Denim wear from beach waste: The EU-backed Kerkennah Plastic Free program is selling tons of plastic from its beach to international consortium Seaqual Initiative for repurposing as nylon fibers for clothing, project coordinator Jean-Paul Pelissier told AFP. The waste is transformed through multiple processes to make denim clothing for a number of companies including Outa — a couture brand that made its debut at Tunis Fashion Week last June.

How does it work? Fifteen informal rubbish collectors in Tunisia’s Kerkennah Islands first take their daily harvest to a sorter, who subsequently passes it on to a collection company where it is fed to a crusher. The plastic granules recovered after grinding the waste are then transformed into Seaqual Yarn nylon fiber in a plant in Portugal — one of just four factories in the world equipped with this technology. The Seaqual Yarn is delivered to a Sitex plant — a denim supplier that has 70% of its manufacturing based on recycled fibers — in the coastal town of Ksar Hellal in Tunisia to produce denim.

Outa will have to consider some barriers: Production costs are 20% higher for denim with recycled marine plastics compared to normal denim without, according to AFP. Renowned French designer Maud Beneteau — who designed Outa’s first collection — told AFP that there were some difficulties working with a fabric that was “a little thick and stiff, originally designed for sportswear and ready-to-wear, rather than haute couture.”

About Kerkennah Plastic Free program: The program aims to recover 7k tons of plastic waste each year on the Kerkennah Islands located 20 km off the port city of Sfax, AFP said. The island is heavily polluted due to marine currents carrying the waste from Europe into the Gulf of Gabes in Tunisia. The program partnered with Seaqual last year to export and transform marine plastic from the Kerkennah Islands into new sustainable products.

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