Pharrell and G-Star launch new eco-range at New York Fashion Week
Super-producer Pharrell Williams and Dutch denim label G-Star Raw are collaborating on Raw for the Oceans eco fashion line
American singer-songwriter and record producer, Pharrell Williams, has launched a groundbreaking new eco-denim range at New York’s Fashion Week with the aim of raising awareness of pollution in the world’s oceans.
Williams is the creative director of the sustainable textiles firm, Bionic Yarn, and the company has partnered with G-Star Raw to design and launch the new Raw for the Oceans clothing line.
The collection is made from recycled plastic PET, some of which is extracted from the ocean, and a major goal of the launch is to raise awareness about the worsening plastics pollution issue.
Bionic Yarn and G-Star began talks with ocean pollution awareness outfit Parley for the Oceans last year when Williams and other key partners met in Berlin to discuss a collaboration to make denim out of recycled ocean plastic.
Bionic Yarn specialises in the development and manufacturing of the eco-fabric; collecting the plastic waste from the ocean and processing it into recycled fibres, which are then configured, either mixing it with cotton for denim or wool and other materials for suit fabrics.
Williams, at the unveiling event on Sunday at the American Museum of Natural History, commended the Dutch firm, G-Star, for participating in the collaboration, and explained that I was not common for a fashion company to champions environmental causes.
The new collection was also launched in partnership with The Vortex Project, an initiative of Parley for the Oceans, a coalition of different sectors such as artists, activists, scientists supporting marine conservation.
William has noted that through its brand power by association, the Raw for the Oceans collection could highlight the global problem of marine degradation and ocean pollution.
Recent studies have indicated that around 40 million pounds of plastic have accumulated in the North Pacific Ocean alone and what is known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, between Japan and North America, is a mass of plastic waste that occupies a surface area twice the size of Texas.
The line will be available online and in select G-Star Raw stores worldwide starting August 15.