Apparel August 2019 Apparel August 2019 issue | Page 94

GOING GREEN UPCYCLING IS THE PRACTICE OF USING DISCARDED OR WASTE MATERIALS TO MANUFACTURE PRODUCTS OF HIGHER QUALITY. per cent. Developed nations in Europe, Central Asia, and North America now contribute a total of only 4.6 per cent due to their advanced waste management systems. Despite the Western rollback of single-use disposable plastic in recent years, the cumulative impact of hazardous plastic waste remains very much present in the world’s oceans and lands. As a result, many developing nations have taken bold steps to do their part in mitigating this situation. Over the last few years, we have witnessed a rising revolution against the use of plastics. Nations such as Australia, India, China, Italy, Bangladesh, South Africa, Kenya, and many others have taken a firm stand against common, non-biodegradable plastics in the form of bags, straws, and other disposable items. But many of these reforms have come at the tail end of a long era of plastic use that has already created significant environmental challenges. UPCYCLING PLASTIC IN APPAREL This is where the concept of ‘upcycling’ is proving to be an innovative method to not only rein in this waste but also develop it into productive material goods. Upcycling is the practice of using discarded or waste materials to manufacture products of higher quality or at least, perceived higher quality than their sourced materials. In apparel, this means a significant benefit as the usage of upcycled materials leads to reduced textile waste. One of the most successful implementations of this practice has been the use of plastic bottles to create yarn material that can 88 I APPAREL I August 2019 further be used to produce high-quality apparel. A recent and local example of this is Lakmé Fashion Week Summer Resort 2018, during which over 25,000 PET bottles were converted into a fabric called R|Elan™ GreenGold, which was used in the making of T-shirts designed by Anita Dongre for World Environment Day. Commercially, this approach has already found some success, with businesses starting entire apparel lines with this manufacturing approach. Major examples include Stockholm-based brand, Gant, which upcycled ocean plastics to craft a collection of shirts. Sportswear brands such as Nike and Adidas have also released product lines based on this trend. Nike claims to have upcycled more than two billion plastic bottles since 2010 across many product lines, while Adidas has partnered with the environmental organisation, Parley for the Oceans, to manufacture a shoe collection—called Adidas Parley—that uses yarn made from upcycled plastic waste found along beaches and coastlines. A similar approach is also being used by Indian performance wear brand, Alcis Sports, to produce sports T-shirts since 2016, while Bengaluru-based brand, The Summer House, is upcycling discarded fishing nets to produce a fibre called Econyl® to manufacture swimwear.