5 brands using recycled plastic
Designs by JETS Australia are fitted on-model and altered by in-house artisans.
By BEL JACOBS
Recycled plastics - often but not always from the ocean - lend themselves well to hardy activewear. Here are five brands putting the world’s most notorious fibre to good use.
Luxe swimwear label JETS Australia does its bit for the planet by introducing RENEW PLUS, an innovative fabric made up of 80 per cent Econyl, from recaptured fishing nets. The excess waste that is turned into textile yarns to make Econyl helps lower the textile industry’s environmental impact through the minimisation of disregarded materials, crude oil waste and CO2 Omissions. With 20 per cent lyra, it’s not perfect - but getting there. Plus, each design is fitted on-model and altered by in-house artisans - a meticulous process that can take several months.
The collection features Sperry’s most iconic silhouettes.
Heritage brand, Sperry, known for creating the original boat shoe, launches an on-going sustainability platform, “Look Good, Do Good.” Kicking off is a collection of men’s, women’s & kids' shoes made from BIONIC material, spun from plastic that's been recovered from marine and coastal environments. BIONIC Yarn is a material engineering company that addresses ocean plastic pollution by converting it into durable materials for forward-thinking brands and products. The collection features Sperry’s most iconic silhouettes: the Classic Boat Shoe, the Captain’s CVO and the women’s Crest Vibe. Shoe boxes are made from post-consumer recycled material, printed with water and soy-based inks, and have no added adhesives.
Better than Canada Goose: Tretorn’s Evald 2.0 Raincoat.
Swedish heritage brand Tretorn launches an Eco-essentials range, producing their classic styles in environmentally friendly, recyclable materials including plastics from the ocean and household waste. The main driver of the brand’s encounter with eco-friendly fashion? Head of sustainability, Fredrik Erkstrom; 85% of the brands outerwear now sits within the Eco Essentials initiative. And they’re a damn sight more attractive than Canada Goose. We love the Evald 2.0 Raincoat in olive.
Old tents by The North Face and Christopher Raeburn
In its first sustainable collaboration, The North Face teams up with British designer RÆBURN to create three iconic bags constructed from recycled tents. Each features RÆBURN’s iconic “REDUCED, REUSED, RECYCLED, RÆBURN” tagline and each is completely unique depending on which tent from The North Face collection is used. The intention? To re-use products, limiting the need to create further single-use materials and reduce man-made waste. “At RÆBURN we're motivated to work with brands, other designers and individuals to drive positive change in our industry,” says Christopher Raeburn. “It’s been fantastic to work alongside the talented team at The North Face to bring this project to fruition.”
Ocean plastics transformed into beautiful swimwear by RubyMoon.
Brighton-based social enterprise activewear brand RubyMoon - which transforms ocean plastics into beautiful swimwear and then loans 100 per cent of profits to female entrepreneurs in emerging world nations - names five of its new cozzies after those women. The Freda, a one piece swimsuit with fuschia pink racer back straps, is named after a woman who sells flowers in the Philippines; the Yasmeen surf top is named after a hairdresser in Palestine; and the Maria is named after a strawberry seller from Ecuador. The stories are all online. All products are vegan, Oeko-Tex certified, producing 42-50% less carbon emissions and is tested for durability against chlorine, sunlight and saltwater.
