TORTERRA Process Book
TORTERRA is a collaborative design project intended to raise funds for Resilience Montreal; an indigenous day shelter and wellness center. The goal for this project was to create a line of sustainably designed, durable backpacks which would be sold to raise money for the Resilience community support initiatives. The TORTERRA brand design blends the aesthetics of Montreal’s city streets with connection to the land and nature.
The TORTERRA backpack was created using zero-waste principles, and sustainable design practices. The material itself is made of organic canvas cotton, purchased locally. The design allows for zero fabric waste during production. To avoid using toxic dyes, the canvas is colored using onion skins and natural dying methods. To make sure that the backpack is waterproof, the canvas is coated using beeswax sourced from local rooftop hives.
The hardware used in this backpack design repurposes waste created by local high-end retailers. Oftentimes, retailers will throw out products which have been returned for defects on a weekly basis. By collecting these damaged products, we are able to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfall, and repurpose fully functional hardware, such as clips, straps, zippers, elastics and buckles.
