Cigarette butts, oyster sacks, airbags: the craziest objects that have been transformed into fashion pieces
There are few fashion companies that have not already jumped on the upcycling wave, a process that consists of transforming waste or unused objects into more attractive products or materials
Image: Photography Lea Rae / Shutterstock
Upcycling is one of the ways the fashion industry is trying to reduce the mountain of waste it generates each year, and thus lessen its impact on the environment. But upcycling can be surprisingly effective in transforming some of the most polluting everyday objects into highly desirable garments. Here are three that might inspire you ahead of World Recycling Day.
There are few fashion companies which have not already jumped on the upcycling wave, a process that consists of transforming waste or unused objects into more attractive products or materials. It's a form of recycling "from scratch," as some ready-to-wear brands themselves say to describe the process. While several fashion houses and labels have made it their signature, like Koché, others have quickly taken the plunge to give their fabric scraps a second life. But lately, brands and start-ups have started creating upcycled pieces from some ultra-surprising materials and products.
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A puffer jacket made of cigarette butts
You can see them strewn all over the ground in the largest cities as well as in the smallest villages in France. Cigarette butts are a real polluting nuisance, with more than 23 billion discarded on the ground or in nature each year in France, according to the country's Ministry of Ecological Transition. It takes several years for them to completely decompose— years that augment their impact on the environment, nature and oceans. Faced with this fact, a French start-up has launched a major challenge: collect them and transform them into puffer jackets.
A French startup that goes by the name TchaoMegot is responsible for this innovative idea.
Not content with simply making consumers aware of the pollution generated by cigarette butts, they collect them, usually having been burnt, and then clean them using an ecological and neutral process, without toxic solvents or water, to get rid of any toxic substance or smell. The final step is the transformation. The startup transforms the butts into eco-designed insulation used in the building industry as well as for the stuffing of puffer jackets.
