Can fashion make going plastic-free into a trend which actually lasts?
It’s not often that an interview with a supermodel becomes a lesson in marine biology but within minutes of dialling in to speak with Anja Rubik, she is schooling me in some basic ocean facts. “Every second breath we take comes from the oceans, they regulate the temperature of the planet, they absorb carbon dioxide and over three billion people are dependent on the ocean as their main source of protein, so… when there is no blue there is no life.”
Today is World Oceans Day, an event that once passed by the fashion world with barely a sunglasses-raise of acknowledgment. This year, however, one of the world’s most prominent luxury e-tailers Net-a-Porter is getting behind the day- and the prevention of plastic pollution more widely- with a Porter magazine cover and shoot, glamorous party, recycled plastic products, talk at the UN and a pledge to reduce its use of plastics with an aim to eventually be plastic-free.
It was Rubik, a diving fanatic, who convinced Porter editor-in-chief Lucy Yeomans that the plight of the seas should be her next big focus via a partnership with Parley for the Oceans, the initiative which raises awareness of plastic pollution and ocean destruction. Their ultimate intention? To make going plastic-free into the next big trend.
“We say that there is a new trend coming and this trend is survival,” says Cyrill Gutsch, Parley’s founder who will be giving a talk alongside Rubin and the Net-a-Porter team at the UN today. “I think fashion has the power, the influence, to make things known very quickly and in a very emotional way and hits directly to the senses.”
The statistics are sobering- it has been estimated that by 2048, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish, with most experts agreeing that action must happen now to prevent further catastrophe within a decade or two. Blue Planet episodes aired late last year in which David Attenborough issued stark warnings about conservation have prompted the widespread abandonment of plastic straws and disposable coffee cups. In fashion circles, pictures of sea creatures who have succumbed to plastics or selfies with a KeepCup are now as likely to go viral on Instagram as a shoefie.
The Net-a-Porter and Parley collaboration makes its point a little differently, imbuing the cause with tropes of glamour; Rubik poses on the beach and in the sea around an island in the Maldives where plastic pollution is a major issue. She is photographed by Mario Sorrenti diving amidst bleached coral and wading into the water wearing a mixture of Prada and metallic trousers created from plastic materials. Inside the magazine, she is pictured taking part in a beach clean-up and educating local children.
Last night, Porter hosted an ‘Incredible Oceans Gala’ in New York, where It girls mixed with oceanographer Sylvia Earle and it is selling Adidas x Parley trainers created using recycled plastics.
The best recycled pieces to buy in honour of World Oceans Day
Trends come and go, but Rubik’s hope is that this moment will instigate lasting change rather than flash-in-the-pan activism. “I really deeply believe that caring comes from knowing and change comes from caring,” she says. “If we just tell the story of what is happening with the ocean, people will react and change their ways and start putting pressure on brands and corporations to produce differently.”
When it comes to fashion and eco-consciousness, there was probably no one who put it better than Marco Bizzarri, Gucci’s CEO, when he explained that the house’s decision not to use fur any longer came because it wasn’t ‘modern’. Ouch- is there any criticism more cutting?
All the warnings of the dangers of plastic in our seas are terrifying and thought-provoking, but the idea that by carrying a plastic bag or beauty product in non-recyclable packaging you might not be au courant is chilling enough to spur many into action. And that’s no bad thing.