Are You Mad is the worlds first visible recycling store that diverts plastic waste from landfill and creates beautiful new items—all in one place. Are You Mad are on a mission to change the perception of plastic, and we love to see it!

We sat down with Co-Founder James Suckling who shared his passion for education and awareness on the problems we have as a planet with overconsumption of materials such as plastic. Suckling shares the Are You Mad mission that “We understand plastic ain't great for our oceans, our soil and the creatures on the planet but we are not in the market for peddling apocalyptic doomsday porn, nor are we here for greenwashing. That’s why we are going to create the first closed-loop plastic recycling experiment held within an urban retail community.” 

Since opening just over a month ago, the enterprise has collected 1.2 tonnes of plastic waste from local businesses around Carnaby Street including; Pret, Wagamama, GANNI, GRIND and more. Using this collective waste, Are You Mad have produced a range of items such as combs, bowls and coasters to demonstrate the versatility of this material.

Over the space of their three month stint in their Carnaby Street store (August - October 2022), the enterprise will be collecting plastic from businesses, residents and passers-by from one of the most recognisable retail areas in the world, Carnaby Street, London. This waste will then be transformed, into a conceptual retail space, furniture that lives on the street and into design lead products that we will sell inside the store. Showing the process that goes into making something creative and aspirational from waste.

Are You Mad don’t just care about recycling plastic, they also invest in creating meaningful employment for young people with creative and entrepreneurial passion for waste. 

What’s next for Are You Mad? Once their store in Carnaby Street ends later this month, they plan to move their site to Kings Cross to expand their offerings.