Stella McCartney helps plastic fashion take another step forward

United Kingdom – Sustainable design is proving more and more not to be a passing phase. Now it is fashion designer Stella McCartney who has embraced the potential of plastics recycling, so the New York Times reports. She will produce a clothing line using plastic fibres sourced from the ocean.

McCartney has joined forces with conservation organisation Parley for the Oceans to obtain a yarn fibre derived from commonly-littered objects such as old fishing nets and PET bottles.

She will replace polyester with the recycled plastic yarn to create bags and shoes as well as a range of outerwear, expected in stores this summer.

‘Is a recycled plastic ever going to be something people think is a luxury?’ McCartney ponders. ‘If people don’t notice it and if they feel that living on this planet longer is a luxury, then yes, that’s my idea of luxury.’

McCartney is known for using recycled cashmere and nylon in her collections and has previously collaborated with sportswear giant Adidas to create a new shoe made partly from ocean plastics (see picture below).