Parley For The Oceans Slams Fashion Brands Over Reluctance To Phase Out Virgin Plastic

Parley for the Oceans Slams Fashion Brands Over Reluctance to Phase Out Virgin Plastic

Luxury fashion brands can easily switch from the use of virgin plastic to more environmentally-friendly options without a significant impact on the cost of production, but are reluctant to do so because of outdated manufacturing approach, Cyrill Gutsch, the founder of Parley for the Oceans, an environmental organization with a focus on marine plastic pollution, told Sputnik

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2020) Luxury fashion brands can easily switch from the use of virgin plastic to more environmentally-friendly options without a significant impact on the cost of production, but are reluctant to do so because of outdated manufacturing approach, Cyrill Gutsch, the founder of Parley for the Oceans, an environmental organization with a focus on marine plastic pollution, told Sputnik.

The environmental organization has been collaborating with sportswear giant Adidas for over five years. Together, they have created the sneakers made from reclaimed marine plastic waste, first unveiled at the United Nations in 2015. The partnership has expanded into other apparel made using recycled materials, while around 15 million shoes set to be produced this year by Adidas in collaboration with Parley.

"The fashion industry - as creative as it seems from outside, as innovative a designer might be - is totally outdated when it comes to supply chain. Since it is close to luxury, there is an idea that old values have to be protected, old ways of doing things have to be protected ... I feel there is no excuse anymore for a fashion brand to be part of destruction. Plastic is an easy fix, just switch because you can do pretty much everything with recycled plastic," Gutsch told Sputnik on the sidelines of Moscow Open Innovations forum, held virtually this week.

The value of a material is the smallest cost a brand is spending on a product, with most money going into marketing and branding. Thus, a minor increase in the cost of material would not have a significant impact on sales of a product which costs $300-500 and more, the activist, who is a designer himself, noted.

"The purpose is the new luxury. People are not buying anymore only into brands. They are buying into what something stands for and honestly, there is an idea that a brand represents a value, a mindset, an attitude. Now, it is not anymore about just the right photographer, the right model and the right designer. It is also about what is your consistence, what is the ingredient of your products, what is the mindset of how you are making things, are you an exploiter or are you a collaborator?" Gutsch stressed.

At the same time, the suppliers of materials for the luxury fashion brands do have an opportunity to switch to recycled plastic, but it is the question of the brands themselves asking for new material, according to Parley's founder.