When Dani Pelly and Tim Wilkins started fashion label Ena Pelly as a"little market stall"selling printed silk pieces,they had no idea that within six years,they would be at the forefront of sustainable fashion innovation.
This season,the husband-and-wife team from Torquay,on Victoria's Surf Coast,are launching a range of faux-fur jackets made from 100 per cent recycled PET bottles,in what is believed to be a first for an Australian brand.
"We've always tried to do our bit,and where there's an option,we choose[to be] more sustainable,"Pelly said.
Each jacket in the range is made from about 60 plastic bottles that are collected,chipped,melted and spun into yarn. Based on stock levels,that could mean hundreds of thousands of bottles redirected from landfill.
It's a significant step for the brand,and the industry more widely,because faux fur,while heralded as the more animal-friendly alternative,has also been criticised for its basis in petrochemicals.
Demand for faux fur has also increased among consumers,while several luxury brands,including Gucci and Prada,havephased out animal fur.
Still,convincing their suppliers to make recycled faux rabbit wasn't an easy task (previously,they had offered only faux fleece,which is used by the likes of outdoor brand Patagonia).
"We pushed pretty hard. The actual fake rabbit hadn't been done by them ... he said no the first five times,"Pelly said."The market wants this,you have to be sustainable."