100% recycled plastic fashion from the oceans

The brand EcoAlf is the one that should be on the top rating of sustainability. Made out of 100% recycled plastic materials to produce high-quality fashion; but most important of all, it uses the recycled plastic trash collected from the oceans.

Their goal is to create the first generation of 100% recycled plastic fashion products with the same quality, design, and technical properties as the non-recycled ones. Through their clothing, they are showing the world that there is no need to use our planet’s natural resources carelessly.

EcoAlf started in Spain; the proximity to the Mediterranean Sea made them think about giving a second opportunity to these materials that instead would stay in our oceans for over 400 years. The brand uses all the plastic materials and fishing nets hiding on the seabed as the primary material.

The recycling process couldn’t be possible without the help of the fishing men, who carefully separate the plastic rubbish from the fishes. This video shows us some realistic images of what happens when they go fishing:

EcoAlf recycles 1 ton of plastic every day. But if you want to see more of the brand impact and the reduction of the plastic waste, check out this infographic:

Ecoalf, with their recycled plastic fashion, has reused over 70,000,000 plastic bottles and 60 tonnes of fishing nets. With 70 plastic bottles and with 135 grams of nets you can create one meter of fabric.
Thanks to the plastic bottles, EcoAlf has saved a 20% in water, 50% in energy and over a 60% in greenhouse emissions.
By using recycled fishing nets, the brand has saved over a 25% of natural resources, as well as 28% in green house gas emissions and, last but not least, they are preventing marine pollution.

The process to recycle plastic bottles, fishing nets and tyres to produce fashion fibre

Are you asking yourself “How the hell can they do high-quality clothing from recycled plastic PET bottles?!” After collecting the bottles, they refine the recycled plastic and turn it into chips. Then, the chips are heated and pulled apart into fibres and spun into yarn. Finally, EcoALF fibre.

What we love from the messaging perspective is that EcoAlf shares the entire production process: from the recycling of the raw material to the final fashion piece.

Sharing this information allows the consumers to be aware of the opportunities of extending the life cycle of some products, but also the consequences of not recycling. As well, they enable social entrepreneurs to learn about how to do business while starting a project of impact.

Here’s another video where you can see the transformation process from a tyre to am Ecoalf’s product: separating metal and the textile, cleansing impurities from the remaining rubber, transforming grain to powder, joining the powder plates, and finally, providing flexibility to the plates.

And voilà! EcoALF flip flops!

There are over 165 million tons of plastics in our oceans today. Without new reforms, there could be more plastic by weight in our oceans than fish by 2050.

The business model should definitely be implemented in other areas around the world, because as EcoAlf claims…

“There’s no planet B where we can live in.”

You can shop by product, size and even what kind of material you want to wear. The range of goods available is jackets, waistcoats, handbags, and shoes. We have tried to do some shopping from Australia, but they don’t do the shipping, so hopefully, their distribution channel expands soon. But if you are reading us from Europe or USA you can buy their products here.