The light slap of Mediterranean sea waves, the intense vibrating culture of the Valencian coast, the blue profundity full of living things; this is what drives AnimalDeLux. But amid the beauty, a creeping challenge: plastic pollution that imperils our precious marine environments. Here in Dénia, Spain, we are not just seeing this, but we are part of the solution.
Welcome to AnimalDeLux, where a love and respect for pets and the environment are the perfect marriage of contemporary design and environmentally-conscious business. Born out of Álvaro Merle, we are on a mission to turn the harmful sea waste back into beautiful, resilient, and safe havens for your cherished animal treasures. And so is the story of our sea plastic rags – a voyage from the beaches of Spain to the inside of your homes, with style, intention, and a better future for our planet. Come join us on our journey of the “why” and “how” we started Tipi Eco journey and vision of a better world, one purrfect pet home at a time.
The Rising Tide: A Mediterranean Challenge on Our Doorstep
The Mediterranean Sea — cradle of civilization, and a biodiversity hotspot — is in environmental crisis. Plastic debris, from microplastics so small they are not visible to the naked eye to much larger pieces, strangles the Mediterranean, threatens marine life and disfigures the picturesque coastlines — including those here in our own Valencian Community.
Power Of The Pacific: Our Local Shores, Our Global Responsibility
We live and work in Dénia, on the colourful Costa Blanca, so the ocean is not something that comes and goes, it’s a way of life, a feeling, and a sense of identity. The experience of seeing first-hand damage from plastic pollution led to the urge to do a little more than just make. It inspired a mission: to do its part in contributing to cleaner coastlines and healthier marine environments. The numbers are bleak – every year, several million tons of plastic end up in the world’s oceans, and unfortunately, the Mediterranean is one of the worst hit. This pollution is a deadly threat to dolphins, sea turtles, seabirds, and many other species that also call these waters home, and it is affecting how those entire ecosystems function.
Above and Beyond Aesthetics: The “Why” Behind AnimalDeLux
For AnimalDeLux and our owner Álvaro Merle, this is not just an abstract problem, but a call to arms. It all started in part from a passion for product design, an outsider tendency to take on complex geometric structures, and a love of animal welfare. We think that “DeLux” living shouldn’t be just a style of comfort for our furry friends; it should also be a conscientious and thoughtful way we interact with the world around us.
Our ‘why’ is simple: we believe that waste can have value, that challenges can drive innovation, and that business can have a positive impact on the environment. We wondered: How can we integrate our passion for design, our knowledge of pet requirements and our commitment to sustainability, into something that can make a real difference? The solution was even in some of the plastic menacing our shores.
The AnimalDeLux Promise: From Ocean Trash to Ocean Art
We are committed to being a part of the solution. It’s a recovery, redemption, replication, and reanimation story, fashioning potential pollutants into premium, canvas-den-altering products for your pets.
Sourcing With Purpose: Recycling Plastic From Spanish Beaches
The story of our Eco Collection starts with the coastline and offshore waters of Spain. We don’t, ourselves being a small artisan operation, facilitate industrial-scale recovery of waste, but we share the sentiment of the efforts of beach clean-up movements. The same plastics are used in our products that are removed from the cleanup of these marine environments. That’s one less piece endangering marine life or disintegrating into toxic microplastics in the Mediterranean that we all love.
There’s a reason he has homed in on Spanish sea plastic. It ties our products to our immediate surroundings, reminds us of our responsibility to our local community, and provides a strong narrative of local action with global reach.
The Metamorphosis: Turning Waste into an Aloof Commodity
When collected, the path from virgin plastic waste to beautiful, sturdy composite, such as we use in our Tipi Eco, is one of meticulous processing. Once, without going into specific proprietary methods, the general stages are:
- Washing & Sorting: The plastic is then processed to remove any additives it contains, which makes it unsuitable for recycling. With the extrusion process, it is then sorted by type and colour for processing into flakes.
- Crushing & Processing: The sorted plastic is then crushed into smaller flakes or pellets. These are melted and mixed (sometimes with other nontoxic, compatible recycled materials or binding agents to make them durable and safe), and processed at a given heat and pressure.
- Making the Panels: It’s a laborious way to do it, but that’s how you end up with strong, rigid, and astoundingly beautiful panels. But what makes our material one of a kind is the visual result: You receive a fascinating mosaic of colored specks scattered in base colour. These are the ghosts of the plastic’s previous life — the bottle caps, cut-up pieces of containers, and other remnants — now converted into an aesthetic entirely their own.
All this variation is to produce a cloth that is eco-friendly, robust, waterproof, non-toxic, and 100% safe for pets.
The Tipi Eco: An Imaginative Home Inspired by the Sea
The Tipi Eco – our masterpiece of the Eco Collection – plugs everything into a logo. Product of AnimalDeLux -creative product designers, pet-friendly, and a serein to the environment.
Imperfection Is Beauty: The Distinct Look Of Saved Plastic
It’s one of the more exciting things about working with recycled sea plastic, because of the unique, random nature of the plastic found, you know that each piece is unique. No two Tipi Eco panels are ever the same, thanks to the inherently random placement of colourful flakes of plastic drawn from the recycling process. Your pet´s Tipi Eco will have a unique pattern, story, and history written in its structure.
This isn’t a bug; it’s a feature — a lovely testament to its recycled past life, and to its transmigratory passage from the Spanish coast. Not only is the material visually intriguing, both durable and waterproof, but it reacts with dogs body heat for a cozy feel and is super easy to clean – perfect for everyday pet living.
Crafted for Feline (and Canine) Comfort – and Design to Last
Functionality and style are key, and yet, most importantly, the Tipi Eco is a sanctuary for your pet. The experience of Álvaro Merle in animal rescue has deeply influenced its conception:
- Safe & Warm: The pet tent is made of high quality linen, durable and soft so that the pet can stay even inside; The material can also keep pup wamr.
- Plush Bed Included: Each Tipi Eco includes (1) plush, machine washable bed which sits nicely on the internal dowels to provide a comfortable napping and lounging area.
- Convenient Accessibility & Ventilation Design: The door is designed for pets’ easy access and your convenience, meanwhile, it allows for better ventilation.
- Durable: Due to the high level of strength and thickness, the product is also very durable in nature and can be used for several years to come.
Not Just Another Dog Bed but a Statement for Conscious Living
Choosing a Tipi Eco for your pet is an informed choice. It’s also a great way to offer your furry friend a stylish nest and stay involved in a more sustainable lifestyle. It’s a conversation starter, a work of functional art, and a daily reminder that smart design can help heal the planet. And it’s a beautiful example of how innovation can take a massive environmental problem – ocean plastics – and turn it into something valuable and desirable.
The Ripple Effect: Good for the Planet & A Brief Vision of the Future
The ramifications of selecting products like the Tipi Eco reach further than just your own home. And you purchase supports a cycle of good.
Using the plastic harvested from Spanish marine environments, we directly contribute to:
- Addressing Ocean Pollution: Well, plastic that might otherwise poison marine wildlife and the environment.
- Reduced Virgin Plastics Demand: Reducing reliance on the creation of new fossil fuel-derived plastics.
- Saving Materials: Reusing materials already in existence so that it doesn’t cost as much in energy as new manufactured materials.
- Demonstrating The Circular Economy: Demonstrating how it is possible to use waste to create a high-spec, desirable product.
Our Continued Dedication: Sustainable Innovation from Dénia
The Tipi Eco is only the starting point. AnimalDeLux is dedicated to offering you the best selection of eco-friendly pet products. We are continually searching for creative ways to incorporate recycled and environmentally friendly practices into every level of our design and development process, all the way from our workshop in Dénia. We are also loyal to our wooden collection, making use of wood and craft, and providing another opportunity for conscientious consumption.
Our inspiration and vision are to be a name in pet furniture that combines artisanal design, ultimate pet comfort, a focus on the Eco, and environmental responsibility. We think the best products are the ones that improve the lives of our pets, the decor of our homes, and the health of the planet we all share.
The story expands from a pile of discarded plastic on the Spanish coast to an elegant haven in your home, and is one of pioneering technology, zeal, and purpose. Here at AnimalDeLux, we are excited to be a part of it: turning a problem into an opportunity for both beauty and change. In contrast, when you select the Tipi Eco, or any of our other carefully created products, you will receive not just a piece of pet furniture, but rather a commitment to a cleaner future, an endorsement of Spanish artisans, and a loving shelter for your beloved pet; made with love, and respect to our world.
Thanks for standing with us for change.
