When I was younger I loved pocket knives, especially swiss army knives.
Not because I was a mugger – though I am from Nottingham – but because I found the way all the different elements came together in one small package, fascinating.
While I have grown up since those days [as have Swiss Army Knives, judging by this monster] I still find my eyes drawn to them when I see them, which is why this caught my attention.
But then, I looked a bit closer and saw it was a special edition.
And then I looked closer still and saw it had a picture of something that looked like a bloody Nespresso pod on its blade.
There’s a simple reason for that, because the image is supposed to be of a Nespresso pod, because this knife is made from recycled poncey coffee pod packaging.
I have to be honest, I didn’t know what to make of this.
Without doubt, one part of me thought it was bloody awesome, and yet another part of me hated it because by pointing out the specific material they recycled to make their product, I felt it was some sort of ‘official’ alliance and suddenly it was less about helping the earth and more about exploiting it.
Of course I knew I could be wrong – as I usually am – however when I looked into it, I found this descriptor on the Victorinox website:
“Two Swiss innovators, one directional collector’s piece. Meet the Pioneer Nespresso Livanto: a Swiss Army Knife with sustainability at the heart of its design blueprint. The second limited edition from this unique collaboration between Victorinox and Nespresso, it fuses a solid eco conscience and heritage with intricate engineering. This utility piece features scales crafted from 24 recycled coffee capsules in a striking bronze hue. It’s where green living meets coffee culture and intrepid adventure.”
… and in an instant, Victorinox and Nespresso left a horrible taste in my mouth, even worse than their coffee but – thankfully for them – not as bad as their ads.