RAW for the Oceans

We’ve just wrapped up Fashion Week here in New York, which means the last week has been full of runway shows and parties. As with any fashion week we always have our ear out for anything new and interesting that brings together fashion and sustainability–and this season certainly didn’t disappoint.

We were invited to attend the press conference at the American Museum of Natural History, Milstein Hall of Ocean Life (appropriately so), as G-Star Raw unveiled ‘RAW for the Oceans’ — a long-term sustainable denim collaboration.

The collaboration is a creative exploration, where Bionic Yarn, under creative direction of Pharrell Williams, and G-Star joined forces to innovate denim. Together they will create a collection made with recycled materials from the oceans in stores from August 2014. In addition to the joined seasonal collections, G-Star will integrate Bionic Yarn material into existing product lines.

Let’s be real, seeing Pharrell in his hat had a huge appeal for this event, but once the various speakers began to break down the issue of ocean plastic, sharing video of the ocean life being affected by it, it was a pleasure to learn about such an important initiative first-hand. As David LaChapelle stated at the press announcement, “If we don’t radically change our thinking the only place we will get to see our oceans is here at the Natural History Museum.”

And if you’re wondering “how in the world are they turning plastic in to reusable yarn, watch here.