From trashcan to catwalk, artist turns plastic into jewelry

Record ID: 1395175

  • Title: From trashcan to catwalk, artist turns plastic into jewelry
  • Date: 13th February 2019
  • Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (RECENT - JANUARY 30, 2019) (REUTERS) SETS OF EARRINGS MADE OF RECYCLED PLASTIC BY UKRAINIAN ARTIST MARIYA SOROKINA ON DISPLAY SOROKINA PLACING JEWELRY ON TABLE VARIOUS OF BROOCHES AND EARRINGS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN ARTIST, MARIYA SOROKINA, SAYING: "I realised that one family of two people generates a lot of solid domestic waste - plast
  • Embargoed: 27th February 2019 10:50
  • Keywords: plastic jewelry sustainable fashion garbage Mariya Sorokina upcycling recycling artist plastic waste Ukrainian designer waste sorting
  • Location: KIEV, UKRAINE
  • City: KIEV, UKRAINE
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Fashion
  • Reuters ID: LVA001A1F11EH
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Carrying a bag full of domestic waste, artist Mariya Sorokina goes to a recycling centre on the outskirts of Kiev every weekend to dispose of her waste responsibly.
    Unlike most other environmentally-conscious recyclers, she returns home with 'treasure' or recyclable plastic that she will turn into glamorous accessories.
    Transforming waste into more valuable products or pieces of art is known as 'upcycling' - creatively re-using waste into something useful or beautiful.
    Driven by a passion for sustainable fashion and a desire to keep Ukraine's environment clean, 27-year-old Sorokina founded her Re-beau brand in April 2018, selling brooches and earrings made of plastic.
    She said her project was born from a concept summed up in one phrase - 'trash is treasure' - and that she wants waste to be considered a resource rather than a nuisance.
    Just a few months later her project appeared at Ukrainian Fashion Week, collaborating with designer Roussin for their 2019 spring-summer collection devoted to responsible consumption.
    Sorokina mainly hunts for containers from creams, shampoo and shower gels as after being melted with the help of handmade press they provide a bright, colourful material for her designs.
    She often searches for plastic of particular colours to match commissions by her clients. As well as the recycling centre, a chain of beauty salons has begun supplying her with their empty bottles and containers.
    Sorokina also spreads the word about upcycling through workshops where she teaches people techniques and designs for transforming waste into accessories.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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