Alexandre is the founder of the recycled plastic hair clip brand
[ UNIQUE PLASTIQUE ]
Year founded: 2024
Location of design and office: Quebec City, Canada 🇨🇦
Raw material sourcing location: Quebec City, Canada 🇨🇦
Manufacturing and production location: Quebec City, Canada 🇨🇦
Meet the Founder
The driving force behind Unique Plastique, Alexandre Tanguay embodies the brand's vision and development. Responsible for research and development, production, mold design, and product development, he also oversees public relations and marketing strategy.
The journey began while he was still a high school student in Quebec. Together with his friend Antoine Lachance, he envisioned a brand capable of changing perceptions of plastic by demonstrating that it can become a sustainable resource when used responsibly.
Officially launched in September 2024, Unique Plastique began by making hair clips designed from recycled plastics. The first products were made after school with several friends who were also invested in the project. Following rapid success, an injection molding machine was purchased, and the team grew with the addition of four collaborators.
In 2025, this innovative approach was recognized with the national OSEntreprendre award in the Operations, Transformation, and Production category.
About the Brand
Their Vision
The idea of recycling became obvious when faced with the waste generated by 3D printing failures and the contamination observed in sorting bins. The goal is simple: recycle plastic to transform it into durable, attractive, colorful, and proudly recycled objects.
Through this approach, the ambition is to raise awareness and bring Quebecers closer to recycling, while demonstrating that sorting efforts have a real impact and deserve to be valued.
Their Mission
The goal for the future is to offer a wider variety of sustainable products to reach as broad a public as possible. Inspiring, motivating, and raising awareness are integral parts of this mission, as is the desire to reveal the true value of recycled plastic.
Continuous improvement guides every step of the brand's development. A constant search for innovation allows manufacturing processes to evolve and new solutions to be identified for recycling more materials.
From a simple panini press used at the project's start, the journey has gradually evolved into a real factory equipped with professional equipment, while maintaining the same ambition: to push the boundaries of recycling and the circular economy.
The Eco-Friendly Impact
The brand makes products (such as hair clips) from recycled plastics—used LEGO bricks, pill bottles, and expired helmets. The idea is to "show plastic from a new angle, preserving its authentic color," based on the principle that "plastic is eco-friendly; it all depends on how it is used."
Alexandre explains that the challenge of recycling is to have enough of the same type of plastic, which means going directly to the source—the very principle of the circular economy.
The Brand's Values
♻️ Recycling ↓
They collect existing plastics from pharmacies and large stores (shampoo bottles, medicine boxes, used LEGO bricks, pill bottles, and expired helmets) to transform them into new products such as hair clips.
🌀 Zero-Waste Lifestyle ↓
They collect plastic that would have ended up as waste and transform it.
🤚🏼 Expertise / Handmade ↓
The design of the clips was created by Alexandre. The machines used to produce and create the clips are operated by hand in the Unique Plastique workshops.
🐨 Vegan ↓
No animal-derived materials are used in the creation of the hair clips—only recycled plastic.
🏠 Made Locally ↓
The products of the Quebec brand are made locally in Lévis, Quebec, Canada.
[ Show recycling and find the true value of plastic. ]
