The challenges of working with ocean plastic fiber
The challenges of working with ocean plastic fiber
Ultimately it comes down to price,” says Ianelli. “The price difference on fabrics is… at least 50% higher.”
Ocean plastic is currently far more expensive than virgin plastic due to infrastructure challenges. For one, the plastic collection process is fragmented. “The nature of plastic marine litter means that it is generally collected in relatively small quantities at many different locations,” says Hartnell of Seaqual Initiative. “Creating the infrastructure to bring all this waste together into an industrial-scale supply chain is a huge undertaking.” Certain brands are tackling these waste collection challenges head-on. Sustainable apparel brand ECOALF has launched plastic collection projects in Spain and Thailand. Almost 3,000 fishermen have agreed to work with the initiative. Since 2015, they have collected 500 tonnes of marine waste.
Collecting the material is not the only challenging element of the process. Turning the often decayed plastic into fiber is just as complex. In a nutshell: once a sizable quantity of ocean plastic is collected, it is sent to sorting centers where plastic is separated from non-plastic. Then each bit of plastic must be sorted into different polymer types before it is shredded into flakes. The flakes are then washed in order to remove residual waste, such as labels, glues and sand. They are then combined with post-consumer plastic from land sources and turned into resin pellets which can be melted to create new products. The resin pellets are sent to yarn manufacturers who melt the polymers into thread and spin the yarn. Not such a straightforward process.
The cost difference between ocean plastic resin pellets compared to virgin plastic is between 15-20% more, a smaller markup than for the final product of fabrics. Oceanworks has captured the opportunity to create trims out of ocean plastic resin, partnering with YKK, the world’s largest zipper manufacturer, to create a whole supply chain producing ocean plastic zippers. On a smaller scale, Ocean Works has worked with Outerknown on ocean plastic buttons for its jeans. But the yield is minuscule. “A million buttons may only require ten tons of ocean plastic material,” explained Ianelli. “Whereas with fabric, you can probably remove one thousand tons of material to make one million yards.”
Pairing the two together is their vision, but it still comes with costly infrastructure challenges for brands. Switching over to ocean plastic is not like flicking a switch. It’s an expensive undertaking which involves all departments of a company. “It isn’t as turnkey as buying virgin or even recycled plastic,” says van Gendt. “Using marine plastic requires a new supply chain to collect and process material that is dispersed over large areas of coastlines.” Fashion brands who want to keep their costs low and profit margins high simply won’t see the need to make the switch until consumers demand it.
Luckily, this is where things are starting to change. In the last two years, there has been a 660% increase in the search term “sustainable fashion”. This has even pushed fast-fashion behemoths such as H&M to look into revamping their supply chains and include more sustainable materials, among them recycled plastic. “Brands that two years ago thought this was crazy are ready now,” says Ianelli. “It’s like the penguin and iceberg effect. There has to be a number of penguins that jump into the water first for the other to say ‘Alright, we’re good to go!’”