Prince William's Recycled Bottle Tie in Singapore Caused Designer to Cry "Happy Tears" (Exclusive)

The Prince of Wales wore a $50 tie made from recycled plastic bottles in a sustainable fashion statement

Prince William is making quite the modern (and sustainable!) style statement.

During his trip to Singapore surrounding the third annual Earthshot Prize ceremony, the Prince of Wales, 41, accessorized a navy suit with an attractive blue and white floral tie to attend a summit for his United for Wildlife project on Monday. The tie, made from discarded plastic bottles has since been selling fast.

"The first thing I did was FaceTime my wife — and yes, I had happy tears, but it was more of a shock, to be honest,” Darryll Wilson, founder of the tie brand Wilmok tells PEOPLE exclusively from a café in London as he frantically tries to fulfill the numerous orders that have been placed since Prince William was spotted in his design.

"I had 7 followers on Twitter two days ago! I was wondering why there was so much traffic and so many orders. So I checked Twitter, and I saw all the notifications — it went crazy! Some angel found out it was Wilmok and put it on there,” he says.

"We are a very, very small business, so it’s just insane that the Prince of Wales is wearing my tie!" he adds.

It seems that while an eagle-eyed "angel" posted the fashion ID on social media this week, Prince William actually bought the tie in November 2022 and has worn it several times in the last year.

His previous wears include a reception held at Buckingham Palace the night before the coronation and in Boston late last year.

"I did some detective work and I see that the order came from his PA, so I’m thinking William might have chosen it himself," Wilson says. "I hope so.”

The company (whose brand name combines the surnames of his Indian father, Wilson, and Nepalese mother, Moktan) was founded in 2019 from the fashion and marketing entrepreneur’s home in Rome, where he has lived for the last 15 years. The business struggled to find its feet, launching amid the COVID-19 pandemic when casual attire became the norm.

"It’s a dying market because nobody wears ties anymore, but I thought if things don’t change then there will be no improvement,” says the 35-year-old designer. “I had a very clear vision of what I wanted to do in terms of re-using plastic waste and also sponsoring children in Nepal."

In addition to recycling plastic waste (he also designs silk and wool ties in addition to many other accessories), for every purchase the brand donates enough money to provide one week's worth of food to an underprivileged child in Nepal, partnering with the non-profit Food for Life Nepal.

At Monday’s event, Prince William spoke at a United for Wildlife summit, an initiative founded by the Royal Foundation in 2012 that aims to stop traffickers profiting from illegal wildlife products. During his speech, he said that the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore and the United States have pledged to work together in detecting and preventing the financial activity that sustains wildlife crime.

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On Tuesday evening, the royal stepped out at the third annual Earthshot Prize ceremony, hitting the glamorous green carpet with stars such as Cate Blanchett and Hannah Waddingham. Wearing a green velvet tuxedo jacket (which, in true sustainable style, he has owned for nearly a decade) prizes of $1.2 million were handed out to each of the five winners for their contributions to environmentalism.

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