A partnership has been announced between clothing brand Fat Face, the Fat Face Foundation, diving specialists Fourth Element, and global animal welfare charity World Animal Protection as part of a venture to produce swimwear made from recycled plastics retrieved from the ocean – which includes lost fishing gear.
The Fat Face Foundation and Fourth Element are members of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI), an alliance spearheaded by World Animal Protection to find solutions to the worldwide problem of lost and abandoned fishing gear, generally referred to as ghost gear.
Fourth Element’s Ocean Positive swimwear, made from recycled marine plastics, is now available from the Fat Face website and selected stores, with proceeds from sales supporting World Animal Protection’s marine wildlife protection work.
The problem of marine plastic litter has gained increasing visibility recently and focuses on the amounts of plastic lost in the ocean that can take many hundreds of years to degrade, and frequently is worn away to become the microscopic particles known as microplastics that can enter the food chain.
‘This partnership is a fantastic example of how members of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative are working together to find innovative ways to address a global issue,’ said Chiara Vitali, Sea Change Campaign Manager at World Animal Protection.
‘Recycling the recovered nets into exciting new products shows how valuable this gear can be and encourages more people to get involved in reducing the amount of ghost gear entering our oceans.’
The Ocean Positive swimwear line by Fourth Element uses recycled nylon from ghost gear, in its eye-catching line of bikinis, swimsuits and beachwear. Netting is recycled into before being turned into Lycra fabric for the Ocean Positive swimwear.
‘The Ocean Positive range is a statement of intent, to do something meaningful to benefit the environment that we love and feel compelled to protect,’ said Paul Strike, co-founder of Fourth Element.
‘We also wanted to address a requirement among our customers including ourselves, for a practical product that is comfortable under a wetsuit yet looks great as beachwear.’
