How the ocean is changing the very fabric of the fashion industry

Marine resources such as seaweed, old fishing nets, and exotic species are replacing yarn, leather, and plastic in the fashion industry’s apparel and packaging.

The fashion industry isn’t known for being at the forefront of environmental change. Several growing companies are trying to change this by developing industry-serving products made from plants and seeds derived from marine or freshwater environments. In some cases, they are eliminating potential contaminants and giving them a new practical future.

Back in 2013, David Stover noticed that a lot of waste was being generated from unrecycled fishing nets. He proposed to the Chilean government that his company Breo buy nets made from durable engineering plastics and turn them into thread for the fashion industry. “We kept this untapped resource out of the ocean and reconciled waste with design and the need for high-quality materials,” Stover told The Advocate.

Bureo currently purchases used fishing nets from small-scale fisheries in Chile, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, and the United States. The nets are sorted, cleaned, crushed and melted at processing facilities in Ecuador and Peru. Next, the material undergoes a depolymerization process. In this process, plastic is broken down, filtered, and converted into Net Plus, a thread that can be used to make clothing, surfboards, and sunglasses.

Approximately 20 companies participate in purchasing and using Net Plus, including Finnesterre, Outer Known, Patagonia, Future Spins, and Coast Sunglasses. With such strong interest from the fashion industry, Bureo has significantly expanded its online collecting activity from £100,000 ten years ago to £33 million in 2023.

Stover said Patagonia was an early adopter of NetPlus and began using 50,000 tons (MT) of NetPlus products in 2014. “Currently they use 1,000 tonnes of recycled nets a year and we have dozens of companies actively looking into replacing virgin plastic with fishing nets,” he said.

“The apparel industry has changed a lot over the past 10 years,” he added. “The emphasis is on removing all virgin plastic from the design chain and using recycled products rather than producing more and more new plastic.”

Removing plastic from the supply chain is a premise for Sway, a San Diego, California-based company that converts farmed seaweed and plants into resin that mimics the look and feel of plastic. The resin is designed to be compatible with the same machinery that makes traditional plastics, but unlike traditional plastics, Sway’s TPSea™ (Therma Plastic Seaweed) can be used in industrial facilities for up to 90 days or in home compostables. Decomposes in 180 days in a chemical facility.

The seed-stage startup plans to reach commercial volumes of seaweed-based flexible packaging film production in early 2025. Fashion brands prAna, Florence, Faherty and Alex Crane are participating in testing Sway Polybags for e-commerce packaging.

The focus is on removing all virgin plastic from the design chain and using recycled products rather than producing more and more new plastic.

“In four years, we took our product from prototype to production ready for market,” said Alyssa Pace, head of communications at Sway. “We source seaweed from all over the world and have no doubt that there is enough responsibly farmed seaweed around the world to meet our product needs.”

Sway packaging is more expensive than traditional plastic packaging and more expensive than renewable packaging derived from other agricultural products such as corn, potatoes, and sugar cane. “Over time, as the seaweed industry grows, we will be able to reduce costs and eventually compete with plastics,” she says.

The response from the fashion industry has been overwhelmingly supportive, with “interest from brands, individuals and design companies, and over 1,000 inquiries in the pipeline from companies wanting to explore circularity, regeneration and raw materials.” ” she added. It’s really good for the planet. ”

Seafood byproducts spark new wave of innovators

Inversa Leathers is also committed to making the planet a better place through apparel. The Tampa, Florida-based company focuses on two invasive fish species that, unfortunately, are currently wreaking havoc on the ecosystems in which they reside. Inversa is doing its part by turning their skin into leather and selling it to brands that make jewelry, purses and wallets. , belt and shoes.

Founder Aarav Chavda was a recreational scuba diver whose hobby was diving in the coral reefs of the Caribbean, but in the 1980s he was introduced to the lionfish, a fish from the Indian and South Pacific oceans that had no natural predators, released off the coast of Florida. I was saddened by the destruction.

“Lionfish eat up to 70,000 native fish in their lifetime, so they literally eat their way through the reef,” he says. “Within five weeks of lionfish emergence, juvenile biodiversity is reduced by 79%. And each lionfish can lay between 2 million and 6 million eggs per year. Reproduction of this species Lionfish are a prime example of an invasive species.”

A materials scientist by training, Chavda realized that the parallel fibers could turn lionfish skin into an extremely durable leather useful for making clothing accents and jewelry. Inversa Leathers partners with fishing cooperatives in the Caribbean to encourage divers to spear hunt lionfish in the most environmentally sensitive areas. Inversa’s skin is used for leather, and its fillets are used for human and pet food.

“The commercial incentives of scale are perfectly aligned with the environmental and sustainable incentives of scale,” he said. “Although it is impossible to eradicate lionfish, taking into account catch rates, lionfish removal can be concentrated in high-priority biodiversity-sensitive areas. However, the refresh rate of lionfish is 2 ~6 months, so we have to come back multiple times to give the reef time to recover.”

The goldfish is another invasive species, and Inversa Leathers sells its skin to brands that need leather for handbags, wallets and footwear. Catch rates are higher because these fish are caught with nets rather than spearfishing, but the damage they cause is just as severe.

“The goldfish have wiped out 90 percent of the native biomass in the Mississippi River Basin,” Chavda said. “They overwhelmed the other fish and starved them out. It’s a depressing story, but if we put pressure on the population, we can make a big recovery.”

Inversa works with multiple communities across the Mississippi Delta to consistently eliminate silver sharks. Brands that use carp skin include W. Kleinberg, which makes belts, wallets, and other leather accessories, and designer Chris Plouffe, who uses lionfish and silverfin in his jewelry. Bracish is another brand that uses lionfish in its jewelry.

Although he no longer has time to scuba dive, Chavda feels optimistic about the future. “My dream is to build a network of brands looking for our leather at different price points,” he said. “As we put more pressure on these invasive species populations, we will have partners who will help us lower the density curve. This is an exciting area to operate in. We are seeing a lot of commercial interest in our product, which is a great solution to bringing invasive species under control, as well as a unique way for fashion consumers to be part of an exciting regeneration story. It also provides.”

@GSA_Advocate