If You Haven't Thought About Making Clothes Out of Seaweed, Here's Why You Should

Upcycled paper dress
Upcycled paper dress


One man's trash is another man's trousers, that is, if you know how to upcycle!

Recycling in reverse, upcycled fashion pulls from unwanted materials to create clothing that's haute couture-ish in nature. If you choose your fabrics wisely, you can spare the world excess waste while also boosting your wardrobe.

Let's talk about seaweed, for instance. You might not have considered this sushi staple appropriate for outerwear, but Mayer Peace Collection's fall/winter spread makes use of these greens from sea, along with other unusual materials such as vintage German flour sacks. Its mission: innovation for the fashion industry.

Mayer Peace Collection
Mayer Peace Collection


Refashioned, a jewelry site, believes in the story behind an accessory, and only sells pieces created by items meant for the landfill. Imagine necklaces created from old puzzles, rings spun from telephone wire, and pop top bracelets. They are the anti-mass producer.

Refashioned
Refashioned


Similarly, 2ETN creates jewelry by incorporating original pieces of art into its collection, and even donates a percentage of sales to the Pine Ridge Indian Adopt-a-Buffalo Program through Village Earth The Consortium for Sustainable Village-Based Growth.

2ETN
2ETN


With a little resourcefulness and an eye for the extraordinary, designer Christopher Raeburn made a parachute into a dress. In fact, everything he makes comes from redeployed military fabrics.

Christopher Raeburn
Christopher Raeburn


And the design team From Somewhere made a dress out of old Olympic speedos, a look that "speaks about water and… life."

Upcycled paper dress
Upcycled paper dress


Not only designers partake in these extravagant reinventions; other crafty DIYers have also picked up their scissors to turn scraps into must-haves.

One pinner transformed a pair of blah flip-flops into chic summer sandals by using a scarf as a wraparound tie.

Upcycled paper dress
Upcycled paper dress


DaniKshoes did the same thing sort of thing with jeans… all kinds of jeans.

DaniKshoes
DaniKshoes


Actually, it turns out you can upcycle almost anything to use for almost anything… case in point: someone turned an old boat into a bed.

Boat Bed
Boat Bed


Start digging through your bins!