Q&A: How Kenan van Kooij turned plastic waste into the viral sensation
The designer reflects on sustainability, self-expression and the creative journey behind his Sashimi dress
Tag: Plastic
Explainer: Your clothes contain more plastic than you think
Even garments labeled “100% cotton” are often held together with polyester thread – making it impossible to avoid plastic in our clothing. Almost all your clothes contain plastic – even ones labeled “100% cotton”. Learn how this hidden plastic affects...
Refashion Plastic design exchange seeds ideas for fixing the future
Faced with the complex environmental and social problems created by plastic, a group of creative thinkers, conservationists and artists gathered for a workshop in a Langa studio on a cold winter’s Saturday morning. The group was tasked with creating functional...
What “biodegradable”, “dissolvable” and “compostable” really mean
By now, you would have noticed an increase in light plastic-like carrier bags on supermarket shelves. Most conventional light plastic packaging – for groceries, dry cleaning, bread, frozen food bags, newspapers, and garbage – is low-density polyethylene (LDPE), made from...
Explainer: What is the promise of a global agreement to reduce plastic pollution?
The flow of plastic entering the ocean is expected to double by 2040. To prevent this tsunami of difficult-to-decompose waste, experts have proposed a global treaty which could oblige all nations to reduce how much plastic they produce and emit to the...
Explainer: Large scale chemical pollution now exceeds the safe limit for life on Earth
The production and release of plastics, pesticides, industrial compounds, antibiotics and other pollutants is now happening so fast and on such a large scale that it has exceeded the planetary boundary for chemical pollution, the safe limit for humanity, a...
Why a single solution won’t solve our waste issue
We are facing a waste crisis, with landfills across the world at full capacity and mountains of “recycled” waste dumped in developing countries. Food packaging is a major source of this waste, giving rise to an industry of “environmentally friendly” reusable food and drink...
How a new discovery shows that cows could help solve the plastic pollution crisis
Plastic is notoriously hard to break down, but researchers in Austria have found that bacteria from a cow’s rumen – one of the four compartments of its stomach – can digest certain types of the ubiquitous material, representing a sustainable...
New study reveals fashion’s polyester addiction and extensive greenwashing
You’ve probably come across flashy signs in clothing stores that say “sustainable”, “low impact” or “recycled” and maybe even purchased from these sections and felt proud for doing your part. But how many of these sustainability claims are true? And...
Just 20 Companies Produce Over Half of All Single-Use Plastic Waste
In a groundbreaking report published this week, researchers revealed that just 20 companies are responsible for producing 55 percent of all single-use plastic waste worldwide. The 20 global businesses are both state-owned and multinational corporations, consisting mainly of energy and...
New study finds polyester fibres throughout the Arctic Ocean
The Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern...
Ranked: the impact of five different soft drink containers
People are increasingly aware of the harm plastic waste causes to wildlife, and many would avoid buying single-use plastics if they could help it. But are the alternatives to plastic much better? Let’s look at one example – fizzy drinks....
Film Review: THE STORY OF PLASTIC
Ahead of our virtual screening of THE STORY OF PLASTIC, here is a short review to encourage you to book for the 16 July 2020 event. There is a limited number of tickets available.
How designer Hamzeh Alfarahneh refashions his kitchen’s plastic waste
In the first of five articles about designers who participated in the #RefashionPlastic campaign for Plastic Free Mzansi, Hamzeh Alfarahneh explains the shift in thinking this project inspired.
Q&A with designer Tessa O’Halloran on rethinking plastic waste
Exciting things are happening in a small studio in the Karoo where plasticity. re-imagines waste plastic. This bespoke upcycling company based in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape was founded by Tessa O’Halloran, her mother Helen and her little sister Erin...