Recycled plastic denim line could help clean up the oceans

The G-Star Raw for the Oceans campaign includes a documentary, a game and a collection of denim clothes made from recycled ocean plastics.

The vast amount of plastic in our oceans is a man-made environmental catastrophe, damaging ecosystems and coastal economies. We have seen a number of companies tackling the issue with recycling schemes and products. Now, clothing brand G-Star is doing the same on a huge scale, through its G-Star Raw for the Oceans clothing line. The project, launched in collaboration with pop star Pharrell Williams’ Bionic Yarn, includes a documentary, a game and a collection of denim clothes made from recycled ocean plastic.

The Raw for the Oceans collection includes jeans, jackets, sweatshirts and other clothing for men and women. All the denim products are made from plastic retrieved from the shorelines. The discarded products are first broken down into chips and shredded into fibre, before being spun into a yarn that is combined with cotton. The yarn is then knitted or weaved into fabrics. Some of the garments include provocative slogans such as “WTF are you doing to my oceans?”, while others have the octopus emblem used in the marketing campaign.

Could other clothing companies be doing more to help with environmental issues?