From Trash to Treasures. This Fashion trend is helping to Save the Planet.
Women around the world are at the forefront of using art and creativity to solve the looming waste crisis through Recycled Fashion – which was recently celebrated at the 2014 UNICEF Activate Talks on Youth and Child Participation forum. Among the speakers was Jasmina Chashule of Macedonia, who presented on the concept of turning trash into fashion – the process of recycling trash into clothing – in her talk, which be viewed on YouTube.
Jasmina Chashule is just one of many women who view recycled fashion – as not only an global environmental solution, but as a means of empowerment for men, women and children.
Trash-Fashions {www.trash-fashions.com}, founded by Aidana Baldassarre also has been embracing trash-to-art for the past 10 years. Constructed mostly from reused tires and plastic bottles, Aidana’s fashions include dresses, purses, ties, and necklaces. And her art also has been an instrument of social change. She recently created the eco-conscious and social project RE-MILK, which trains and employs low-income women in Buenos Aires, Argentina on transforming plastic from milk containers into purses, bags and wallets.
Recycle Runway {www.recyclerunway.com}, founded by artist Nancy Judd, creates “sustainable fashion designs” – couture fashion built from trash – that are displayed in traveling exhibitions in museums, airports, and malls across the U.S. Nancy’s designs support her grand cause of environmental advocacy; she holds workshops, delivers speeches, and creates hands-on creative experiences for adults and children as she seeks to “capture people’s attention and inspire actions in their lives to help care for the planet.” Hear Nancy’s TEDx talk here.
Haute Trash {www.hautetrash.org} Founded by the late Susan Lamela (a.k.a., “Polly Ethylena”) in the 1980s, celebrates the “reuse and recycle” ethos while “breaking down the boundaries of stereotypical beauty and fashion by celebrating bodies of all sizes, shapes and ages through humor and satire.” Haute Trash has grown into a thriving not-for-profit organization that has held more than 100 fashion shows, mostly on the U.S. West Coast.
The Global Connections for Women foundation (GC4W) celebrates the work of these creative and talented women who are saving the planet – one stitch at a time. Share your stories with us on Twitter @GC4Women or via email at info@gc4women.org.
