An Eco Fashion Project with Schoolchildren & Artist Paula Denby

Paula was asked to work on an eco fashion project with schoolchildren in Port Talbot.   The outfits were modelled at the Pontardawe Arts Centre in Spring 2012 The following text was written by Paula for the show to accompany the modelling of the eco garments…

‘The girls, led by Paula, looked at a specific problem LITTER and wove this theme into the creation of two outfits.  One designed to be beautiful and natural -made of paper, wools, silks, cottons.

The other unnatural made primarily with plastics, nylon nets, disposable drinks bottles…

These materials  were sourced from the stuff most of us throw away – paper/ plastic packaging  , worn out clothes ,duvets, drinks bottles , buttons, netting,eco – nappy liners etc.

We looked at the knowledge of natural decay in a woodland – leaves die, are absorbed into the Earth and feed new life.

So our first dress is a leaf litter dress worn by our very own forest Faerie Alysha – it contains amongst its ‘litter’ the words LIFE  DEATH and HOPE.

Our second outfit modelled by the beautiful  Cerys is inspired by plastic pollution in our seas.  Specifically looking at ‘The Great Pacific Garbage Patch‘ -a massive area twice the size of France and constantly growing . Our skirt contains messages in and on its plastic bottles  perhaps the most poigniant being ‘Beauty is Trapped’ written by a year 8 girl.

Even if you don’t care that billions of lifegiving trees are being cut down and that scientists are estimating that 130 species of wildlife are going extinct EVERY DAY in rainforests and that millions of seabirds mammals and turtles are dying needlessly in our sea due to plastic pollution remember that every piece of plastic ever created is STILL in the world –  it does not degrade it only breaks into smaller pieces  as Mother Earth CANNOT re-use it.

It IS returning to us via the food chain.  It is in the bellies of the fish we eat…for WE ARE ALL CONNECTED.