Ecoalf, the Spanish company is turning waste plastic fished out of the Mediterranean into high-end fashion and has signed up Valenica fishermen to act as scavengers.

At sunrise in the fishing port of Villajoyosa in eastern Spain, a fleet of traditional fishing boats sets out on the Mediterranean to hunt for cuttlefish, prawns -- and plastic bottles.

Since July Spanish fishing boats have been picking up plastic waste in the Mediterranean which will be recycled into...
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Ecoalf, the Spanish company is turning waste plastic fished out of the Mediterranean into high-end fashion and has signed up Valenica fishermen to act as scavengers.

At sunrise in the fishing port of Villajoyosa in eastern Spain, a fleet of traditional fishing boats sets out on the Mediterranean to hunt for cuttlefish, prawns -- and plastic bottles.

Since July Spanish fishing boats have been picking up plastic waste in the Mediterranean which will be recycled into polyester fibres that will be used to make a high-end clothing line.

Founded in 2010, the Madrid-based firm has already launched "a new generation" of clothes and accessories made from plastic bottles, old fishing nets and used tyres found on land.

The company, which employs 18 people already sells its jackets and backpacks made from recycled waste in upscale shops such as Harrods in London and Bloomingdale in New York.

Now Ecoalf says it will be the first company to make clothes from recycled plastic waste found at sea and it has signed on 200 fishing boats in the eastern region of Valencia to act as scavengers. © Pedro ARMESTRE
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