Fashion Week dress that’s got a lot of bottle!
Jodie models outfit made of plastic collected by litter-picking canoeists
FOR an industry which doesn’t always see eye to eye with environmentalists, here is an outfit which makes real fashion sense.
Jodie Kidd models a dress made from dozens of plastic bottles picked up by litter-collecting canoeists and recycled into fabrics.
The paddling environmentalists patrol Britain’s rivers, canals and lakes on the lookout for discarded rubbish. They hit upon the idea of recycling plastic waste into clothing and approached eco fashion designers Vin & Omi.
The duo, major figures in sustainable clothing, created a unique range with all the decorative flowers made from salvaged bottles which were processed into pellets then textiles. They tempted supermodel Jodie Kidd out of retirement to launch the collection at London Fashion Week.
Canoeing campaigner Clare Osborn said: ‘We arranged for the PET1 plastic bottles to be sent to fashion designers Vin & Omi.
‘They make rubbish look beautiful while highlighting the problems with our over consumerist society and high street fast fashion.
‘Our plastic bottle collection was combined with other groups to produce the appliqué flowers that went onto several looks on the catwalk at London Fashion Week.
‘It is really important to get the message out to people about the damage litter can do, especially plastics and what better way to do it than get Jodie Kidd to show how they can be recycled.’
Miss Osborn, who founded #PaddleCleanup, wants more people to get out on the waterways and pick up litter. She said: ‘I have given the Sea Scouts some tools to lead the way and I’m now working with other paddle communities.’
The canoeists’ initiative comes as an incredible 554,729 people have committed to taking part in the Great British Spring Clean.
The campaign organised by Keep Britain Tidy and backed by the Daily Mail has made history as both the largest ever national clean-up and Britain’s biggest volunteer drive.
There have been more than 17,000 events nationwide, with volunteers collecting 957,377 bags of litter. That is the equivalent of filling almost 240,000 wheelie bins.
The Rivers Trust, which contributed more than 600 volunteers, recovered hundreds of tyres, trolleys, a scooter and even the side of a caravan from a waterway.
Spokesman Alistair Maltby said: ‘Most worrying to us was the amount of sewage-related items. The debris collected has shown just how far we still have to go.’