From fishnets to sunglasses: greening fishing & fashion

What do old fishnets have to do with sustainable sunglasses? 

Currently, both the fishing and fashion industries are unfortunately dependent on plastic. 
Thankfully, some great innovators across Europe are there to ReSet the Trend.

Indeed, the lifecycle of a fishing net is about a year. After this, it is too worn out and beyond repair. In France, for instance, 800 tonnes of fishing nets and 400 tonnes of trawls are used each year, for which there is no recycling channel. Across France, used fishing nets are typically sent to landfill, incinerated, or shipped abroad for recycling.

The inventive company Fil & Fab takes a different approach. Instead of incinerating or burying nets, Fil & Fab turns them into a new nylon powder material, Nylo®. It can then be turned into plastics sheets, which are then used to create a series of new plastic products. 

Fil & Fab partners up with several brands to use this upcycled material in their production process, like fashion watches and glass frames.

Moreover, the enterprise created an ecosystem of local and social actors, to set up a responsible collection system for gillnets from six harbours in Brittany.

Overall, a great alternative, allowing for more sustainable fishing – and fashion – industries!

Fil & Fab is an European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) supported project, and winner of the “Best Project Strengthening the Local Economy” at the Citizen-led local development (CLLD) Conference. 

When our desire to produce objects made from used fishing nets came up against the real problems of collecting this resource, we chose to respond by creating the first fishing net recycling sector in France. Our goal is to offer a Breton (regional) product that is based on a local plastic resource while promoting forgotten waste.