London-based Hoyan Ip, a 2012 MA Fashion graduate, observed that food waste could help offset fashion industry waste. So, she set about using discarded food to make buttons, buckles, and other garment trims.
Ip says, “Fashion represents change. Bio-trimmings are unique products that act as an object to educate and make good changes towards both sustainable fashion and ethical living for the future.”
She points out that production of fashion trims represents a significant environmental impact. Raw materials for plastic buttons are sourced from oil and metal zippers and snaps rely upon mining. Producing these items contributes to global warming, land degradation, air pollution, and toxic contamination of water bodies.
Her Bio-trimmings project retrieves food designated for the trash bi
n. The food is dried, cooked, blended and re-formed into sustainable fashion products. Even the water used to clean-up is re-used as a component in the next production batch.
Ip hopes that her Bio-trimmings project will not only raise awareness, but act as an impetus for on-going research. She plans to continue her work with the support of bio-genomics and scientific research entities. She wants to develop practical applications for food trimmings and other wasted materials in an effort to build a sustainable and ethical world where food waste is fodder for fashion.
For more info: http://www.hoyanip.com
