Did you know that 15 upcycled plastic bags can be used to make one sneaker and ocean plastic can be turned into luxurious fabrics? Fascinating, isn’t it?
On the occasion of World Ocean Day, which is observed on June 8 every year, the United Nations announced Revitalization: Collective Action as its theme. Since the ocean supports, sustains and connects us all, it’s high time we return the favour and restore its vibrancy. So, why not do it in style?
Over the years, there have been a number of established fashion brands and design houses who have been creating awareness about sustainable fashion by recycling plastic waste from the ocean. Brands such as Adidas, Gucci, Raymond UCO and fashion designers including Rajesh Pratap Singh, Abraham & Thakore, Narendra Kumar and Gaurav Gupta to name a few, have created masterpieces made from ocean plastic on the runway.
From Ocean to Runway, fashion designers and brands have creatively and responsibly made plastic waste a showstopper in their collections. Not just designers, Bollywood stars such as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Taapsee Pannu, Nota Fatehi, Dia Mirza too celebrated upcycled fashion on the runway and have walked wearing creations derived from ocean plastic.
In 2021, ace couturier Gaurav Gupta designed a collection featuring fabrics made from wrappers of crisps and biscuits, plastic bottles and other daily consumables excavated from oceans and landfills. Sharing his thoughts on what the ocean goes through when people litter, Gaurav took to Instagram and wrote: 91% of plastic isn’t recycled and millions of tons of plastic ends up becoming trash and litter, eventually ending up in the ocean. Through the collection, we aim to minimise our waste and take a step towards a relatively sustainable fashionscape. (sic).”
Wearing fabrics made using plastic waste from the ocean sounds fascinating, but it’s important that the outfit or footwear is comfortable and wearable as well. From active wear to swimwear, the modern Indian consumer is in for a treat with comfortable outfits made from Econyl, a marine re-generated nylon made from plastic waste. Brands such as Bloni, The Summer House are making most of the fabric with their respective creations. Similarly, celebrating sustainability and innovation is R|Elan™ GreenGold, a fabric made from 100% post-consumer waste PET bottles.
Speaking of fabrics, the denim sector in the fashion industry is also taking strong steps in a direction towards creating more responsible denim fabrics that reduces the gap between fashion and sustainability. Recently, at Gartex Texprocess, a trade fair hosted in Mumbai, Raymond UCO featured high-quality denim fabrics created using recycled polyester from ocean-bound plastics. Sudhir Deorukhkar, head of marketing, Raymond UCO, says, “These are small steps in the right direction towards creating more responsible denim fabrics that reduces the gap between fashion and sustainability. These fabrics can be crafted into a luxurious and versatile garment collection for eco-conscious consumers.”
If you love footwear but want to take the sustainable route, then Thaely is what you need. The brand designs sneakers made from waste plastic bags and bottles. Also, making a difference one sole at a time, is Adidas who collaborated with Parley for the Oceans, to create a sneaker collection made with a yarn which contains at least 50% Parley Ocean Plastic —re-imagined plastic waste, intercepted on remote islands, beaches, coastal communities and shorelines, preventing it from polluting our oceans.
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