The fashion industry is one of our society’s most significant and problematic polluters, both by the quantity and types of waste produced. This has caused sustainable fashion to become an increasing concern.
Some designers are making handbags from fungi and boots out of sugar cane and coffee to address this issue. Russian fashion brand 99Recycle is turning St. Petersburg’s mountains of garbage into fashionable accessories, reducing landfill waste. The fashion brand won Recycle/Upcycle Project of the Year as part of the 2020 St. Petersburg Awards.
99Recycle workers visit landfill sites to sift through the trash mountains, collecting various recyclable materials before turning them into tailored sustainable accessories and school products, including:
- Pencils
- Laptop cases
- Bags
- Backpacks
- Skateboards
- Bicycles
Inside the factory, 99Recycle uses a massive 3D printer (based on a design utilized by Hyundai) which uses recycled plastic as a raw material. The 3D printer produces shapes and textiles which are handsewn together, meaning each piece is unique.
So far, they’ve collected more than 70 tons of reclaimed plastic by working with local recycling non-profits that specialize in collecting certain kinds of material. “The process of preparing the materials is more complicated than for ordinary materials. Most of our time is taken up by the preparation because we need to clean it, to make it even, to select it, to reject some materials,” 99Recycle designer Olesya Kulik told Euronews.
Russia has noticeably larger and more poorly maintained landfills than those elsewhere in Europe, and one in Moscow is ten stories tall!
Since Russia has a strong throw-away culture, 99Recycle also hosts classes and lectures about sustainability and different ways to recycle, in addition to making sustainable products for purchase. The fashion brand hopes that these classes will coach their city out of its bad habits
