Scrap car parts used in sustainable clothing range

Garments have been designed using recycled airbags, seatbelts and car glass

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A clothing range has been designed from discarded car parts, including seatbelts and airbags, to raise awareness about the mass of automotive materials that go to landfill.

Several high-end fashion designers have teamed up with Hyundai to upcycle discarded materials from the automotive manufacturing and scrapping process. 

The sustainable garments include jumpsuits made from upcycled denim and leather scraps, a corset made of recycled airbag fabric and a vest created from discarded seatbelt webbings and airbag materials.

The collection also includes a range of accessories such as necklaces, chokers and bracelets created using repurposed seatbelts, car glass and foam materials, as well as gold, silver, bronze and freshwater pearls.

They’ve been made as part of Re:Style 2020 — an initiative highlighting that although most car materials, such as iron and nonferrous metals, are recycled as part of the vehicle scrapping process, there are still some materials such as leather, glass and airbags that end up in landfill.

The fashion collection has been created with renowned trendy fashion brands Alighieri, E.L.V. DENIM, Public School, pushBUTTON, Richard Quinn and Rosie Assoulin.

The unusual products will be sold exclusively at London’s Selfridges pop-up store and the Selfridges online store.

Wonhong Cho, executive vice president of Hyundai Motor Company, said: “By demonstrating that discarded resources can be reimagined into valuable products, Hyundai Motor encourages more industries to see waste as a recreative opportunity and to work collaboratively toward an environmentally accountable and economically efficient future.”

Sales from the event will raise funds for the British Fashion Council’s Institute of Positive Fashion, which supports global designers and the fashion industry to become more sustainable.

SWNS