Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but even a casual observer can see that Razer’s new clothing collection looks like trash. At least this time it’s intentional.
Following up on its Sneki Snek promotion, in which the sale of a plushie went toward saving 10 trees, Razer is now introducing the Kanagawa Wave Collection. The designs are based on Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic Japanesese woodblock print depicting a rogue wave hitting Sagami Bay. Razer’s goal for this collection, which will be available in a limited run of 1,337 pieces per item, is to fund the removal of one kilogram of plastic from the ocean per item sold.
The obvious difference between the classic Japanese print and Razer’s version is that in addition to new accents using Razer’s signature shade of neon green, Razer also added in a bunch of bottles, cups, and other plastic garbage to call attention to the plight of our oceans. Admittedly, it’s not a very subtle message, but it certainly gets the point across.
Razer said the clothing line itself — which includes a hat, shorts, t-shirt, tank top, and a hoodie ranging from $65 to $200 — is made from fabric created out of marine plastic recovered from beaches, with each item featuring Razer’s updated take on the The Great Wave prominently across each piece. It’s a bold look for sure, though if your home is already filled with neon green gadgets with tons of built-in RGB lighting, the Kanagawa Collection will probably fit right in.
Razer said that both Sneki Snek and the Kanagawa Collection were created to “engage and galvanize the community to help preserve nature and ensure the world remains an arena we can all continue to play in,” which is certainly a worthy cause.
However, I kind of wish these initiatives were part of a larger ongoing process for Razer to better offset the amount of plastic it brings into the market instead of being limited to promotions like a clothing line. Aside from its laptops, most of Razer’s products and peripherals feature a lot of plastic, and while removing one kilogram of marine plastic for each piece of clothing is nice, I seriously doubt it’s enough to cancel out the thousands, if not millions, of plastic-filled mice, headsets, and keyboards Razer sells each year.
It seems like many companies are finally trying to address climate change and climate responsibility in their own ways, and I guess every company has to start somewhere, right?
In the meantime, if you’re interested in Razer’s new clothing line, you’d better set a reminder for April 8 at 1 p.m. AEDT. That’s when the entire collection officially goes on sale.