Samenvatting

QUOTES “For every three breaths humans take, two originate from the oceans. But plastic pollution is taking its toll on the giant body of water that covers 70% of the Earth. Aside from the 8 million tons of plastic currently floating in the world‘s oceans, plastic production is said to increase by 10% annually. Not only does the plastic waste integrate into its surrounding in the form of micro-plastic, it also poisons and thereby imbalances ecosystems and poses serious health risks on humans…” KEYWORDS ocean plastic waste - plastic pollution – ocean – recycling - fashion industry - sustainable fashion - closing the loop - conscious consumption – Polyester - Nylon RESEARCH QUESTION Why is the reuse of oceanic plastic waste [OPW] in the fashion industry limited to niche markets? SUB-QUESTIONS 1. What is the current extent of OPW in the ocean and which groundwork exists around it? 2. What are the opportunities and limitations of reusing OPW in fashion? 3. How do said opportunities and limitations affect scalability in terms of company size, (multi)national operations and product category? 4. Which fashion brands are currently involved in reusing OPW? 5. How is the consumer’s perception of OPW in fashion influenced? PRESENTATION The video + the pitch a are part of a presentation, that intends to animate employees of the French fashion label Vetements to participate in cleaning up the ocean through clothing. ARTICLE The article is based on the research findings. It was written as intended for readers of the glossy magazine InStyle. It’s full title is: “Is it trash or is it trend?”