What do vinyl sheet protectors, yoga mats and plastic beads have to do with a unique and fashionable dress that would turn heads at any gathering? Plenty — thanks to the recyclability of plastics and the artistry of students at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).
The dress is just one of the creations from recycled, reused, or repurposed plastics that models will display in the Pursuing Zero Waste Fashion Show at the opening ceremony of NPE2015: The International Plastics Showcase. SCAD students designed the garments and accessories in a partnership program with the producer of the triennial NPE show, SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association. The fashion show will be sponsored by Green Dot, maker of Terratek bioplastics.
The fashion show will take place at 8:30 a.m. in West Hall C on Monday, March 23, at the start of the five-day NPE2015 exposition at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. Subsequently, the SCAD creations will be on display in the Zero Waste Zone, a special sector of the exhibit floor in the South Hall of the OCCC devoted to the plastics industry’s mandate to reduce, reuse, or recycle its materials.
In addition to the garments created from used plastics, the fashion show will also include a design created with 3-D printing technology by a SCAD student using bioplastics from Green Dot. It will be one of 13 outfits shown, as well as a number of dazzling accessories also created with recycled, reused, or repurposed plastics.
“We found the students at SCAD to be not only talented and creative but also very involved with environmental issues,” says Brad Williams, director of marketing and sales for SPI. “Their designs are vivid demonstrations that recycled plastics can gain new lives in many forms — both as purely utilitarian goods and as objects of beauty. The Pursuing Zero Waste Fashion Show at NPE2015 will add a new dimension to our industry mandate to reduce, reuse, and recycle the valuable materials that make up our products.”
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