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Yianni Biniaris created a bag out of scraps left over from his past year of design at Syracuse University.

The Mikro Clutch bag, which sold out a few days ago, is one of the items in the second collection of Treeasun, a sustainable brand that Biniaris created.

Treeasun started with just bags, then Biniaris expanded the business to include shirts as well. The new collection utilizes the element of repurposing scraps to make the bags. At first, Biniaris would post designs that he made for friends, but then people started wanting to buy his designs, he said.

Instead of throwing away extra zippers, chains and scraps of fabric, Biniaris uses these materials to create new bags.

While the first line of shirts were basic fitness T-shirts, additional shirts made out of plastic bottles will be released next week, Biniaris said. The brand is also tracking its greenhouse gas and carbon footprint, Biniaris said.

It takes Biniaris around 45 minutes to cut fabric, sew and paint each bag he creates for Treeasun. Corey Henry | Senior Staff Photographer

“It’s like being a cook. You don’t want to just throw out the excess ingredients, and you could be using that for something else,” said Alex Pugliese, Biniaris’ friend from high school who has known about the brand since Biniaris came up with the name.

Biniaris makes all the bags in the collection himself. He cuts and sews the fabric and paints his signature. Biniaris usually makes two or three bags a day, and each takes about 45 minutes to make.

Biniaris realized being a sustainable brand is possible after working as a designer at two other brands in the past.

“It’s doable. It helps you. It helps everyone. So why not?” he said.

Treeasun’s manufacturer, Spectrum Design, is a nonprofit organization that employs children with autism. Biniaris chose Spectrum Design because it was close to his hometown. He also supported the company’s cause, he said.

Every bag that Biniaris makes for Treeasun is designed to be unique. Corey Henry | Senior Staff Photographer

Each bag that Biniaris makes is intentionally designed to be different from every other bag.

“When you wear something that you know only you have, it brings out this kind of feeling that’s like, ‘Wow, this is cool. No one else in the world has this but me,’” he said.

During quarantine, Biniaris reflected on how he could improve his brand and decided to create a website. He now works with a team of four other ambassadors and hopes to add more to grow the brand. Biniaris said that everyone has a brand these days, but he would like to see more collaboration.

The name Treeasun aims to reframe the negative word treason. The brand Treeasun is about standing out and not succumbing to a herd mentality.

Pugliese met Biniaris in high school and has stayed close friends with him since. Pugliese said Biniaris is ambitious and sometimes does all the production for his brand himself. Pugliese has experience in e-commerce, so he helped Biniaris with his website and taught him how to use Shopify, he said.

“I always hear from his customers, and they love the bags because he puts a lot of effort into them,” Pugliese said. “And that’s just the Yianni I know. He’s just a very hardworking and ambitious person.”

ackrayna@syr.edu

Published on August 26, 2020 at 9:45 pm

Contact Mandy: ackrayna@syr.edu | @MandyKraynak