by Joseph Sutton

(Photo: Rubiks tee, courtesy of Holstee)

This summer has been especially hot so far, and it’s important not to sacrifice style for comfort when you choose what to wear for going out.  One interesting shirt that came under our radar is the Rubiks t-shirt from Holstee.

Holstee is an apparel company founded by brothers David and Michael Radparvar and their friend Fabian Pfortmüller. Eager to start their own business and help promote a more sustainable lifestyle, the Radparvars quit their day jobs to sell t-shirts and eco-friendly accessories.

The Rubiks shirt has a zipped side pocket that evokes the frustrating and mystifying cube we’ve all come across in our lives. But where does the unique holster pocket come from?  The first Holstee shirt came to be when co-founder David Radparvar became remiss as to where to put his wallet. He realized the pockets of his jeans were too tight, and chest pockets proved unreliable, also. “You couldn’t really put anything in it,” says David, “and things that were in it would fall out.” No pocket sufficed, so a new one would have to be created altogether. “Let’s just put a pocket somewhere,” thought Radparvar, and so the first Holstee t-shirt was born, with a pocket sewn onto its side.

A year later, the shirts have already evolved from Radparvar’s solution. In the beginning, Holstee used shirts made from 6% recycled material. “We wanted a lot more than that,” says David, “so we took a step back and we started looking for other t-shirt providers that offered something better.” Holstee now uses 100% recycled jersey knit fabric made from plastic bottles and industrial scraps.  Revamping not just the choice of fabric, the new shirts got a larger pocket design that now zipped open and closed. “As a result of making shirts, we realized there was extra fabric that we could use,” says Radparvar, and thus the “fin” arrived: a small cowboy-inspired scarf made from extra material from the shirts that can be worn around the neck, arm, and any extremity that suits you.

Being a company that strives for a positive environmental impact, using every last bit of waste is one of Holstee’s core values. “We are looking to leave this earth greener and more united than we found it, and we are hoping you will help us do it,” says the website of Incubaker, an innovation lab of which Holstee is a product. Another series of t-shirts, “upcycled” tees, are collected from used t-shirts and screen printed with one of three of Holstee’s designs. Because the shirts are used, each one is unique from any other and given a new life.

(Photo: Wallet, courtesy of Holstee)

That’s how Holstee does it: taking forgotten, mundane objects and making them something new. Their newest product, for example, is a wallet whose material is made from plastic bags and newspapers collected in Delhi. Not only is it a smart way to recycle trash, it evokes exotic thoughts to its new owner. And each shirt, wallet and product has a story to tell, which its owner is asked to create. “There’s more value in a shirt that has a story than in a brand new shirt,” asserts David. Those shirts also pack a lot of good karma: 10% of all sales are leant through Kiva, a micro-lending institute that supports growing businesses in developing countries.

Holstee also promotes eco-friendly products of other companies with their weekly newsletter, Curated, in which products are spotlighted and reviewed. Hoslstee lends $1 through Kiva for each person who signs up.

Holstee is all about putting worth into items we otherwise take for granted – an old shirt, a plastic shopping bag – and wants to enforce an idea that we should treat the objects we consume with care. “We want to stress the assumption that easy consumption is not really the best way,” says David, “especially in terms of looking towards creating a sustainable lifestyle.” A much more agreeable way to a more sustainable lifestyle is to pick up a Holstee shirt, wallet or other unique, upcycled find, and pass the word along to friends who are sure to comment on your style.

Holstee products can be found online on the company’s website.