Environmental Dopeness: Pharrell & G-Star Announce "RAW for the Oceans"
Angel Elliott
One thing y'all will learn about me, I'm an unabashed, tree-hugging, ocean conservationist. I'm the woman who will mess up her Jordans while cleaning garbage from a stream on World Ocean's Day. I volunteer for Oceana and The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, I don't run water while I brush my teeth or wash the dishes, have a compost bin in my yard waiting for spring, y'all get the picture.
Imagine my excitement when I heard about Pharrell's announced long-term partnership with recycled textiles maker Bionic Yarn and dutch designer clothing company G-Star RAW. Bionic Yarn is a company that makes material (Bionic Yarn) out of recycled plastic PET, plastic litter collected from the world's oceans and waterways. I know you've seen those sad commercials with the little duck stuck in the soda can six-pack rings, or sticking their little beaks in bottles, that's the trash they're referring to.
Pharrell was announced as the creative director of Bionic Yarn in a New York Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week event held at the Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History. Pharrell, visibly energized by the collaboration said;
“Through the collaboration between Bionic Yarn and G-Star, we are making sustainable products more accessible for everyone. By creating yarn from oceans plastic, we are actually moving things forward within the fashion industry. Working with G-Star was an obvious choice, because they have a legacy of pushing the boundaries of fashion and denim forward. Bionic Yarn is a company built around performance, and denim is the perfect category to show the world what Bionic Yarn can do. Everyone has jeans in their closet.”
RAW for the Oceans will feature denim made from Bionic Yarn and polyester in an exclusive collection sold in select G-Star RAW stores. Of course Pharrell will leave his creative mark on the jeans, as he's been named co-designer of the line. An added bonus? The jeans can be re-recycled after wear by separating the Bionic Yarn/cotton material with the polyester.
I love when artists and entertainers combine their creativity with a good cause. Ocean conservation is often an overlooked cause in the mainstream, I guess because it lacks "sexy." No one wants to be reminded that their over-use of plastic, conscious littering, and water-wasting-ways are destroying the planet. They certainly don't want to see images of little fauna running around soaked in crude oil.
Maybe more will join me on World Ocean's Day this year since it's now sexy to conserve. The collection is set to release August 15. Hit me!