LIMITATIONS

The GOT BAG Indonesia Foundation, together with local participants, collects all kinds of plastic waste it finds. However, only a small portion of it is suitable for the production of our yarns and product components: PET bottles, which make up about 10–15% of the collected plastic. Much of it is too dirty, contaminated with oil, or consists of composite plastics.

For everything else, we work with the foundation to find the best possible solutions. Top priority: no plastic ends up in landfill. This is because landfills in Indonesia are often poorly maintained, which can lead to groundwater contamination and scattered waste. Recyclable plastics therefore go to local recyclers who produce new materials from them. Non-recyclable materials go to cement factories and replace fossil fuels there.

A significant portion of the collected plastic goes into thermal recycling. In 2025, we reached our limits here. Our storage capacity was exhausted because we had not yet found suitable recycling partners for some hard plastics. We have improved sorting and sorted out plastic that is no longer suitable for mechanical recycling due to aging or damage. But this is not yet enough to significantly reduce the amount for thermal recycling. In addition: the recycling of many low-quality plastics is not economically viable. Many recycling companies only want high-quality plastic. 

We are not yet where we want to be. But we are staying on it, continue to look for suitable recycling partners, and are moving forward step by step.

Our products consist of more than just the main material. Buckles, straps, zippers, mesh, and foams cannot be made from PET. For this, we use recycled components from suppliers on the market and are looking for alternatives that meet our requirements for quality and durability. Most of it comes from recycled post-consumer material.

There are two things we haven't solved yet: We do not yet source foams (PE and PU) and zipper pulls from recycled sources. We continue to search for alternatives that meet our quality standards.

We have set ourselves a strict requirement: All our main materials must consist of recycled plastic waste that meets the OBP standard (Ocean Bound Plastic). This means: plastic waste near the coast, maximum 50 kilometers from the sea, collected under fair conditions and traceable via OBP.

Recycled industrial waste is readily available on the market. However, we have consciously decided against it because it does not match our standards. The consequence: We currently only work with three main materials. RE:PET consists of recycled PET bottles. We source RE:NYNET® from a recycling partner in Taiwan. It consists of discarded fishing nets. RE:PC® for hard-shell suitcases and sunglasses, which is mainly made from discarded water dispenser containers, comes from a recycling partner in Java.

This limits us in product development. If we need different material properties for a new design, we cannot simply go to a trade fair and buy a ready-made fabric. We first have to develop the material and test it in several rounds. This takes time and is complex. We accept this challenge because it corresponds to our own standards.

In 2018, the clean-up started with a "Fishing-for-Litter" project: fishers retrieved plastic waste as bycatch directly from the sea. Over time, we learned that plastic in the water can hardly be completely removed. Wind and waves disperse it, it breaks down into small pieces, and sinks to the seabed. In addition, collecting it from the water became more expensive and inefficient.

That's why the focus is now on land. The GOT BAG Indonesia foundation, together with local communities, is building waste management structures. It collects plastic waste on beaches, in rivers, mangroves, and villages. This way, we tackle the problem closer to the source. Only a small part still comes from the sea as bycatch.

This is a clear limit: we do not retrieve plastic that is already floating or has sunk in the ocean. The OBP standard (Ocean Bound Plastic), according to which GOT BAG GmbH has been certified since November 2025, also refers to plastic waste near the coast (max. 50 km) and not to plastic in the sea. It verifies collection under fair conditions, material handling, and traceability. Only products bearing the OBP seal are officially certified.