Suddenly sea waste has become valuable as apparel companies are using it to create new products. Adidas for example, is selling shoes made mostly of plastic collected off the coast of the Maldives. A swimsuit line from Volcom is largely made from recycled nylon materials, including abandoned fishing nets.

Sportswear companies are putting ocean trash back to work – recovering, recycling, and repurposing materials for use in shoes, jerseys, and swimsuits. The ultimate ambition is to eliminate virgin plastic from their supply chain. Water bottles, grocery bags, and nylon fishing nets persist far longer than we can use them, and when they’re not properly recycled, they can end up killing marine life.

About 12 million tons of plastic trash end up in the world’s oceans every year. The up cycling-plastic practice is about taking action and implementing strategies that can end the cycle of plastic pollution for good. So the fact that Volcom’s swimsuits are made with recovered fishing nets creates a natural connection to surf culture, which fully understands the value of keeping the ocean clean.

Some 6,40,000 tons of fishing gear are lost or abandoned each year, leading to the deaths of an untold number of fish, sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, and other wildlife. One apparel company is recycling ten million pounds of fishing nets annually, mainly to make yarn for carpets.