Sustainable lighting innovator LightArt proudly introduces the latest evolution of their multi-award-winning Coil Collection: upcycled pendants made entirely from ocean-bound and near-shore plastic. Following the success of their original Coil Collection, which transformed internal waste into ogle-worthy 3D-printed fixtures, the ocean-sourced pendants take the brand’s sustainability impact beyond their internal waste stream. Available in two new shapes and colors—Sea Foam and Seagrass—the new ocean-sourced Coil pendants are LightArt’s first 100 percent recycled pieces in the Coil Collection.

“Once we were able to solve our own internal waste problem, ocean plastics were a clear next challenge,” says Edwin Vice, LightArt’s Director of Research and Development. “We have an aggressive sustainability mission and these pendants represent a greater step in the Coil Collection’s evolution.”

LightArt joined forces with Oceanworks®—a plastic action platform that provides brands a clear path to reduce their carbon footprint by retrieving plastic from the world’s oceans—for their shared values in sustainability and transparency. Oceanworks partners with trusted suppliers that meet international standards for business, environmental, and fair labor practices to gather contamination-free plastics for new sustainable products. The organization sources plastic from seven tiers, ranging from post-industrial to deep ocean, targeting all areas of impact on land and sea. The Coil Collection’s own ocean-bound plastic comes from mismanaged plastic waste within 31 miles of the coastline while the near-shore plastic is ocean debris collected close to land.

“When LightArt approached us for this project, we were very pleased to see that they were already incorporating recycled materials into their products,” says Oceanworks Co-Founder and CEO, Vanessa Colman. “Our mission is keeping the ocean clean, so we're always on the lookout for like-minded partners to help tell these stories and get the word out about recycled materials.”

Eight million metric tons of plastic end up in our oceans each year, and each ocean-sourced Coil pendant diverts up to one pound into a stunning, illuminated fixture. Produced en masse, these pendants make a significant impact on ocean cleanliness. Oceanworks’ open sourcing information and material certifications also correlate with LightArt’s Align initiative of sustainability programs focused on three main pillars: people, product, and planet.

The ocean-sourced Coil Collection debuts with two pendants that expand on LightArt’s sustainable design expertise. Sea Foam, the soft white pendant, is made entirely from ocean-bound plastic, such as single-use plastic bags, water bottles, and other items that would find their way into the ocean. The fixture’s petite, sphere-like shape—available in both large and small sizes—can be specified as a singular pendant or clustered arrangement. Sea Foam’s sister pendant, Seagrass, is a teardrop-shaped fixture whose deep green hue resembles sea kelp. Sourced from near-shore plastic—which includes fishing nets, trawls, and ropes—the recycled pendant takes on the plastic’s hue in its former life. Both Sea Foam and Seagrass are designed with a common plastic variety called polypropylene, which creates a more translucent finish than previous Coil Collections and emits a more luminous, incandescent glow.

Working with polypropylene also presented new challenges in the design process. The previous Coil Collections upcycled resin into 3D-printed cone-like fixtures with a matte, pottery-like finish. When LightArt tried to replicate the same 3D printing process with polypropylene, the new material presented unforeseen difficulties that required a shift in engineering. Instead of trying to mimic the original printing process, LightArt decided to let the new material dictate how it wanted to form. This resulted in ocean-sourced Coil’s spherical shapes and translucent finish.

Ocean-sourced Coil pendants may be the first of their kind, but they won’t be the last. LightArt has more Coil Collections in the works that incorporate other waste materials that pollute our natural planet. It’s no small feat to take on big plastic, but LightArt hopes to not do it alone. They strive for ocean-sourced Coil pendants to inspire other manufacturers to pursue more recycled products and raise sustainable industry standards.

LightArt’s ocean-sourced Coil Collection is assembled with a PVC-free cord and is finished with TGIC-free powder-coated hardware. The fixtures come with RoHS-compliant parts. The Sea Foam pendant comes in two sizes at 6" in diameter and 7.5" in diameter; Seagrass is 7.5" in diameter by 16" in height. Each pendant is equipped with LightArt’s Performance Lighting Core, a game-changing solid-state lighting solution delivering high-performance lighting to decorative fixtures.