News Release Archive
InNOVAcorp--Recylced Pop Bottles and Wedding Dresses
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Romance meets 20th-century recycling technology as two wedding
dresses made from recycled pop bottles go on display in Halifax.
The dresses, second- and third-place winners at the
1997 Young Quebec Fashion Design Excellence Gala, are made of
polar fleece, which is made from 80 per cent recycled plastic pop
bottles (polyethylene terephalate, PET).
Quebec student designers were challenged by the Environment and
Plastics Industry Council (EPIC) of the Canadian Plastics
Industry Association (CPIA) to create gowns that would be
suitable for a wedding in the Far North. The response from the
students was a testament to the successful "marriage" of fashion,
creativity and recycled plastics.
"EPIC and the other sponsors of this contest hope that the
elegance and style of the wedding creations will convince the
public and the fashion design industry that there is no limit to
the applications in which recycled plastic can be used, except
for that of our imagination," said Sandra Birkenmayer of EPIC.
The dresses are on display this week at CPIA's Atlantic Regional
office at InNOVAcorp in Dartmouth, and will be part of the first
annual Re-Threads Fashion Show sponsored by Clean Nova Scotia.
The event will be held at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia on
Monday, Oct. 20, at noon and is free to all who wish to
attend.
"It's important that people realize the importance of recycling
and how the results are nothing short of first-rate. You only
have to see and feel these dresses to know that," said Rob
McInnes, executive director of CPIA Atlantic Region.
CPIA is a national industry association created to raise
international awareness of the Canadian plastics industry, and
support the development of Canadian plastics companies in a
socially and environmentally responsible manner. CPIA Atlantic, a
new branch established this year, is already pursuing a
number of viable regional projects including the development of
training programs, a regional industry directory, and a solid
waste management disposal program.
The contest winners were selected at a gala event this past
April. Contest sponsors included EPIC; Twinpak, a manufacturer of
PET bottles; Eastman Chemical Canada Inc., a producer of PET
resins; Chlorophylle H. Tech, a sports and outdoor clothing
company; and Recyc Quebec, a Quebec recycling company.
-30-
Contact: Valerie Bellefontaine
InNOVAcorp
902-424-8670 ext. 158
E-mail: vbellefontaine@innovacorp.ns.ca
Rob McInnes
CPIA
902-424-8670 ext. 143
ngr October 15, 1997 11:30 am
