Loved and hated in equal parts, plastic produces controversy by its very nature. Omnipresent in our current society, overexploited and with a great transformative capacity that encourages recycling, it is a material that hit-hero has been essential.
In fact, if we talk about the use and generation of materials that have surrounded humanity in recent history, plastic has undoubtedly been one of the protagonists of the twentieth century. This material has defined an era and is still present in people’s daily lives. Whether we like it or not it is a fact that plastic is everywhere, it is part of our lives and its use is taken for granted in all sectors. Its use has been global since the 60s in all kinds of everyday objects and in truth there was a time when its properties were praised, for durability, flexibility and lightness. Who would have said that we would end up drowning in a sea of plastic? The figures speak for themselves, globally since 1950 more than 8,000 million tons have been generated and the scariest thing is that half of this amount corresponds to the last 15 years. At present almost 40% of production goes to single-use packaging and wrapping. Here lies one of the big challenges of the 21st century: to find a way to re-use all this generated waste in order to give it a second life and a new use.
Plasticized fashion
It was inevitable to think otherwise. Plastic has also seduced the fashion industry and its use prevails as a trend by international brands. At first this seems like a paradox: the more the reports about its extensive production are known, the more it is introduced into the collections of the great designers. It is not something new; in the 60s and 70s, André Courregès, Pierre Cardin or Paco Rabanne used plastic in their creations to elaborate the most innovative and modern pieces of the moment under an inspiration of futuristic retro-aesthetics. This trend gave the nod to the space age that was a feature of the time. These garments were not transparent and used materials such as glossy vinyl or PVC to configure the clothes of the ye-yé generation.
A couple of years ago plastic fever again caused a furore in the fashion industry, which experienced a kind of revival with several companies opting to use plastic as a wearable material, whether in clothing or accessories. An aesthetic component was added to the plastic: in the middle of the Instagram era, it allowed a total display of the privacy of the wearer. The collection presented in February 2017 by Raf Simons in his debut at Calvin Klein was especially outstanding, where coats and raincoats covered with vinyl were displayed, as was also the case with classic Chanel, led by the late Karl Lagerfeld. The kaiser included not only plastic accessories, but also added shoes and garments that combined plastic with other materials. Céline also opted for a plastic bag like the ones used in supermarkets, but which was transparent. During 2018 this was a real object of desire among influencers and fashion fans as well as Demna Gvasalia, the irreverent creative director of Balenciaga, who went for a square, striped and colored bag which resembled that used in supermarkets -a best-seller. For his part, Virgil Abloh, creative director of Off-White, made all fashionistas sigh for their black salons lined with transparent plastic – the fetish object of the moment!
Plastic yes, but recycled
In the midst of this hegemony of plastic there is also a counter-current formed by those companies that present alternatives, thinking about how to re-use existing material. This situation coincides with the governments fight against plastic pollution and a greater awareness and social commitment among the population. The discussion does not focus so much on the use of the material itself but on the continuity of its production and the greatest challenge today is to be able to re-use it, taking advantage of its existence and its very long life cycle, discovering ways to regenerate it and transform it with the least possible impact.
There is a vocation for change. In recent years leading fashion designers have been investigating and working on new developments with used plastic. One pioneering example was the sustainable design task of the renowned Stella McCartney with the organisation Parley for the Oceans to develop sports shoes for her Adidas line. In parallel there have also been a host of small but growing brands which take advantage of the fibres from recycled plastic in order to create new clothes and accessories. Such companies already offer a sustainable alternative in order to generate zero waste from the plastic already produced. The era of real recycling is beginning.
