Pharrell Williams unveils plans for environmentally-friendly denim collection
Hip-hop star Pharrell Williams is helping to clean up the world's oceans by turning plastic waste material collected from the water into denim jeans.
The Happy hitmaker and entrepreneur has teamed up with officials at eco-thread firm Bionic Yarn to create an environmentally-friendly collection for G-Star Raw, titled Raw for the Oceans, which will launch in August (14).
G-Star Raw designers have also pledged to eventually incorporate
Bionic Yarn materials into all of their existing products to make
use of the plastic that is polluting oceans around the globe.
Williams tells WWD.com, "Working with G-Star was an obvious choice,
because they have a legacy of pushing the boundaries of fashion and
denim forward. Bionic Yarn is a company built around performance,
and denim is the perfect category to show the world what Bionic
Yarn can do. Everyone has jeans in their closet...
"We (Bionic Yarn and G-Star Raw) are trying to infiltrate the
entire spectrum of fashion, high-end and low. It's a part of
sustainability and the cause is to never throw anything (plastics
and trash) into the ocean again. The ocean is just one part of the
earth we're concentrating on, but the world is made up of 75 to 80
per cent water. It's a huge place to start."
Williams is no stranger to the fashion world - he also co-founded
the Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream street wear brands.