By Mario De Moya F / Getty Images
The fight against marine pollution is a major ecological challenge, raising the question of how to recycle the waste collected on beaches and in the oceans. The fashion industry is working on its own solutions by giving a new life to plastic waste and fishing nets that damage ecosystems and contribute to climate change. From swimsuits to sneakers to eyewear, a host of clothing and accessories are now being made with marine waste.
The fight against marine pollution is a major ecological challenge, raising the question of how to recycle the waste collected on beaches and in the oceans. The fashion industry is working on its own solutions by giving a new life to plastic waste and fishing nets that damage ecosystems and contribute to climate change. From swimsuits to sneakers to eyewear, a host of clothing and accessories are now being made with marine waste.
Some 170,000 billion pieces of plastic are floating on the surface of the oceans, according to recent estimates by American researchers. Published in March in the journal PLOS One, their findings estimate the total weight of this marine pollution generated over the last 15 years at 2.3 million tonnes. This is a serious environmental disaster for the fauna and flora that inhabit these great waters, but also a major challenge to address in the fight against climate change.
Although solutions are gradually being put in place, such as the use of cleaning robots that specialize in aquatic surfaces, these are as yet not sufficient to deal with marine waste. One of the questions that arises is what to do with the waste collected, whether by robots or by human hands. This is a problem that the fashion industry is trying to tackle through upcycling, which involves giving added value to unwanted objects, notably by transforming them into new clothes. This practice helps clean up beaches and oceans without using new polluting materials.
Raising awareness about marine pollution
Back in 2014, Pharrell Williams, creative director and brand ambassador of Bionic Yarn, joined forces with G-Star to design the RAW For the Oceans collection, made entirely from textile fibers created using plastic bottles collected from the sea. The objective was, of course, to contribute to cleaning the oceans and re-using the waste collected there, but it was also about raising public awareness of marine pollution. A challenge also taken up in 2015 by the adidas brand and the environmental NGO Parley for the Oceans, whose collaboration has resulted in clothing and shoes designed from a polyester fiber also made from this waste. This long-term partnership has, according to the three-stripes brand, already "helped keep over 1,500 tons of plastic waste out of the oceans."
The catwalks have contributed too. In 2019, the Schueller de Waal label, in partnership with the PikPik Environment NGO, stood out by staging a zero-waste fashion show. Far from the usual glamour of Fashion Week, the designers decided to take their models on a trash pick-up expedition in the heart of Paris to present their collection, designed from scrap fabric and salvaged materials. While the idea sounds quirky, the aim was to draw attention to the thousands of tonnes of plastic emitted by the fashion industry and ending up each year in the oceans. These initiatives, designed to heighten awareness, did not go unnoticed and paved the way for the entire industry.
Fibers born in the oceans
Companies have taken up this issue with a dual aim: cleaning the oceans while offering the fashion industry a renewable raw material that is much less polluting. This is the case of the Italian and Spanish companies Aquafil and Seaqual Initiative, which have developed the best-known fibers of the kind currently on the market, Econyl and Seaqual, respectively, both made via the transformation of marine waste of all kinds. Today, many ready-to-wear brands use these materials to create clothing, swimwear and accessories that are much more respectful of the environment. And, to a lesser extent, they also contribute to cleaning up the seas and oceans.
Les Poulettes Fitness sportswear, Coco Frio and Icone Lingerie swimwear, Wastendsea T-shirts and sweatshirts, and Ankore ethical fashion are among the ready-to-wear pieces that are now entirely or partially made from one of these two innovative and responsible fibers. All of which offers a way to act against marine plastic pollution, while delivering significant added value for one of the world's most polluting industries.
Plastic waste or fishing nets
Elsewhere in the industry, others are now working on their own initiatives. Founded by the Spanish entrepreneur Javier Goyeneche, the Ecoalf brand has created a foundation of the same name whose objective is to promote the collection of marine waste. In partnership with the fishing industry, it is now working to rid the Mediterranean of fishing nets and pieces of plastic, in order to transform them into recycled nylon and polyester, then into clothing and accessories. According to the company, the initiative has already allowed the recovery of 1,000 tonnes of marine waste since 2015. A drop in the ocean compared to the 2.3 million tonnes of plastic waste that currently float in the seas, but which, together with all these actions, could contribute to cleaning up the oceans.
Created at the end of 2020, the brand Les Alcyonides Swimwear also works in this sense, except that it fights against ocean plastic by focusing on discarded fishing nets. The latter are collected at sea by volunteer divers from the Healthy Seas association, and then entrusted to the brand's supplier who recycles them into nylon to give rise to swimsuits which, in turn, can be recycled again. The circular economy in all its glory. For its part, Sea2See offers glasses and watches made from recycled marine plastic, collected through partnerships with fishing communities in Europe and Africa. In Ghana, for example, 20 fishing regions participate in the brand's program, enabling the collection of thousands of kilos of waste each year.
These many initiatives show the fashion industry has every interest in getting involved in preserving the environment, and especially the oceans, a major ecological issue that cannot be overlooked. Through new sustainable and innovative collections, textile companies are progressively showing that waste can nowadays represent a valuable and plentiful resource for the future.
