A Second Life for Fabrics and Paper

With so many people designing clothing lines, notably the stars and top designers who can buy new fabric every season, my imagination would start going and I'd sometimes wondered what was done with all the old clothing that wasn't bought in secondhand stores.  I don't have to worry too much though.  The designers of recycled clothing, paper and other products are large in number and growing, and their imagination knows no boundaries!

Preloved is a store that sells designs made from  fabric from vintage clothing.  Started in 1995 by a former model Julia Grieve and her friend Peter Frieson, they have three stores, one in Toronto, one in Montreal and the other in Australia.  Musicians, models and actors, such as Hilary Duff and Kate Hudson, purchase Preloved pieces.  The website for Preloved is www.preloved.ca.

Katherine Soucie is a designer based in Vancouver who uses an unusual fabric: used and new nylon hosiery.   The hosiery is dyed, cut in pieces, silk-screened and then heat set before being draped and sewn to make clothing.  This is a very unique idea.  View the designs at www.sanssoucie.ca.

Love bags?  Consider buying a bag made from candy wrappers or soda can pull tops.  It sounds bizarre, but the finished results from the designer of Ecoist are fantastic and attractive.  Paper and other products from factories that  have been misprinted and/or overaged are used by this company to make their creations rather than being thrown in landfills.  You have to look at the website:  www.ecoist.com.

There are many more businesses using recycled fabric and other products.  I will keep searching for them.  Till next blog!

multi-colored sweater - www.preloved.ca
candy wrapper bag - www.ecoist.com