Music merchandise designer and manufacturer, Organic Sound, and music merchandiser Bravado, have come together to put the circular in band tees and the sustainable in concert keepsakes.
After Bravado shared the beginning of its sustainability journey at the POC Conference last year, Laura Bonareu, founder of Organic Sound and board member of textile manufacturing parent company, Hallotex, will continue the story with at the POC Conference this year on 5 November 2025.
Below is a sneak peek of that conversation, as well as part of a full article on this topic in the upcoming POC Autumn/Winter magazine.
Fast fashion brings to mind cheap garments discarded after a season. Music merch is different, says Matt Young, president of Bravado: “That’s something they’re going to keep forever, and as long as they can fit in it, they’re going to wear it.”
Still, merch has an environmental impact – and that gave Bravado, Universal Music Group’s (UMG) merchandising arm, a unique opportunity.
Organic Sound runs two projects: recycling post-consumer and post-industrial garments, and reusing pre-consumer cut-offs from production. For both, waste is shredded back into fibre and spun into new garments. Laura Bonareu says this waste was often downcycled: “Being really circular is putting this waste back into the same industry, because you have to take responsibility of what you’re creating.”
Bravado had over 400,000 unsold items sitting in its Nashville warehouse, from cancelled tours or overproduction. These are now being recycled by Organic Sound into new blanks for artists such as global pop star, Billie Eilish.
Organic Sound provides complete traceability of materials, with the entire recycling and manufacturing process on one site. “When you see the reality with your eyes every day, I think you are more aware about the impact, so it makes you do better,” Laura adds.
Bravado is the first in the music industry to be undertaking such a product, but its lead won’t last, Matt hopes. “The factories that do it are small, and they’re getting bigger now because of the investment we’re making. Once demand increases further, it will all become more affordable and mainstream, and ideally any other option will be secondary.”
In the meantime, Billie Eilish has been showing a video at her concerts explaining how her merch uses recycled materials, why it costs more, and why that matters. “You have to educate them on the why,” Matt says. “And Billie helps with that, and people are starting to learn.”
Artists hold immense influence over fans – and global stars like Billie can use that for real impact. Dylan Sieglar, head of sustainability at UMG, explains: “Music has the power to unite, inspire, literally to heal – and any touchpoint artists have with their fans, from a breakthrough song to a special merch drop to a social campaign, can change the cultural narrative. It’s our job, through initiatives like the upcycled merch initiative with Organic Sound, to give artists more ways to be a force for good.”
Other UMG artists are already following Billie’s lead. “They have blazed the trail, which enables us to roll out more ways to help artists use their power in the authentic way that Billie does – true to her aesthetic, her values, and her brand,” says Dylan.
Products of Change will be following the partnership between Bravado and Organic Sound closely, and looks forward to Laura Bonareu’s detailed account at the POC Conference on 5 November. Get your tickets for the Conference here.
Read the full article in the upcoming Autumn/Winter POC Magazine.
Top image: Billie Eilish with circular apparel collection. Credit: Universal Music Group.
