From plastic to clothing
环保新时尚:塑料瓶变衣服
It might be strange to wear clothes made out of plastic bottles. But in fact, some clothing companies are already making such clothes.
穿用塑料瓶制成的衣服可能有点奇怪。但实际上,一些服装公司已经在制作这样的衣服了。
Fashion brand JUMA recently showed its newest collection at a workshop in Shanghai. Eighteen clothing items from the collection, including jumpsuits, jackets, shirts and dresses, were made from recycled plastic bottles.
时尚品牌JUMA近期在上海的次工作坊中展示了该品牌的最新款系列服饰。来自该系列的18款服饰单品,如连体裤、夹克、衬衫及连衣裙等,都由回收的塑料瓶制成。
“We realized that billions of water bottles were being thrown into landfills and oceans every year and that these bottles take hundreds of years to decompose. We thought we should use them to create our clothes and help the environment,” said Alia Juma, the company’s design director.
“我们认识到,每年都有数十亿的水瓶被扔进垃圾填埋场和海里,它们需要数百年才能被分解掉。我们认为,我们应当用这些材料来制造衣服,帮助保护环境,”该公司的设计总监阿利亚·朱玛表示。
Many other fashion companies are finding similar ways to save our planet these days. The process is rather simple. First, the plastic bottles are washed and cut into small pieces. Then they are melted and shaped into small balls. The balls are melted again to form thread. People can then use the thread to make different kinds of clothes.
如今,许多其他的时尚公司也在寻求类似方式来拯救我们的地球。这个过程十分简单。首先,塑料瓶在清洗过后会被切割成小片。然后这些碎片会被熔成小球的形状。这些小球会再次经过融化,形成纺线。人们可以使用这种纺线来制作不同种类的衣物。
According to Juma, it takes 67,000 bottles to create 1 ton of thread. This reduces carbon emissions by 4.2 tons and water use by 6.2 tons compared with the normal way of making thread.
朱玛介绍称,制作1吨织线需要67000个瓶子。和纺线制作的一般方式相比,这种做法减少了4.2吨的碳排放和6.2吨的用水。
“Four bottles can make one pillowcase. Five can make a shirt, 10 a dress and 20 a short coat,” Juma said.
“4个瓶子可以做一个枕套,5个瓶子可以做一件衬衫,10个瓶子可以做一条连衣裙,20个瓶子可以做一件短外套,”朱玛表示。
Some people might have doubts about wearing something made out of plastic bottles. But according to Causeartist, a website that focuses on innovation, clothes made from plastics could be even better than nylon and polyester. Plastic thread can be made into different textures, such as cotton, silk or even wool. “The more we learn about recycled fabrics, the more we realize that they work just like other fabrics. You can get a heavier cotton feeling or a silky feeling by weaving the yarns into different textures and using different wash methods. There’s actually a lot you can do with this fabric.” Juma said.
有人或许会对穿戴塑料瓶制成的衣物心存疑虑。但据关注创新产业的网站Causeartist介绍,塑料制成的衣物甚至可能比尼龙和聚酯纤维材质的还要好。塑料纺线可以织出不同的质感,如棉、丝绸甚至羊毛。“我们对于回收面料了解得越多,就会愈发地认识到它们和其他面料没什么不同。你可以通过将纺线织成不同质地,加以不同的洗涤手法,获得含棉量更高的质感或者丝绸质感。实际上,你可以用这种面料做许多事情。”朱玛说道。
The price for the clothes in the new collection ranges from 500 to 3,000 yuan. However, Juma is optimistic that prices will fall when more companies follow the sustainability path taken by her business.
这一新系列的服饰定价在500-3000元之间。而朱玛乐观地认为,当越来越多的公司和她的企业一样,选择了可持续的发展道路,衣服的价格便会下降。