3D printed Buttons from Recycled Fishing Nets

Finisterre is a British brand that designs environmentally friendly clothing and accessories, particularly for surfers. The company has recently initiated a new project around additive manufacturing: why not 3D print the accessories that allow us “to close” our clothes – buttons, zipper pulls, etc.? This ambitious project inspired a collaboration between Fishy Filaments, a company that designs printing filaments from recycled fishing nets, AddiFab and a student from Falmouth University. Together, they developed 3D printed buttons that are more ergonomic and above all more practical: they have a sort of tab that makes it easier to detach them even when your hands are cold or wet.

You might be surprised how much waste buttons generate for our environment. Around 50,000 tons of these small accessories are produced every year, most of them coming directly from China – you can imagine the transport flows that this represents. Moreover, they are often made from Nylon 6, a material that produces almost half a million tons of CO2 each year! Additive manufacturing could help reduce this environmental impact by reducing overproduction and using local materials.

Fishy Filaments designs 3D printing filaments with fishing nets

Niall Jones is the student who came up with the design of the button. He explains that he needed a practical shape that could be quickly attached and detached in any situation. So he designed several different models and the one with the small tab proved to be the best one. He explains his approach: “The best way to test the performance of the buttons would be to test them with cold hands. I spent two hours surfing without gloves in December – it was cold for sure. When I got out of the water, I tested several of my models and that’s how I found the right one.” Once he created the 3D model and prepared his STL file, Fishy Filaments provided him with the material he needed.