Latest news with #Dodge
Motor 1
a day ago
- Automotive
- Motor 1
‘I Had to Call a Tow Truck:' Man Trades in Ford Explorer for 2023 Dodge Durango. He Claims Defect Has Left Him Stranded 6 Times
A 2023 Dodge Durango driver is warning people against buying one. Scott Parish ( @officerparish ) says a defect in the Durango has left him stranded six times. Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . In a TikTok, Parish reveals how frustrating his experience owning a Dodge Durango has been since trading in his Ford Explorer. 'I would never advise anybody to buy a Dodge Durango because they are the most aggravating pieces of [explicit] I've ever had in my life,' he begins. About three weeks after owning it, Parish says the Durango has randomly shut down without any warning signs multiple times. 'It runs good and sounds good, part of the time, six times we've been stranded in a parking lot somewhere due to the car not cranking up,' he complains. The Durango has issues starting back up after parking, Parish says, and has even shut down in the middle of the road. 'I had to call a tow truck one time, and died driving in the middle of the road,' Parish shares. Trending Now 'HOA President About to Show Up:' Man Says There's a Recall on Kias, Hyundais Over Brakes. Then He Shows What Can Happen 'Menace to Society:' Man Says Ford, Nissan, and Chevy Make the '3 Most Reckless Cars on the Road.' Are You Driving One? Parish says not even dealerships have been able to diagnose the issue. 'Every dealership I've taken this car to can't figure out what's wrong with it. There should be no reason whatsoever why I should have to pay to fix my vehicle when the dealership doesn't know what's wrong with it,' he vents. Parish was advised by Dodge that a dealership needs to diagnose the problem before he can file a claim. 'What am I supposed to do when nobody can figure out what's wrong with the car?' he says. Parish notes that the dealership diagnosis fee is $160 an hour and a dealership could take up to eight hours just to find nothing. 'Do not buy a Durango or any Dodge car because they will not fix them if there are any issues. I'm tired of paying for a vehicle that doesn't work,' he concludes. His post has been viewed over 300,000 times as of this writing. What Recalls Has The 2023 Dodge Durango Had? The 2023 Dodge Durango has been recalled twice by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Consumer Reports shares. According to NHTSA , the two recalls are the column shifter coming out of gear and the rear bumper detaching. Both take place while driving. With the column shifter, the shifter may experience an interference with the shifter boot and come out of gear while driving, which can result in a sudden loss of drive power, Kelley Blue Book reports. This recall applies for 2023 Dodge Durango Pursuit vehicles equipped with an instrument panel mounted shifter and dealers will replace the instrument panel mounted shifter boot, free of charge. The bumper detaching recall increases the risk of accidents as the bumper can easily become a road hazard. Neither of the two recalls apply to Parish's issue. An Assist from the Crowd Via email, Parish told Motor1, 'Within the first three weeks of owning it we began experiencing what we believed to be a fuel issue. It died on my wife multiple times in the parking lot and died on me a few times as well.' 'We had it checked by a tech from Bice Chevrolet and it was believed to be a fuel pump. We had the pump replaced with an OEM pump and within a week of having it, it once again began dying on us. On the way home from Nashville, TN it died on us one last time and that was the final straw,' he continued. According to Parish, suggestions from the commenters helped solve the issue. 'I had all sorts of suggestions, but the primary suggestion was to do a Fuel Pump Relay Bypass because for some reason Stellantis decided to build the relay into the TIPM of the Durango,' he said. Turns out the fuel pump was recalled for 2011-2013 Dodge Durangos. A fuel pump relay recall took place due to potential silicon contamination in the fuel pump relay, which could lead to a no-start or stall condition. The fuel pump hasn't been recalled since then. Nevertheless, it may have solved Parish's breakdown woes in his 2023 Durango. 'My brother at Parish Garage sat down, pulled the recall information on the 2013, and had to learn the pin out to correctly wire in the bypass on the 2023 from the 2013 instructions. We are going on a week now with no issues since we did the bypass. No check engine light, no fuel issues, no dead Durango,' Parish said. More From Motor1 The Dodge Durango Hellcat Refuses to Die What's New In the Dodge Lineup for 2025? Stellantis to Pause Production of Durango, Grand Cherokee Amid Slow Sales Oh Look, Another Ludicrously Expensive Durango Hellcat Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Someone put a Ferrari V8 in a motorcycle
Los Angeles-based custom motorcycle builder Maxwell Hazan has built a bike powered by the V8 engine from a Ferrari F355. Dubbed the HF355, it's been in the works since early 2024, and still isn't quite finished, but recently turned a wheel for the first time. "The goal was to create a V8-powered sport bike that still had the proportions of a normal motorcycle and it was definitely a challenge," Hazan said in an Instagram post first spotted by Hagerty. Motorcycles with large car engines have been built before-perhaps most famously by Dodge, which stuffed a Viper V10 into its Tomahawk concept bike-but that doesn't mean the task has gotten any easier. Hazan built a custom frame to house the Ferrari engine and a six-speed transmission, shrouded in handmade bodywork, with brakes and suspension capable of handling the engine's estimated 400 horsepower. That's pushing just 590 pounds of weight with fluids and four gallons of gasoline onboard. The engine and transmission make up 319 pounds of that total. A former interior designer and contractor, Hazan began building motorcycles in his father's woodshed in Brooklyn, before moving to L.A. and going into the bike-building business full time with his own company, Hazan Motorworks. His previous builds include an eclectic mix of customized classics such as BSA and Vincent, some more modern designs, and a salt-flats racer dubbed the Salt Shaker. But the Ferrari-powered HF355 might be Hazan's most distinctive build yet. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Buzz Feed
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Buzz Feed
Money Saving Life Hacks From People Who Now Have Money
It's just the nature of life, it seems: one week, we're flush with cash, and the next, we're scrounging under the couch cushions for a few extra coins. But even through the ups and downs, we all learn helpful financial habits along the way. Recently, u/KiraAzura posed the question, "What's a 'poor person life hack' that you still do, even if you're no longer broke?" over on Reddit, and these 29 responses were incredibly enlightening: "I obtain unfathomable amounts of toothpaste from an 'empty' tube." —ShittalkyCaps"I got a paint tube crimper-like device just for this."—Key_Stuff281"I just use the edge of our vanity's top and pull the tube from the bottom while bending it over the 45-degree edge. Not sure how to explain it better than that, but it forces every last ounce of toothpaste to the top."—Grandmaster_Bile "Use plastic grocery bags for my bathroom and office trash cans." —rotavator0986"Along that same line, I use the veggie bags to clean up after the dog."—Dismal-Remote-3906"I have a plastic bag full of smaller plastic bags. The small plastic bags get used as trash bags, lunch bags, cat litter disposal bags, packing bags for shoes, etc., while going on trips and so on."—NervousSeagull "Continuing to drive my 2005 Camry (my original car). If it runs, why replace it?" —Illustrious_Hotel527"I'm in the same boat with the '01 Dakota I've had since high school. Although with it being a Dodge, I could probably tell you the size of every fastener in the engine bay off the top of my head by this point."—Facetiousgeneral42"I still have my 1999 Jeep Cherokee. It's in almost perfect condition. Why get a car payment when I haven't had one in years?"—Appropriate_Win9538 "Adding lots of extra ingredients (like chopped vegetables and canned tomatoes) to Hamburger Helper to make more of it." —armaedes"I do this too. It also adds some nutrients that wouldn't otherwise be in there. Also, you don't actually need to buy Hamburger Helper — just brown some ground beef with finely chopped veggies, add a can of diced tomatoes or some salsa and some seasonings of your choice, water, and pasta. Cover and simmer. You can change up the seasonings, veggies, or pasta type, and it's like making entirely different meals."—there_should_be_snow "I never eat out for lunch on workdays." —TheDadaMax"My biggest 'raise' was working from home permanently. Between lunch, coffee, and parking, I'm saving $600-700 a month. The bulk of this is just from not eating out daily."—explicitspirit"This is a real GOAT pro-tip: 1) It saves money. Simple. Fast food is $11. Five days a week equals $55, four weeks a month equals $220. Over a year? $2,640. 2) It saves calories. 3) It saves time. No driving, no waiting in line, no waiting for them to make it. Boom, I'm eating and saving at least 15 minutes."—supergooduser "I like to use bars of soap, and putting the little piece of the old bar onto the new bar is mandatory." —Skyccord"The soap of Theseus."—The_Band_Geek"Another thing that works is to throw soap and any slivers into a mesh bag/short nylon stocking, or whatever, and rub that directly on your skin. It tends to lather up really well, and depending on the fabric, it sometimes exfoliates as well."—Curiouso_Giorgio "When I couldn't afford meat, I used tinned brown lentils as a mince meat substitute in pasta sauce/lasagna sauce. I can now afford mince meat, but add a tin of brown lentils to extend the amount. (I like the taste, too.)" —little-marmalade-jar"My boyfriend grew up poor, and his mom would add oatmeal to ground beef to extend it. It works really well in things like meatloaf and meatballs."—ipromiseyouitstaken I check thrift stores and Facebook Marketplace for everything before I buy it new. About the only things I truly buy new are socks and underwear." —whole_chocolate_milk"On Craigslist, you can 'save searches' and it will notify you when new things are listed. It has saved me THOUSANDS. All you need is time and patience, and the item will find you."—Ill-Air8146"I just started using Facebook Marketplace about a year ago. I agree with you. I'm hooked and astounded that you can buy nearly anything you need. I get all of my shoes, winter coats, some clothes, as well as kitchen items, furniture, household decor, rugs, and curtains. Most are 75% off retail. I decided to re-paint all rooms on our second floor. I'm slowly gathering cheap paint. I'll save hundreds on paint. I'm sure you've found many treasures too!"—majordashes"I still buy gently used second-hand clothes, accessories, and furniture where possible! I love thrifting and strongly prefer vintage products. They're often cheaper with higher quality fabrications that would be 3-5x the cost today."—fatchamy "Save all of your vegetable scraps. All the things you cut off of your vegetables when prepping food, freeze them. You can use them all later to create your own vegetable stock or other things like chicken stock. Just be sure to wash them well. Save your scraps of even meat, like chicken bones. All the stuff you don't like the look of still has good flavor." "I know the ends of onions look a little iffy, but you aren't eating them in stock. You're just extracting all the flavor from them. By the time they're finished cooking down, they're going to be basically mush anyway. Homemade stock is so much better for you than store-bought and will save you a lot of money. Likewise, some people will probably pay you for good homemade stock if you feel like selling it."—the-novel"Take it even further and use scraps to grow more food. Pineapples will grow new plants if you remove and plant the top. You can stick green onions in water after cutting them, and they will grow back several times. This works for celery, lettuce, and bok choy, too. Use old potatoes to grow more. Ginger can be planted much like a potato. You can harvest seeds from tomatoes, peppers, squashes, etc. Growing your own fresh herbs and spices is cheaper, whether you buy dried or fresh, and you'll always have fresh seasoning, which beats dried every single is expensive, and you can have a steady supply that won't spoil (until you harvest it)."—FriedSmegma "I almost never buy coffee outside. Either make it at home or drink free crap coffee at work." —Lolyer"This is a big one. I splurged on a used espresso machine, and it has paid for itself in a couple of months, and it tastes better too because I get better than average beans."—explicitspirit"I think I've honestly saved myself an absurd amount of money on coffee by just drinking the coffee at work. I'm not one of those 'I can't function until I've had coffee' people. I can drive to work and wait, and by the time I do have it, I've been awake for like two hours or so. I have my own at home for days off, and it takes me a long time to get through it since I only drink it one or two days a week."—5k1895 "Only buying when things are on sale (discounted)." —Turbulent-Today830"The on-sale price is the real price. The other price is the 'bend-over' price."—Metasynaptic"My favorite way to shop at Costco. I buy eggs, milk, and then anything on sale that catches my eye. Like yogurt, fruit, and frozen stuff! Also, obligatory call out on sharing a Costco membership with someone."—MakesNegativeIncome "Rice, beans, garlic, olive oil, and soy sauce for days, baby. This 10-dollar budget for a week's worth of food got me through college, but I'm still doing it once in a while 10 years later." —JagdCrab"I like to change it up and do different cuisines. For example, Spanish rice using red/kidney beans or more of a Caribbean style using black beans. Honestly, my advice is to buy a can of each type of bean and try cooking them to see which one you like best. I typically buy basmati rice, but jasmine is also you know the type of bean you like best, buy a bag of them dried and keep a can or two on hand. If you have the planning ability, soak the dry beans overnight the day before you are going to cook them. It saves on cooking time and reduces the amount of gas you'll produce. Dry beans are a lot cheaper, but require more forethought."—CanuckBacon "I live near several well-known universities. Want free or extremely cheap and barely used furniture? Know which apartment complexes the wealthy college students live in and when they move out." —csgirl1997"Move-out day at universities, aka 'Hippie Christmas.' Dumpsters full of stuff like microwaves they don't want to haul home."—RedditZamak "Hiding money from myself." —blondiemariesll"Omg! I do this! I have ADD so bad I just forget where I put it, haha. It's usually just dollars I find in the laundry and leftovers from change I stash somewhere. I have little stashes all over the house. I was cleaning out the cabinet we keep all the medicines in the other day and found $15, ha! My best find ever, though, was years ago when portable phones were a thing. We had a landline at our first apartment and were cleaning…found a $100 bill under the charging station! Totally forgot I put it there!"—Odd-Trust8625"Dude, the amount of times I find a $20 bill in my wallet every time I go through them to see what works best with my outfit, or what I might want to donate. I then realize I did that as emergency gas money, congratulate myself, put it back (if not using or donating), and then forget about it again until I do the process once more."—animepuppyluvr "I'm still broke, but a good hack for food is learning to make meals that last all week and freeze well. If you don't have a lot of time to cook, make weekly soups." "Secondly, it's a little cheaper to buy one pound of hamburger and one pound of sausage and mix the two. Sausage is usually cheaper than beef, so you'll save a little money when cooking and come out with way tastier food because sausage gives your dinner's meat a better bite."—the-novel "Calling my internet and cable company every 6 to 12 months, telling them I'm going to cancel. That keeps me at the best price. I have saved quite a bit of money for the same service over the last decade." —CasaBlanca37"Keep up with it and be sure to note any changes each time you do this. Providers have a retention algorithm that will eventually improve with AI implementation, which will be harder to outsmart. E.g., it could know how little it needs to offer you to keep your business. It's not there yet, but still keep an eye on what others are offering so you have a baseline (if not doing this already) each time. Most countries aren't very up to date on AI regulation, and corporate surveillance (especially in America) is quickly becoming a reality."—catholicsluts "Kindness. Always pays back enormously." —astroproff"I cannot agree with this more. Build a network of like-minded folks. We are only so alone as we allow ourselves to be. Share what you have, and others will often do the same."—Affectionate_Ad_7570 "I dye my own hair and never, ever have a car payment." —NeitherNorX"Along the same lines, I learned to cut my own hair as a broke college student. Now, I'm 40 and still do it. I've literally saved like $5,000 so far, and it's one less appointment/errand I gotta go do."—withoutapaddle "Free entertainment. Beach, hike, hanging out in a third space, general involvement in local community, and having an awareness of free events, which are super common." —NewcastleElite"These are all great ideas for ways to spend your time. I also recommend checking out your local library for programs and events. Some libraries have collections of things you can borrow for about a week at a time. These collections can include electronics, musical instruments, lawn games, baking supplies, and all sorts of random things. Many libraries also offer free passes to nearby museums. I've saved so much money over the years by taking advantage of what my library has to offer. "—FlapjackFilibuster"Completely agree! Even economical entertainment such as camping, investing in a park pass, or splitting a cottage with friends/family. There are great ways to get a great experience at a reduced cost."—pizzarunningcoffee "Thrifting 100% of my super fancy office clothes. They have no idea." —EdgeCompetitive"I go thrifting in areas I can't afford to live. Rich people donate the fanciest things."—AgonisingAunt"All of my favorite clothes are thrifted. My latest find was a pair of dress shoes. Brand new, and I mean not worn once, dress shoes exactly my size that retail at $130. I paid $8. Around that same time, I found a brand new Corsair gaming keyboard. It was $17, and it sold on eBay for $150."—FriedSmegma "Learn to freeze and thaw food, and buy as much of your groceries from Costco as possible. In my opinion, if you learn how to use that volume. You pay about 50% vs the normal store." —bloomsday289"Vacuum sealer to augment that. I buy all my meat at Costco. I live alone, so I vacuum seal it all and freeze it. It's how I can go through a 5+ pound boneless lamb leg easily. I get about 10+ meals from it, because I portion it out into three pieces. And that salmon is fantastic."—powerlesshero111"Vacuum sealer is a life changer. Salmon used to go bad by day three, now it's still fresh by day seven! I usually freeze most of them right away, except for one or two, and I don't get to them right away."—happy--muffin "I take tampons from my gym. Never ever paying for them again." —SprinklesBulky4943"At a fast-food place, I'll take a large number of napkins for home. My grandma did it, and I'll keep the family tradition going."—allahandro"Also, those little grape jelly packets or coffee creamer are all fair game."—zatro "Not buying bottled water. That tap water will do just fine." —hp_rice1"Having a Brita or generic equivalent pitcher makes tap water taste better. Also, you don't need to change the filters nearly as often as they say, so they last forever. Do be careful to keep the pitcher clean.I never buy beverages in a container with the liquid (bottles, cans). It's way cheaper, and you don't need to haul heavy beverages when you buy groceries. The only beverages I buy are tea and coffee for a special treat. And I only drink water with meals—you can taste and enjoy your food better that way."—Amuseco "Running some lines of hot glue on the areas of your shoes that get worn out quicker before a long walk or a game of basketball or pickleball, etc., will extend the life of your shoes. Epoxy works as well." —iwouldhugwonderwoman"There's a glue called Shoe Goo that's designed for this. I haven't tried hot glue or epoxy though, so I'm not sure if it works better or not."—catcontentcurator "I make my own liquid laundry detergent and Dawn Powerwash. It's so easy and so cheap! I do five gallons and one gallon at a time for not even close to the cost of a one-time purchase." —BothImpression9544 "I add water to soap and shampoo bottles when they get low, and the diluted soap still works fine. Learned it from my mom; do it out of habit now." —sphinx90724"I intentionally dilute all my shampoo, even from full bottles. I use less, and it's easier to rinse."—LeftArmFunk "The miscolored stack in the paint store. I'll happily keep checking until a colour I love pops up. It's a fun hunt, especially if you've got an idea but aren't absolutely set on precisely one exact color — and there isn't a chance in hell I'm paying $80 for a gallon of paint." —Missscarlettheharlot"Any remotely light color will work as a primer, too."—mmss "I have a full-time job that pays well enough that I could live off it comfortably, but I have two side hustles that I maintain. If my main job ever went away, I could easily put more time into the side gigs and not immediately have to start living off my savings." —WhatIsItToBurn"This is literally how I survived the '08 recession. I went right to full-time at my part-time job."—LeftArmFunk And finally, "I cut my sponges in half." —SampleWest4421"They fit better in my hand that way!"—viciousfishous08"And they dry out much faster, helping them stay clean and last longer."—Amuseco Do you have your own money-saving hacks to share? Let us know in the comments. Or if you'd like to remain anonymous, you can fill out the form below.
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Miami Herald
Road rage driver opened fire on Palmetto Expressway. Highway patrol looking for him
The Florida Highway Patrol is searching for a man they say pulled out a gun and shot at another car on the Palmetto Expressway. Troopers say that on Thursday, around 2 p.m., they got a call about the shooting that occurred in the northbound lanes near Flagler Street. The driver of the targeted vehicle, a black Cadillac sedan, was not injured, but the rear window had a visible bullet hole. Investigators say the confrontation began near Southwest 24th Street and escalated when the suspect, driving a white Dodge truck, pulled out a gun and fired.
National Geographic
4 days ago
- General
- National Geographic
What do you do with thousands of dead Everglades pythons? Wear them.
Most Burmese python hunters dispose of their snakes after euthanizing them, but South Florida designer Elle Barbeito upcycles hers into accessories to help spread awareness about an ecological epidemic eating away at the Everglades. Photographs by Danielle Levitt Just after midnight, Elle Barbeito drove her Dodge pickup deep into the shadows of the Florida Everglades. After hours navigating narrow marsh roads, past towering bald cypresses and raucous shoots of bromeliads, she suddenly pulled onto the shoulder and aimed a flashlight at a writhing patch of prehistoric-looking ferns. 'Python!' Barbeito shouted, pointing to a metallic sheen of scales glistening like silken chain mail in the moonlight. The next part would require her gun. No one can say for certain how Burmese pythons arrived in the Everglades in the first place or how many there are today, though conservative estimates put their population in the tens of thousands. What we do know is that the voracious snakes are destroying one of the country's most important ecosystems by reproducing rapidly and feasting on just about anything they can fit their jaws around, from endangered wood rats to threatened wood storks. The snakes have few regional predators except alligators, so the only way to stop them is by culling them. Over the past 25 years, more than 23,500 pythons have been removed from southern Florida's wetlands through organized annual hunts, eradication agents hired by the state, and volunteers like Barbeito who help capture and kill them. While most snake hunters dump them or leave the carcasses to rot, Barbeito does things differently. After euthanizing the python, she carefully loaded its serpentine body into the back of her truck and took it home. Snake hunters like Barbeito slowly drive around the Everglades after dark, when nocturnal pythons are more active, sweeping roadside marshlands in the hope of spotting one. She often tags along with her dad, Mark Yon, who captures and euthanizes snakes as part of Florida's python elimination program. The 29-year-old, who comes from the world of New York fashion, hunts these enormous creatures and then repurposes their remains, transforming each one into a highly sought-after python-skin accessory. 'I get to have this connection with my material that most artists don't,' Barbeito says. She's developed a cult following for her limited-edition line of carefully sourced products, including bags and belts, which appeal to clients who want to wear reptile skin without some of the ethical complications. For years animal welfare advocates have encouraged shoppers to steer clear of animal-based leathers, prompting fashion companies to explore synthetic or vegan alternatives derived from things like mushrooms and apples. Now an increasing number of designers are recognizing how useful the leather of Burmese python skin from the Everglades can be. As brands race to scale their ambition, Barbeito plays a unique role as someone involved in every step of the sourcing and sales process. 'Here is a beautiful material that's sustainable, and nobody was really doing anything with it,' she says. 'It became this solution to a problem.' For as long as she can remember, Barbeito wanted to make clothes. At age 18 she moved to New York City for fashion school, enrolling in classes like patternmaking and interning for big-time designers. She also helped stitch pieces for a collection shown at Paris Fashion Week, but each experience only made her more aware of the industry's environmental trade-offs, like pollution from industrial manufacturing and textile waste. 'This is what I wanted to do with my life,' she remembers thinking. 'How [can] I pursue it without becoming part of the problem?' During a trip home to Florida eight years ago, Barbeito joined her father, Mark Yon, a python-removal agent for the state, on a job in the Everglades. Recognizing how beautiful the intricate tan and brown puzzle-piece skin patterns were, she was shocked to see other hunters tossing their snakes into the garbage. 'Such a waste to have to remove these invasive species and then just throw them in the trash,' she says. 'The material felt like an answer to the question I had been asking myself.' Fashion school hadn't exactly prepared her to hunt pythons. So Barbeito moved back home and studied tracking and capturing techniques alongside her father. Since releasing her first collection on Instagram in 2019, she has continued to join him on countless midnight hunts while developing a deep appreciation for their urgent conservation work. 'This isn't something he does because he loves hunting and killing snakes,' she says. 'He just loves the Everglades.' If you have to destroy something harming the land, she reasons, why not find a way to recycle it and create something useful? 'It's a way to honor them,' she explains. 'And I see that as a privilege.' (Can CSI tactics stop a $23 billion poaching industry?) Barbeito repeats that mantra to herself in the backyard of her family's house in Cutler Bay, a half-hour drive south of Miami, where the 'second life' of these animals begins. There she soaks the hides in six-gallon glass jars of water, glycerin, and alcohol for two weeks to preserve them, before stretching them out on plywood boards to dry and tan. She then hand-sews each accessory from her own customized patterns. Barbeito removes the skin from this bulbous python using a razor blade, a tedious process done in the backyard of her dad's house outside of Miami. She preserves the hide in a mixture of glycerin and alcohol before drying it out on a wood plank for two weeks. The resulting leather is a delicate material that requires hand-stitching and occasional binding for added durability. Prices range from $425 for cowboy boot straps to upwards of $1,200 for mini-handbags, and items often sell out within 24 hours of being listed on social media. While Barbeito will schedule more hunts for custom orders, she isn't interested in creating a backlog. 'I'm not Amazon Prime,' she says. 'There's a reason why I don't have an inventory of stuff. I try hard to not be wasteful and [to be] as intentional as possible with every single thing I'm making.' Requests now come in from all over the country, and for customers in places like New York or Los Angeles, Barbeito says her designs sometimes double as conversation starters about Everglades wildlife conservation. 'When I first started, I just saw it as this material I was able to utilize,' she says. 'But it's also a form of being able to educate people.' A recent small-batch release was inspired by a visit to Florida's largest working cattle ranch, also located in the Everglades, and includes python spur straps and a headstall for horses. (The untold story of Florida's largest ever python) As more people seek her out, she is weighing how to scale up production and whether to collaborate with celebrities. 'I would love to see Doechii in my pieces,' she muses about the stylish singer. For a lot of fashion designers, that kind of high-profile exposure is carefully orchestrated and primarily about building brand awareness. In Barbeito's case, she argues the ecological impact is poised to 'blend the lines of what fashion and art can be.' "The python accessories coming out of Barbeito's showroom, from belts to bustiers, are part of a larger shift in fashion toward more regenerative materials." Barbeito isn't the only one who has noticed how sourcing python skin from the Everglades skirts many of the major dilemmas around using animal-based products in clothing. Since late 2020, a Miami-based start-up called Inversa has operated as a broker between independent Florida hunters—or 'invasive-removal specialists,' as Inversa CEO Aarav Chavda calls them—and high-end designers interested in using materials made of species like Burmese pythons or lionfish, a similarly damaging animal threatening native fish populations and coral reefs along Florida's coasts. While Barbeito runs a small, often bespoke operation, Inversa has a more industrial outlook. 'If we're going to tackle something as big as invasive species, we have to be thinking in terms of scale,' Chavda says. 'We have to be removing tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, eventually, millions, in order to really make a difference.' So far, there's more than enough supply to satisfy the growing demand. Inversa recently partnered with acclaimed sustainable fashion designer Gabriela Hearst on a line inspired by the snake goddess of Neolithic Europe, which included Burmese python pumps and bags. Like Barbeito, Hearst had never seen a textile that could have such an immediate impact on conservation. 'I was never a big subscriber to the mushroom leather, because I knew that it wasn't going to have the impact that this leather could,' Hearst says. 'It was exciting to work with something that is beautiful [and] also helping restore the environment.' "One of luxury designer Johanna Ortiz's recent collections included a belt made with invasive carp scales, and last year Gabriela Hearst showed a moto jacket and pumps made from the skin of Everglades pythons at Paris Fashion Week." Gabriela Hearst (shoe and jacket), Johanna Ortiz (belt) Catherine Holstein, founder and creative director of the New York–based brand Khaite, has also worked with Inversa on a collection of made-to-order python-skin handbags. In the meantime, Chavda's company has expanded to offer other materials made from environmentally devastating species: Beachwear designer Johanna Ortiz recently debuted belts made with the scales of Asian carp, a ravenous fish threatening to destroy the delicate ecosystem of the Great Lakes after being introduced to help control algae blooms in aquaculture facilities. And Chavda hints that several major fashion houses may be poised to debut lines that include Inversa's materials at upcoming fashion weeks in Paris, London, and Milan. Back in Florida, Barbeito still finds satisfaction in staying connected to every part of production, even as her mission reaches larger brands that increase awareness of the problem she initially set out to solve. 'I don't want people to look at it as only clothes,' she says. 'One of the most important things to me is making something with purpose.' (Luxury fashion brands had thousands of exotic leather goods seized.) A version of this story appears in the September 2025 issue of National Geographic magazine.
