I received this reply this morning from Ecoist re: the “recycling” of MTA maps for their clutches:

Hi Abigail,

Thanks for writing about us. Our bags are made from either misprinted or outdated versions of the maps. They are not taken from the trash, but rather from the MTA directly.

Here is more info:

http://www.ecoist.com/pc/pressdetail.asp?pressreleaseid=11

Thank you !

Jonathan Marcoschamer at Ecoist

http://www.bravemind.com/ericart/subwayseries/sub_ser_index.html

We need to be careful making utilitarian products from upcycled resources though. It may in turn create demand for the waste, instead of actually helping decrease our waste. Just a thought. Its like Europe trading trash to power their power stations. Now they need more rubbish to keep them efficient. These are the kind of back fires we need to be careful about.

I just wrote to Ecoist to clarify this inquiry. The maps are not “blatantly taken right off the shelves” – they are recycled/repurposed from surplus and waste, but I will let them answer to this.

In the end, Ecoist’s intention seems more than honorable in terms of creating good, clean product. I particularly like that they are pushing the envelope in terms of redefining what we typically view as being fashionable and resourceful.

- Abigail @ Inhabitat

well i\\\’d be interrested to see if indeed the MTA maps come from trash cans (they do look like brand new maps) or if they were blatantly taken new right off the shelves. In which case it would make this project non sustainable and somewhat irrelevant to this site.