Italian project turns fishing nets into ethical fashion

The circular economy project aims to tackle the world's ocean garbage patches by recycling fishing nets into fashion

Spotted: Risacca is an Italian project turning fishing nets recovered from the ocean into ethical fashion. The project aims to encourage ways of recycling waste from the fishing industry. The project is focusing particularly on fishing nets as these are highly detrimental to marine health and also tend to accumulate in patches in the ocean – The Great Pacific Garbage Patch being a well-known example.

The project originated in Mazara del Vallo in Sicily—a historic fishing port and one of Italy’s biggest fishing centres—where around ten tonnes of fishing nets are produced every year. At the project centre, people can visit the lab and create their own upcycled products with the machinery. The idea is to eventually create centres in every Italian port. 

The project is led by a team of three: Carlo Roccafiorita, Cristiano Pesca and Federica Ditta. Each has a different specialisation: design, regeneration, and impact. The team hopes the project will generate a number of jobs in the local area – which has been experiencing an unemployment crisis.

Some of the products are can be purchased through Kickstarter to support the project. Among these are a shopping bag, a clutch, a mesh bag, and a purse.

Other upcycled fashion innovations spotted by Springwise include a South African brand that turns plastic into leather-like accessories, and packaging waste that is turned into vegan leather.