Fashion s green future of seaweed coats and mushroom shoes
Issued on: US designer Charlotte McCurdy has used seaweed to make a raincoast. - Charlotte McCurdy/AFP 4 min
Paris (AFP)
From making algae-sequin dresses, dyeing clothes with bacteria to planting trackable pigments in cotton, an emerging tide of technological innovations offers the fashion industry a chance to clean up its woeful environmental record.
Change is urgently needed, since the industry consumes 93 billion cubic metres of water per year, dumps 500,000 tonnes of plastic microfibres into the ocean, and accounts for 10 percent of global carbon emissions, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
The growing demands for change have generated ingenious responses, such as New York designer Charlotte McCurdy s seaweed raincoat.
From making algae-sequin dresses, dyeing clothes with bacteria to planting trackable pigments in cotton, an emerging tide of technological innovations offers the fashion industry a chance to clean up its woeful environmental record.
Change is urgently needed, since the industry consumes 93 billion cubic meters of water per year, dumps 500,000 tonnes of plastic microfibers into the ocean, and accounts for 10 percent of global carbon emissions, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The growing demands for change have generated ingenious responses, such as New York designer Charlotte McCurdy’s seaweed raincoat.
The shimmering algae-plastic she concocted in a lab made for a
Advertisement The clothing industry has come in for a lot of flak in recent years for its impact on the environment, and running gear manufacturers are no exception. Footwear brands in particular have to take into account the materials that are used, durability and what happens to a shoe at the end of its useful life.
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It was announced last year and interested parties are encouraged to pay for the first month upfront so On can gauge interest. The shoe is described as suitable for fast training and racing, with a weight of 200g, including a rocker in the sole and an 8mm drop from heel to toe.