PLASTIC FANTASTIC
Levis from postconsumer waste make an environmental statement
Environmental chic. Not a good fit? Think again.
Those who think denim pants should only be of cotton, who are old enough to remember polyester pants suits and think ripped jeans are something to be mended may not buy it.
Youngsters with no such hang-ups undoubtedly will embrace the idea that even if their next pair of Levis is not in shreds, some of the material in them will come from shredded – polyester – bottles and food trays.
Levi Strauss, the brand that proclaims “classic American style and effortless cool,” will introduce its “WasteLess” collection early next year, a line of jeans incorporating postconsumer plastic waste. The collection will use more than 3.5m recycled bottles, with each pair of pants containing eight bottles.
Brown, green and clear PET bottles and black food trays fished from waste collection streams will be processed into fibre and woven into cotton jeans or trucker jackets that the jeans maker says adds “a beautiful undertone with a unique finish.”
“By adding value to waste, we hope to change the way people think about recycling,” says Levi Strauss global president James Curleigh. The oldsters probably have already got the message. The myriad of cleanser or even drinking water bottles purportedly made from ocean waste now dotting supermarket shelves is hard to overlook.
Those who think denim pants should only be of cotton, who are old enough to remember polyester pants suits and think ripped jeans are something to be mended may not buy it.
Youngsters with no such hang-ups undoubtedly will embrace the idea that even if their next pair of Levis is not in shreds, some of the material in them will come from shredded – polyester – bottles and food trays.
Levi Strauss, the brand that proclaims “classic American style and effortless cool,” will introduce its “WasteLess” collection early next year, a line of jeans incorporating postconsumer plastic waste. The collection will use more than 3.5m recycled bottles, with each pair of pants containing eight bottles.
Brown, green and clear PET bottles and black food trays fished from waste collection streams will be processed into fibre and woven into cotton jeans or trucker jackets that the jeans maker says adds “a beautiful undertone with a unique finish.”
“By adding value to waste, we hope to change the way people think about recycling,” says Levi Strauss global president James Curleigh. The oldsters probably have already got the message. The myriad of cleanser or even drinking water bottles purportedly made from ocean waste now dotting supermarket shelves is hard to overlook.
19.10.2012 Plasteurope.com [223659-0]
Published on 19.10.2012