We all know that there is a fashions war on plastic pollution because more and more movements to stop or at least reduce it. Pret a Porter magazine since a few months ago has dedicated not to use plastic anymore. This collaboration was carried out with Parley and edited by the brand ambassador, the model Anja Rubik.
The latest edition of the magazine has been using paper rather than using ordinary plastic packaging and once the net a porter company has used all the remaining stock that still contains plastic, they will use paper packaging permanently.
This is part of the commitment made by the company to clean their working environment from plastic. Their current photo shoot is a plastic free zone – no bottles are discarded, coffee cups or cutlery made of plastic and likewise their offices are clean of plastic-containing things. “I didn’t see any plastic bottles on every table here,” said Yeomans, who is the global content director for the Yoox Net-a-Porter group.
But the movement is not just from not using plastic bottles or anything that contains plastic to balance the fashion industry that has been exposed to plastic. Erik Solheim, head of the environmental department for the United Nations, said that there had been a “plastic disaster” globally.
Fashions War on Plastic Pollution Around the World
Every year there are more and more raw materials are made or contain plastic such as fabrics, zippers, buttons, many components of shoes, accessories, and bags, which will end up in a rubbish dump or even on the ocean. The waste takes centuries to be destroyed in the ocean.
Livia Firth, wife of British Actor, Colin Firth also said that at this time she was increasingly aware of the real problems in microfibres shedding in the washing cycle for synthetic fibers. She is an environmental campaigner and founder of the Eco-Age sustainability consultant.
Many low-cost fashion brands and implementing fast fashion have combined synthetic into billions of products to save production costs. There is great work to be done in rebuilding these natural fibers. The work is huge considering the attractive glossy appearance, vinyl plastic, PVC and glossy leather – is the main display for fashion trends in 2018.
The founder of the Parley brand, Cyrill Gutsch, has said that designers and brand owners must break away from dependence on plastics. The organization advocates the policies to avoid, intercept and redesign to stop using plastics, collect plastic waste in the ocean and recycle into new materials and textiles.
Fashions War on Plastic Pollution and The Fashion Industry Commitments
A number of established designers and brands listen and follow that. Stella McCartney, who collaborated with Parley in 2016 to make shoes from marine plastic materials for Adidas, now uses recycled polyester and Econyl (nylon made from plastics industries such as waste fabrics and fishing nets) and is committed to stopping using nylon starting 2020.
Last year, the Swedish brand, H & M, used PET plastic bottles from polyester which had been recycled in several of its products. They also launched their first clothing made from recycled waste, using new materials called Bionic and collaborating on a project in Indonesia called Bottle2Fashion, which transformed recycled plastic waste into polyester.
The British brand Marks & Spencer, this summer has launched recycled mac polyware made with 50% recycled polyester, which comes from used plastic bottles. This is part of its sustainability plan, which is committed to making at least 25% of clothing and home products from materials that can be recycled by 2025.
It is a reflection for all of us that one of the most important things we hope to do next is that people realize the use of plastic in the fashion world is very damaging to the environment and we need to stick to the mission to fashion’s war on plastic pollution.
