Ever thought of wearing something made out of recycled materials? For example, a new tee designed from recycled plastic? Well, let us tell you that recycled fashion can be the new catwalk. Several brands ranging from Adidas to H&M have emerged towards sustainability by implementing a ‘zero-waste’ philosophy. What do they mean by zero waste? The answer is simple: zero waste reduces the need for more, reuse as much as possible, and send little to be recycled.
So what do brands do? Brands design by considering the environment with the goal to from a system without a negative footprint.
And what do consumers do? They are considerate of what they buy and support eco-friendly products.
Let me tell you from first hand experience that creating garments from recycled materials gives me another reason to be kind to the environment. A couple of months ago while commencing my last course for my MA digital art and design, I took a sustainable and packaging design class. For my final project I chose to design two sustainable and functional packages, which were to contribute towards the movement of ‘trashion’ (trash made into fashion).
Both packages were designed using 5 different junks within the houshold:
- Playing cards
- Jute fabric
- Nespresso capsules
- Skinny jeans (denim fabric)
- Sewing tapePackage One – Pouch bag
The bag was suitable for carrying everyday essentials.
Package two – beach bag
The bag was designed to carry things to the beach.
What inspired me? My inspiration came from well known designers which created fashion lines made out of trash. Here’s an example of some of our favourite eco-friendly designers which may act as inspiration for you:
- Marina DeBris
Marina DeBris transforms waste material into high end outfits. She hopes through her art she can show how ‘the waste we create keeps coming back to haunt us‘.
- Bottletop Fashion
The label was created by Cameron Saul (son of the founder of Mulberry, Roger Saul). Aluminum ring pulls on drink are upcycled into glamorous clothing and accessories.
- Suave
Kenyan brand Suave is all about breathing new life into old. The brand creates colourful backpacks, satchels and laptop sleeves made from recycled fabrics and locally sourced African fabrics.
- Triarchy Atelier
Fashion line owned by two brothers and a sister. The siblings create new denim designs made from vintage stock sourced from their base in Los Angeles. Since the launch of the brand, over 1,000,000 gallons of water have been saved by their upcycled denim productions.
- Elvis & Kresse – England
Elvis & Kresse, create refashioned bags, belt and accessories from decommissioned materials, such as: fire hoses, boat sails, air traffic control flight strips, coffee sacks, cardboard and parachutes.
Since we love the environment and we love fashion, let’s impress our friends by shopping or designing some clothes from recycled materials. Don’t forget ‘recycled fashion can be the new catwalk!’
***This is a WTM Community post, it does not reflect the views and sentiments of Woman This Month or any of its publications. WTM Writer’s Program is a community of budding writers looking for a platform to grow and implement their passion for writing.
