By Dave Iltis
Looking for a bit of bike fashion? Need a new bag or wallet? Looking to combine style and recycling? Tüb (pronounced Tube) is a new Utah company that makes these accessories out of recycled bicycle and motorcycle tubes.
Tüb launched in August and makes four products: two types of wallets, a city/laptop bag, and the Julie Bag, a small bag with a shoulder strap.
Owner Amy Keele believes in making eco-friendly products by reusing material, “We believe in minimizing our footprint. We take a non-recyclable material and turn it into something useful and cool. Instead of dumping the rubber in the landfill – you can wear this stuff! It’s fun to work with and has a great hand-feel – smooth like a rich leather.”
The tubes used in the products are from local bike and motorcycle shops and suppliers. “We’re proud to be a part of the huge biking community in Utah. And pleased to be able to give something back!,” said Keele. Other than the thread in the wallets, and the hardware on the bags, most everything is made from recycled materials.
I’ve been using the Simple Wallet. I really like a minimal wallet – I had been using two rubber bands to hold my cards and cash. The Simple Wallet is a perfect upgrade for me. It is currently safely holding 17 cards in the main pocket and 5 bills in the strap. The rubber of the tubes is washed so it won’t stain your clothes. And, since it’s rubber, it doesn’t easily slide out of your pocket when you don’t want it to. I plan on using the Simple Wallet for a long time and rate it Hors Categorie (Five Stars).
The company plans on creating many more products out of used inner tubes thus finding a use for previously discarded material.
You can find Tüb products at many local bike shops or online at tubpeople.com.
