Braskem has joined forces once again with the designer label PatBO to take to edition N48 of São Paulo Fashion Week , Brazil's leading fashion event, an innovative form of consumption: sustainable apparel with recycled plastic content. The company brought together textile makers, students and opinion makers in the fashion world in a challenge that transformed post-consumer waste, namely disposal cups, into beachwear. 

The main goal was to drive the Circular Economy , a concept in which products that have reached the end of their useful lives became raw materials in a new economic cycle. In this case, the recycled material was used to make a polypropylene (PP) microfiber spun into PP yarns to make a lighter, more flexible and more durable fabric that also is more resistant to color fading and pilling. 

The fabric and PP yarns were made with the help of Profil , a Braskem client, and EcoSimple , both companies in the textile industry. The pieces were created by pairs of students in the Fashion programs of the universities Anhembi Morumbi, Belas Artes, FAAP, IED, Santa Marcelina and SENAC. The students participated in the second edition of the Braskem Fashion Challenge , an initiative that works to showcase plastics as a versatile, adaptable and sustainable alternative in fashion design, while offering students an opportunity to apply in the real world what they have learned in the classroom. 

Circular Economy
Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in the Americas and the world's leading biopolymer producer, has defined a series of global initiatives to drive the circular economy in the plastics chain, which include actions to foster investments in a system for the collection, picking, recycling and recovery of materials. "The industry is undergoing a process of reinventing itself and it's important that each sector of the economy assume its share of responsibility in this exercise of constantly pursuing more sustainable solutions that minimize their environmental impacts,' said Fabiana Quiroga, Circular Economy Director at Braskem for South America. 

 "The unique advantage of the Fashion Challenge is that it brings together students, designers and yarn and textile companies, the ones that actually make the fabrics, to achieve incredible and sustainable results. Initiatives such as this help show in practice the importance of raising public awareness on the proper disposal of post-consumer waste. Through such attitudes, products can be reintroduced into the cycle in innovative ways and contribute to the planet's sustainability," added Ana Laura Sivieri, Marketing & Communications Director at Braskem.

Braskem on social media
To help promote this sustainable trend in the fashion industry and publicize the message, Braskem also launched a social media campaign with a series of videos and content to explain the process of making the polypropylene yarn from recycled materials and provoke discussion on the Circular Economy. 

The company invited opinion makers Caio Braz, Isabella Fiorentino, Lilian Pacce and Mona Soares, all whom work with fashion and topics like sustainability, conscientious consumerism and the Circular Economy, to accompany the students throughout all steps of the process of designing pieces in the workshop of designer Patricia Bonaldi in the Fashion Challenge.

The students created six looks for the designer's new collection, with three pieces made exclusively from the polypropylene yarn made from recycled materials, and three pieces that used both the recycled-content PP yarn and the fabric made from the yarn. "Participating in a joint project with fashion students was very rewarding. Being able to share some of my knowledge and to exchange information with this new generation is always an enriching experience. I also learned more about the use of plastic waste in fashion and was very happy with the result we took to the catwalks in my show at SPFW," said designer Patricia Bonaldi.

The three looks selected by Patricia Bonaldi will be on the catwalks at SPFW on Wednesday, October 16. The other looks will be displayed at Braskem's booth at the event. Edition N48 of São Paulo Fashion Week will be held on October 13-18 at Pavilhão das Culturas Brasileiras, located in Ibirapuera Park, in São Paulo.

About PatBo
The Brazilian label created by designer Patricia Bonaldi is famous for its level of attention to each piece and manual labor. Created in 2012, this more casual and fashionista label showcases the designer's creativity in looks that range from beachwear to ready-to-wear. The label is currently available in 100 stores in Brazil and 50 stores internationally.