Eco Trash Couture

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Paper Lace Dress

Recycled office paper takes the work out of wearing this party dress!

Paper selected from office recycling cans was hand-cut into an original lace design and glued onto the flared skirt, hat and vintage shoes. The skirt and hat were made from canvas scraps. The skirt is layered over a 1950s vintage “little black dress.” The entire ensemble was created in 120 hours. Created in 2003.

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Recycle at work!

Recycling 1 ton of paper saves seventeen 35 foot tall mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 2 barrels of oil, 60 pounds of air pollution and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity — enough energy to power the average American home for 5 months.

Over 48% of office paper is recovered for recycling.

Source: Oberlin.edu/recycle

Rusty Nail Cocktail Dress

Salvaged nails deck out this black dress to inspire recycling of building materials.

The rust adds a little color to these nails that were hand-sewn or cut and glued to the matching dress, purse, vintage shoes and hat. The 1950s retro cocktail dress and hat were created from canvas remnants. The hat features a sharp chicken wire veil accented with nail “feathers”. This ensemble took 125 hours to complete. Created in 2001.

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Build green at home and at work!

Sustainable building involves recycling, reusing materials and reducing future energy needs. The result are buildings that are more economical to operate and maintain, healthier and more energy efficient for occupants, and less burdensome on the environment.

Aluminum Drop Dress

Aluminum cans make this dress POP!

Hand-cut teardrops and circles from aluminum cans embellish both dress and shoes. The 1920s retro flapper dress was sewn from a used cloth shower curtain. This matching combo took 200 hours to create. Created in 2004.

Commissioned by Novelis

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From cans to airplanes, aluminum is easy to recycle!

Following are some of the environmental benefits from recycling one ton of aluminum:

  • Saves 95 percent of the energy required.
  • Avoids the emission of about 10 tons of CO2 equivalents.
  • Reduces the use of natural resources and chemicals (caustic soda, aluminum fluoride and lime).
  • Eliminates the need for 5 tons of bauxite ore to be mined.
  • Eliminates the generation of nearly 2 tons of red mud byproduct.

Source: Novelis

Jellyfish Dress

Plastic bags were transformed in this aquatic apparel!

Green dry cleaner bags and blue plastic newspaper bags were ironed together to create the aquatic skirt. The bodice, skirt, tentacles and necklace were made from white grocery bags. The garment was partially created in public workshops in Lincoln City, on the Oregon Coast. Created in 2010.

Commissioned by Lincoln City.

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Put plastic in the recycling bin, not the ocean!

Seabirds, sea turtles, fish, and marine mammals often ingest trash that they mistake for food. Sea turtles have been found to swallow plastic bags because the bags look like jellyfish, one of their favorite foods. Ingesting this debris can seriously harm marine life. Three of the top five types of marine litter are recyclable: plastic bottles, plastic bags, and cans.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Caution Dress

Made from caution tape, this dress signals a strong warning!

Caution tape recovered from the side of the road was sewn onto a vintage sundress. This serious eco-wear took 50 hours to create and was completed in 2011.

Read a blog post about creating the Caution Dress.

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Global output of heat-trapping carbon dioxide jumped by 6% in 2010. This increase in carbon dioxide is very disturbing for two reasons: 1.) it marks the biggest increase on record, and 2.) the new figures for 2010 mean that levels of greenhouse gases are higher than the worst case scenario outlined by climate experts just four years ago. This information represents a clear CAUTION that the world’s efforts to slow man-made global warming are not enough, and we need to take more drastic measures.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy

Tireless Couture

Inner tube tires are reCYCLED into this chic atTIRE.

Inner tube tires from bicycles were cut into circles on and sewn onto the shirt and where cut into fringe and sewn to the bolero. Larger car tires create the undulating fabric on the skirt. The base of the shirt, bolero and skirt are all sewn from torn hotel sheets. The garment was completed in 2010 and took 175 hours to create.

This garment was created partially in public workshops as part of University Mall’s Scraple Hill Art Exhibition. Nancy Judd was asked to design and create a new Recycle Runway garment from inner tube tires to showcase the City’s commitment to sustainability by encouraging citizens to leave their cars at home and use the beautiful pedestrian and bicycle paths.

Commissioned by University Mall and Madison Marquette.

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Ride your bike and leave the car at home!

Bicycling is one way that you can reduce your environmental impact. At this EPA website (click here) you can estimate your greenhouse gas emissions, including emissions from driving, using a personal emissions calculator. Once you have calculated your CO2 emissions from driving, learn about how to reduce your impact on the environment.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Faux Fur Coat

Obsolete cassette & video tape make an absolutely reeling garment.

Cassette tape was woven onto the fabric of a second-hand coat to create the looped texture. The collar and cuffs are accented with the larger discarded video tape. A thrift store prom dress was cut up and sewn for the lining of the coat. This cold weather garment took 310 hours to create. Created in 2005.

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Recycle or donate old electronics, visit Earth911.com to learn where.

Electronics contain valuable materials such as glass, copper, aluminum, plastic and other components that can often be extracted and reused. In addition to valuable metals electronics often contain hazardous materials such as mercury. E-waste accounts for 70 percent of the overall toxic waste currently found in landfills. When placed in a landfill, even in small doses, these materials can contaminate soil as well as drinking water.

Source: Earth911.com

Pop Can Couture

Aluminum Coke cans make this little black dress a classic!

Aluminum cans were hand-cut into leaves, petals and vines then hand-sewn onto the dress, purse and vintage shoes. The 1950s retro cocktail dress and purse were created from canvas scraps. Coke can aluminum earrings and necklace top off the ensemble. This fashion creation took 135 hours to make. Created in 2006.

Commissioned by the Coca Cola ® Company

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Find out where to recycle aluminum cans in your community at: www.earth911.com.

Recycling 1 aluminum can saves enough energy to run a computer or TV for 3 hours, or a 100-watt bulb for 20 hours.

Every 3 months, Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild our entire fleet of commercial airplanes.

Sources: Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Defense Fund

Obama Cocktail Dress

Surplus campaign yard signs make this dress politically correct!

Plastic campaign signs from the 2009 presidential election were collected for this party line dress. An old cotton sheet was repurposed for the lining of the dress. The plastic signs were cut into strips and attached to the lining in overlapping layers from bottom to top. This campaign dress was designed and fabricated in 50 hours. Created in 2009.

Change Couture Collection at the Green Inaugural Ball

The Obama Cocktail Dress is part of the Change Couture Collection which was showcased at numerous inaugural balls in Washington D.C. in 2009 for the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama.

Couture Plastique

Glamour is in the bag when you wear this elegant gown created from plastic film and bottles.

Plastic bottles are recycled into Eco-spun, the fabric in this gown. The eco-spun evening wear is covered with used plastic packaging film and accented with small circles cut from post-consumer plastic detergent bottles. The stole is knit from used clear plastic bags and lined with fabric from a second-hand white satin prom dress. This Oscar winner for best use of plastic film took 225 hours to create. Created in 2006.

Recycle plastic bags and film at home and at work. Visit www.plasticbagrecycling.org to learn how.

Any of the follow plastic that is dry, clean and free of paper labels can be recycled at your local grocery store:

  • Grocery, produce, food storage bags (including cereal box liners)
  • retail bags (hard plastic and string handles removed) newspaper and dry cleaning bags
  • Retail wrap (e.g., furniture, electronics, napkin, and food containers)
  • Plastic shipping envelopes (no bubble wrap/remove labels)

Source: plasticbagrecycling.org