PETALING JAYA: Fashion designer Hatta Dolmat has creatively recycled 200 plastic bottles into tudung and face masks.

About seven or eight plastic bottles were used to produce either one tudung or face mask.

The fashion industry is known to produce much textile waste, so Hatta wants to play his part to make a change.

“Almost eight million tonnes of plastic are disposed each year and it is threatening marine animals and wildlife, ” he said.

“The players in the fashion and textile industry are among the main contributors to the pollution.”

He started contributing to upcycling by making use of fabric remnants for a ready-made collection five years ago.

Hatta is also credited as the creator of the country’s first sustainable fashion collection by the Malaysia Book of Records.

The initiative is to reduce the plastic waste that goes into landfills or into the sea.

In his latest venture, the designer collaborated with Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Centre (MGTC) for the collection called MGTC X Hatta Dolmat which was launched yesterday.

With the creative and sustainable practice of recycling plastic, it aims to educate the public about a green lifestyle.

Hatta said the concept of the design was inspired by wildlife and forest greenery.

“It is to represent the longing for natural greenery. This collaboration marks the start of a government agency working together with the fashion and textile industry.

“I am sure the industry players are willing to contribute to sustainable practices, ” he added.

MGTC chief executive officer Shamsul Bahar Mohd Nor said in his speech that living a green lifestyle was crucial for climate change mitigation.

“Upcycling fashion is a great way to save the environment, ” he said.

Source : TheStar