Leanne Cairns Millinery is a producer of luxury handmade hats, fascinators and bridal millinery based in Ayrshire, Scotland. Blue Marble was approached to work with Leanne Cairns Millinery to produce a Life Cycle Assessment report for a prototype 3D printed hat.

Blue Marble’s work involved modelling the product system for the prototype made from polylactic acid (PLA) with particular focus on the End-of-Life stage. Leanne Cairns Millinery wanted to avoid waste sent to landfill and explore a take-back scheme for the 3D printed hat whereby the PLA could be recycled into new hats or sustainably biodegraded. Four different End-of-Life scenarios were modelled by Blue Marble to demonstrate the sustainability of a take-back scheme over other disposal options.

Blue Marble’s work supported Leanne Cairns Millinery in the development of sustainable alternative product design and routes to market.   

“I was very impressed with Blue Marble’s dedication to completing the LCA of our prototype and the research that they put in was extremely valuable to firming up the sustainable and cyclical nature of these products, giving us clarity on not only the low carbon footprint but the supply chain changes required to become a significant differentiating advantage when bringing these to market.” – Leanne Cairns    

https://www.leannecairnsmillinery.com/