One of my favorite parts about traveling is exploring local markets and discovering the prized items that are genuine to the region. That’s exactly how Real Deal Brazil hats were born. When the RDB team found a fedora-type hat made from reclaimed tarps used to cover cargo trucks they knew they had stumbled upon something both functional and resourceful.
The original hat found at a market was tracked all the way to Central Brazil, an area known for making this type of hat. RDB contracted a family to sew up hats to sell in the US. This project isn’t about production on a gargantuan scale, instead the project “started out more like an extended family,” says Frank Rabey of RDB. In just over a year however, popularity for the tarp hat has grown and the company has had to help convert the family’s house to allow for a larger scale operation.
RDB Brazil isn’t just selling a “green” product, it’s one that is made from completely recycled materials that otherwise would have gone to waste and produced on a small enough scale that the money is going back into the local community. Even the tarp scraps are put to use, stitched onto the hats to add extra flair. Beyond being recycled, the hats don’t arrive in US as the conventional individually plastic wrapped commodities ready for sale. Instead, they arrive in large cardboard drums, stacked one opon the other. “You do see a lot of recycled design out there now but I think this might be one of the more extensive efforts,†says Rabey.
The rugged hats have been so popular that the company recently decided to launch a new line of bags as well. Made from the same, all purpose, dense canvas tarps, the bags are made to be used. Like the hat that “doesn’t want to give up,” according to Rabey the RDB bags are equally durable and environmentally responsible.
To learn more about Real Deal Brazil and their hats and bags, visit their website.
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