What do Pharrell, Plastic Ocean Pollution, and Fashion Have in Common?

What do Pharrell, plastic ocean pollution, and fashion have in common? More than you may think!

This week marked the debut of G-Star clothing’s new RAW collection. While normally Ocean Alliance is not a fashion-forward organization (this may be an understatement if you have visited our Paint Factory headquarters), this line of clothing has us all talking.
Why? Because the denim in these clothes are actually made from recycled ocean plastic. G-Star teamed up with Bionic Yarn and Parley for the Oceans to create this clothing collection, which ranges in price from $65 for a shirt to $390 for a jacket. Music mogul Pharrell Williams is the creative director of Bionic Yarn, and he’s explained why he’s taken on this special project:

Creating jeans from plastics is a multi-step process – the first step, naturally, is retrieving plastic from the ocean – unfortunately, there’s literal tons of it to choose from. Next, the plastic is broken down into tiny chips and from there, further broken down into fibers. Those fibers are then spun into yarn and mixed with cotton. From there, it’s woven or knit into fabric and made into G-star’s RAW for the Oceans line of clothing, like denim jeans and tops, one-piece jumpers, t-shirts, handkerchiefs, and hoodies. Best of all, the mascot, Occotis, is adorable and stylish (as is the model below).

We here at Ocean Alliance love this project – it’s putting the massive, growing problem of plastic ocean pollution to the forefront, and raising awareness in a big way. We hope to see other lines of clothing embrace using Bionic Yarn in the future – it can only get bigger from here!