Prince William wears tie made from recycled plastic bottles
The Prince of Wales has worn a tie made from recycled plastic bottles as he celebrated the environmental prize which he described as his “large dating agency”.
The Prince, founder of the Earthshot Prize, said its work matching up inventors and investors “gives me hope that we are taking the right steps to repair our planet”.
He wore a £39 green tie made from recycled plastic bottles, which caught the eye of fashion designer Stella McCartney, who was a guest at the event on Thursday.
The Prince shook hands with McCartney who appeared to admire his tie, taking it in her hands to feel the fabric.
The Prince took part in a panel for London Climate Action Week, chaired by actress Hannah Waddingham in the Sky Garden in the City of London.
Waddingham described the Prince’s role with the prize, now in its fourth year, as “not just the poster boy, as it were. You are very much the engine room”.
‘Be bold, be brave, be creative’
The Prince urged those in the room, which included Earthshot Prize nominees, winners and philanthropists who have helped scale their ideas, to “be bold, be brave, be creative”.
Discussions in the past around environmental problems had been “very negative, very doom and gloom”, he said, with Earthshot intended to bring “hope, optimism and urgent action” to solve the problems threatening the planet.
He said: “This is the critical decade for change so impact is something I’m very alive to at the moment. I say to the team ‘Come on, what’s the next thing? What are we doing?’”
The Prince added that the 3,000 “solutions” and 45 finalists the prize had found and highlighted to date gave him “hope that we are taking the right steps to repair our planet”.
He hailed Charlot Magayi, 31, whose company Mukuru Clean Stoves won an Earthshot prize in 2022 for its work to provide safe cooking stoves, as “a beacon” and the “Queen of Africa”.
She said afterwards: “When he sees me, he always tries to speak some Swahili and says words like ‘mzuri’, which is ‘good’ in Swahili.”
The Prince’s tie was manufactured by Wilmok and is the second made from recycled plastic bottles that he is known to have from its range.
In a speech at the Breakthrough Energy Summit later on Thursday, Prince William said he wanted to celebrate the “incredible minds that are working all around the world, night and day, on climate solutions; celebrating the individuals and organisations who are supporting them; and celebrating the progress we have already made”.
“Today we celebrate the innovators, entrepreneurs, and optimists, as well as the allies and investors providing the necessary support along their journey to scale.
“Together we will create a sustainable future for generations to come.”
The Prince specifically praised US firm Circ, which recycles clothes made from a blend of plastic and cotton and was a finalist at the Earthshot Prize last year.
Prior to the speech, the Prince and Bill Gates met several eco-entrepreneurs, including Peter Majeramowski, the CEO of Circ, and Luke Henning, its chief business officer.
They demonstrated a red evening dress made from its recycled polycotton and designed by Mara Hoffman.
“This feels like silk,” said Prince William, running the soft fabric between his fingers.
Mr Majermowski agreed and said that they could use the same material to make a similar tie to the one Prince William was wearing.
