High fashion from the depths of the ocean

TEN MILLION tons of trash, much of it plastic, end up in the ocean every year, with 60 per cent of it coming from Asia. The effects on marine creatures is devastating, as they become irrevocably entangled in plastic netting or mistake the waste for food, with the result that minute pieces of plastic often find their way to our dinner plates. In an attempt to make a difference, the “Upcycling the Oceans Thailand” project has organised ocean clean-ups off many of Thailand’s best known beaches. 

Phakawat Suwan, winner of a recent contest organised byEcoalf, created a 3 in 1 cushion made of the fabric recycled from the bottom of the ocean. 

The project recently held its first design contest, “SB’18 Bangkok Redesigning the Good Waste”, integrating it with the recent seminar “Sustainable Brands 2018 Bangkok” at the Siamese Fighting Fish Gallery in Bang Krachao, Samut Prakarn province, often referred to as “Bangkok’s Green Lung”.
The contest was held in collaboration with Spanish fashion brand Ecoalf. Founded by Javier Goyeneche in 2010, it uses breakthrough technology to create clothing and accessories made entirely from recycled materials, much of it fished out from the sea.
The contest drew 13 teams and while all the creations were outstanding, the freestyle design award in the “Redesigning the Good Waste” activity went to Phakawat Suwan for the multifunctional pillow – the 3 in 1 Cushion. 
Produced under the UTO (Upcycling the Oceans Thailand) brand, the pillow has been designed to ensure that every square inch of the recycled fabric – made from plastic bottles – is meaningful. Practical and portable, users can unzip it to remove the folded blanket inside. Phakawat also paid attention to detail, printing both sides of the blanket with pictures relating to the sea and such inspirational quotes as “Good Waste for Good Life is Happiness” or “Please Don’t Waste Things”. 
The Takra Bike Bag, designed by Tanawan Samleerat and Brian Carraway, was another winner. Created by Flying Squirrel Outfitters and NoNo Bags, it is shaped like a bottle hinting at giving new life to the plastic bottles we unthinkingly throw away. The name “Takra” comes from the Thai work for basket, a gesture to the green lifestyle of the Bang Krachao community.

Tanawan Samleerat and Brian Carraway with their “Takra Bike Bag” design.

While plastic has changed the world, improving and adding convenience to modern lives, its very durability is proving a major problem. This is particularly true of single-use plastic – among it the millions of disposable plates, bowls, cutlery and bottles that end up in the trash everyday. 
In 2016, the Pollution Control Department of Thailand found 10.78 million tons of trash in the ocean off 23 coastal Thai provinces. Equally as worrying, it reported that only 1.67 million tons (15 per cent) are recycled, 6.28 million tons (59 per cent) are properly eliminated, and 2.83 million tons (26 percent) are not properly eliminated. 
Research conducted by the University of Georgia pointed the finger at Thailand for being the fifth biggest contributor of ocean trash in 2015. It was estimated that 80 per cent of ocean plastic litter comes from land-based sources and the other 20 per cent from marine-based activities. The figures clearly show that we are all responsible for the plastic trash contribution, which is definitely not good for a country that has long been one of the world’s most popular beach destinations.
In October 2016, the Ecoalf Foundation, funded by the HAP Foundation, started the Upcycling the Oceans project in Thailand. With the support of the Tourism Authority of Thailand and PTT Global Chemical, the Ecoalf Foundation faces the challenge of replicating the initiative in this country. The goal is to implement multiple actions to promote awareness of the gravity of the situation among citizens and tourists alike as well as to help organise and coordinate all fishermen and beach-cleaning associations in Thailand in a regular and sustainable trash-collecting system.
The “Upcycling the Oceans, Thailand” project runs for three years, from 2017 to 2019. The first year focused on education and promoting the concept of responsible tourism while conducting waste management activities such as collecting, segregating and transforming plastic waste. This year, innovative eco-friendly technology is used to transform the raw material. Several companies process the waste, transform it into pellets and thread, and produce the fabrics. Ultimately, the raw materials made from the plastic waste removed from the sea will be transformed into stylish fashion items and accessories.

“The Ecoalf Foundation implemented its first Upcycling the Oceans project in Spain in 2015. By partnering with the federation of fishermen, we managed the entire process, from waste collection through the transformation into raw material (premium-quality yarn and fabric from the plastic bottle is 100 per cent polyester), and making clothing and fashion collections. Thailand is our first collaboration in Asia. The project also aims to raise awareness of the negative impact of improper waste disposal in the oceans,” says founder Goyeneche.
“In Spain, we started on the east coast of the Mediterranean Ocean and today we cover the entire Atlantic coastline. We remove the waste from the ocean with the help of fisherman. We have more than 3,000 fishermen involved in the project and they all lift the trash into their nets instead of leaving it lying there. In that waste can be plastic bottles, plastic bags, aluminium cans, glass, rubber and lots of different types of materials. We collect, classify, and then transform them into fashionable sneakers, bags, and fabric for jackets. Ocean waste is a worldwide problem. Whether in Thailand, Spain or Mexico, we create a lot of waste and we have a problem,” he stresses.

Fishermen collect waste from the seabed off Thailand.

“Ecoalf in Europe is growing fast. People are increasingly acknowledging the value of this kind of meaningful brand. We have succeeded in obtaining 100-per-cent recycled products of high technical quality and textures without using more of the planet’s natural resources. Ecoalf it is not a storytelling brand, it is a ‘doing’ brand. We convince thousands of fishermen to help collect waste from the ocean and that makes us different and convinces people to believe in what we are doing.
“This SB’18 Bangkok Redesigning the Good Waste is fantastic project. Waste has value and we have to upcycle it so as to recreate products. Design or fashion items have value. If we create cheap products, they don’t have that value. And design is a very good way to give value to things. Sometimes we are not conscious of the situation, specifically in our ocean. Few people get to see how dirty it is on the ocean bed. Everything simply goes down,” Goyeneche says.
  

BOTTOM UP
>> See more about Upcycling the Oceans Thailand project at Facebook.com/ Upcyclingtheoceansthailand.