Men Shorts Made Of Abandoned Plastic Bottles Are Thriving In SA

TechInAfrica – Plastic wastes are a threat to the long term device of humanity’s survival on earth, and startups like GiLo Lifestyles is trying to undermine the quantity of plastic waste by turning it into comfortable men shorts. The plastic wastes that it targeted are the usual plastic bottles found ashore on the beaches around the world, which then converted into wearable clothes.

A report by Greenpeace tells a lot about the over-usage of plastic, in which around 260 million tons of them are produced annually, and 10 percent of those amounts are currently floating in the ocean, harming the marine ecosystem. By using 20 plastic bottles, the Cape Town-based clothing brand can create a pair of shorts that are water-repellent, fast-dry, light, and soft. Founded in 2015 by Gina Tarboton and Loren Dyer, the two South Africans only initiated the plastic converter movement from a year ago, precisely on November 2018.

“We always wanted to find ways of helping the planet, animals and our oceans. We’ve been looking for fabrics like this for 8 to 10 years and eventually I stumbled across the boardshorts factory while at a big trade show in China, I asked them about fabrics made from plastic and specifically plastic from the oceans – as it’s very concerning what’s happening to our sea life and the amount of litter washed up on our beaches. They said yes, they have just sourced factories making this type of fabric,” said Tarboton. The best bit is if you didn’t know they were made from plastic, you wouldn’t be able to guess – they’re surprisingly soft to touch and stretchy.”

The process involves stripping the plastic off the capos and labels, proceeded with thorough washing before converted into smaller pellets that stretched out and made into yarn, while the last step includes digital printing of the recyclable material.