Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2009

Mexican designer Olga Abadi first stumbled across a time-honored Mayan technique of binding found materials into bags at a festival in her home country, and has since been devoting herself to fashioning accessories from recycled candy wrappers. Gotta love that. Of course, her methods wouldn’t count for squat if the end products didn’t look delicious, but we can’t imagine anyone turning their nose up at totes like the Recycled Cartoon Clutch. As an added bonus, each is a one-of-a-kind piece, so you don’t have to worry about seeing other eco-minded fashionistas wandering around with the exact same bags.

Recycle Cartoon Clutch, ¥12,600. Available from MoMA Design Store: 3F Gyre, 5-10-1 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-5468-5801. Open daily 11am-8pm (closed on Gyre hols). Nearest stn: Meiji-Jingumae, exit 4. www.momastore.jp