For The Oceans.

Aren't we sick of the word "sustainable" being put in front of the word "fashion" to guilt us into buying clothes we would otherwise never buy?

Well our prayers have been answered, sustainable fashion is no longer associated with that recycled potato sack someone tried to sell you as a dress that one time. The fashion world is slowly catching on to what we want: subtle sustainability, which is fashion without the sacrifice of design or aesthetic. 

It is a breathe of fresh air. 

And some of that air is a breeze from the ocean. 

One of the main companies adopting this idea of "subtle sustainability" is G- Star Raw who, in collaboration with The Vortex Project, Bionic Yarn and Pharrell Williams, have created a collection that addresses the issue of plastic in our oceans while simultaneously reducing the impact of the plastic debris that is killing our sea life and slowly entering our aquatic eco-system's food chain. G- Star Raw is already known for pushing the boundaries, and - no pun intended - making waves in fashion, as they centre their business around sustainability and simultaneously manage to make innovative denim. 

Their new collection RAW for the oceans is based on the ideal that you reap what you sow. This new denim capsule collection contains plastic waste collected from the shores of Indonesia, with the first limited collection containing up to 10 tons of recycled PET plastic bottles, or roughly 700,000 bottles. While that is an amazing statistic it parallels with the devastating fact that today oceans contain 6 times more plastic then sea life. Therefore, the collaborators have agreed to continue the capsule collection (now in its second run), increasing the percentage of plastic with each instillment  Currently, the collection is constructed from three different types of Bionic yarn containing between 35- 60% of recycled plastic, depending on the thread. All bottles are tested to ensure they comply with G-Star Raw's quality control and safety standards and those that cannot be used are recycled by The Vortex Project in other collaborations or are recycled in a regular process. 

The use of recycled PET plastic is really the ultimate form of sustainable design, as it is normally used as the core of the yarn so that the look and feel of natural material can be maintained but the final result is a more durable textile, resulting in longevity and minimal care. 

You could really say the entire collaboration is a stroke of pure Jeanius. (pun completely intended)

- Alessandra 

*Mosaik does not take credit for any of the images used in this article