marine plastic waste

This adorable marbled brush stand is made almost entirely from "ocean plastic waste" that washed up on Japanese soil. It also makes a great gift!

The pattern is the color of discarded plastic waste. The weight is the weight of waste floating in the ocean. To prevent direct contact with marine plastic waste, the product is molded with polypropylene film. All buoy products are marked with the place where the material was collected. The place of collection and color of the material vary from piece to piece.

Five beautifully reborn, gentle and pretty marble colors are now available. Even if the color is the same, the color atmosphere varies from piece to piece. It may be quite different from the photo, so please love the one you receive.

The back looks like this. Due to the nature of the material, there may be some unevenness, sharp edges, or chipped edges. Thank you for your understanding.

[Message from buoy] Marine litter is a global problem. It is becoming a leading hypothesis that marine litter that continues to drift becomes a large amount of microplastics and is preyed upon by fish, and a future in which we cannot eat fish may come much sooner than we think. Much of the marine plastic litter that flows out of Asia ends up on the ocean currents and washes up on Japan. Japan may be the world's largest hotspot for marine plastic litter. For example, more than 3,000 tons of marine plastic litter washes up on the coast each year in Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture alone. Most of the litter washes up in the Sea of Japan in winter, on the west coast of Kyushu, or on remote islands, and unimaginable amounts of marine litter are collected mainly by volunteer groups, without even the locals knowing about it. buoy purchases such marine litter as vintage materials, manages them all in each collection area, and creates products.

The marine plastic waste used to make the buoys is collected from all over Japan.

In fact, Fu, the owner of Who's Note, has been a fan of buoy for a long time... At first, it was a project with a different name, but I (as an individual) watched the launch of the brand and thought it was amazing and great. Then, after a chance encounter in the spring of 2024, I was contacted and was able to introduce it at Who's Note. I am very happy. I want many people to know that this is a "thing" but also an "event." I think it is a "product" but also a "project." And I think it is significant that the buoy brand was born by volunteer members of a manufacturer that designs and mass-produces plastic products, and that as a plastic manufacturer, we are sincerely facing the value of the material.

Itoshima, Okushiri Island... All buoy products are marked with the place where the materials were collected. (Each item is different.) Marine waste collected during beach cleanups is washed, separated by color, and crushed into small pieces. All are managed by collection site. I think it is important to know where the materials of the beautifully reborn product that arrived in your hands were washed ashore... and to think about that place. "Marine waste" was hated as plastic waste, but what was once thrown away has been reborn into something that cannot be thrown away, and it becomes a bridge that connects people in areas where waste is washed ashore and people in areas where it is not washed ashore. I think that through buoy, we ourselves need to feel this problem more and more closely.

There's even a soap tray!

You can also use it like this.

A soap tray is also recommended.

Even things this big have washed up!

The machine in the photo picks up marine plastic waste that has washed up on the shore → separates it → washes and crushes it → hardens it by applying heat and pressure... The product is made by hand. *The machine is molded with polypropylene film around it so that the plastic waste does not come into direct contact with the product.