She Sells Seashells by the Seashore...no more?
Ocean-Plastic by the Sea-Shore.... Is Plastic Bottle Apparel Good for the Sea?
From environmentalists ,fashion designers and fashion students... just about everyone has been on the bandwagon to save our seas, sea life and shorelines. The removal and recycling of plastic bottles and other trash that collects on shorelines has lead to discoveries of recycled plastic bottles into yarns to create fabrics and hip apparel. But do young designers and their loyal customers know if their efforts are aiding the solution or adding to the destruction of our seas.
Parley For the Oceans
This organization was created specifically " WHERE CREATORS, THINKERS, AND LEADERS COME TOGETHER TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR THE BEAUTY AND FRAGILITY OF OUR OCEANS AND COLLABORATE ON PROJECTS THAT CAN END THEIR DESTRUCTION"
This organization was created specifically " WHERE CREATORS, THINKERS, AND LEADERS COME TOGETHER TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR THE BEAUTY AND FRAGILITY OF OUR OCEANS AND COLLABORATE ON PROJECTS THAT CAN END THEIR DESTRUCTION"
Recent studies indicate that at least 40 million pounds of plastic has accumulated and is floating in the North Pacific Ocean alone. The majority of the plastic debris remains in the Vortexes, however a significant percentage of it washes onto our coastlines daily." After sunlight photodegrades the plastic into small pieces, aquatic life and seabirds mistake these fragments for food and ingest it.
http://www.parley.tv/oceanplastic/#parleyair
The best solution for our oceans is to avoid using plastic bottles. It is always the best practice to make sure they safely go to a recycling facility. Thousands of plastic bottles end up in the wrong place. While many companies and designers are selling clothing from 100% recycled plastic bottles found on the shore lines of our oceans they may be ignoring the truth about the end results.
Lets take a look at the products and exactly what takes place from the time the recycled bottle leaves the shore 
Watch this video: From plastic bottle to apparel.
Celebrity music mogul Pharrell Williams
At Fair Harbor a beachwear company that was founded in 2015 by siblings Jake and Caroline Danehy. Because of Jake and Caroline's love for the ocean and beaches around the world, they make all of their swimwear out of recycled plastic bottles. Each short is directly made out of 11 recycled plastic bottles to ensure that fewer bottles end up in our oceans and on our beaches.
http://bkaccelerator.com/fair-harbor-recycles-40000-plastic-bottles-making-surf-shorts/
http://bkaccelerator.com/fair-harbor-recycles-40000-plastic-bottles-making-surf-shorts/
So ask your self what happens when you need to wash your sweaty, dirty plastic bottle clothing... Are you planning on machine washing your basic surfer recycled bottle shorts?
"The concept of transforming recycled PET bottles into clothing is not new. During the last five years, a significant number of clothing companies, businesses, and environmental organizations have started spinning plastics into fabric in an effort to tackle global plastic pollution. But there’s a slight problem with this approach. Research now shows that microfibers — tiny synthetic threads less than 1 mm in size — could be the biggest source of plastic in the ocean. If this is the case, recycled plastic clothes could be doing more harm than good".
"The concept of transforming recycled PET bottles into clothing is not new. During the last five years, a significant number of clothing companies, businesses, and environmental organizations have started spinning plastics into fabric in an effort to tackle global plastic pollution. But there’s a slight problem with this approach. Research now shows that microfibers — tiny synthetic threads less than 1 mm in size — could be the biggest source of plastic in the ocean. If this is the case, recycled plastic clothes could be doing more harm than good".
A magnified image of clothing microfibres from washing machine effluent. One study found that a fleece jacket can shed as many as 250,000 fibres per wash.
"Dr. Mark Browne, an ecologist and postdoctoral fellow at the National Center of Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara, California, has been studying plastic pollution and microfibers for 10 years now. He explains that every time a synthetic garment — one made of manmade rather than natural fibers — goes through the spin and rinse cycle in a washing machine, it sheds a large number of plastic fibers. Most washing machines don’t have filters to trap these miniscule microfibers, and neither do sewage plants that are responsible for removing contaminants. So every time the water drains from a washing machine, plastic filaments are swept through the sewers and eventually end up in the ocean."http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es201811s
"Based on this evidence, it may seem surprising that companies and organizations have chosen to convert plastic waste into clothing as an environmental “solution.” Even though the science has been around for a while, Browne explains that he’s had a difficult time getting textile companies to listen. When he approached prominent clothing brands asking them to support Benign by Design— his research project that seeks to determine and remove features of textiles that have negative impacts on humans and the environment — Browne didn’t get a great response. Only one women’s clothing company, Eileen Fisher, offered Browne funding. Brands like Patagonia, Polartec, and Nike didn’t show any interest, Browne says. In fact, Todd Copeland, the strategic environmental responsibility manager at Patagonia, stated that Browne’s research was too preliminary to commit company resources to his work."
"Based on this evidence, it may seem surprising that companies and organizations have chosen to convert plastic waste into clothing as an environmental “solution.” Even though the science has been around for a while, Browne explains that he’s had a difficult time getting textile companies to listen. When he approached prominent clothing brands asking them to support Benign by Design— his research project that seeks to determine and remove features of textiles that have negative impacts on humans and the environment — Browne didn’t get a great response. Only one women’s clothing company, Eileen Fisher, offered Browne funding. Brands like Patagonia, Polartec, and Nike didn’t show any interest, Browne says. In fact, Todd Copeland, the strategic environmental responsibility manager at Patagonia, stated that Browne’s research was too preliminary to commit company resources to his work."
- Plastic can not be recycled indefinitely. After it become unstable to be used in any product, it will end up in a landfill.
- Antimony is released as a gas when PET plastic bottles are incinerated.
- Both Polyester and recycled polyester contain antimony. Recycled Poly is made out of recycled plastic bottles which themselves contain Antimony.
- The energy consumption to make recycled polyester is more than conventional cotton, organic cotton and hemp.
- Creating recycled polyester can causes toxic chemicals to leach into our waterways unless the facility treats its waste water.
So while cleaning the ocean's shorelines is still a necessity and limiting our use of plastic bottles is the best way to end this pollution,turning the bottles into yarn and making them into clothes is not the best solution to the environment.
Recycled bottles should be recycled into products that do not need to be machine washed!
Product: Green Toys Farm Playset
Price: $49.99 Bottles used: about 16
Product: Rothy’s shoes Price: $120-$145 Bottles used: 17
Made out of PET bottles
In the 1970's polyester fabrics was a fashion rage but by 1980's it fell out of favor due to the toxins when producing it. Back then there was no publicity about what it was doing to our oceans and sea life. Now we know better...
Plastic Bottle Fashion = POLYESTER
Plastic Bottle Fashion = POLYESTER
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