Sri Lankan tropical wear brand Pigeon Island, based on marine conservation and plastic recycling, celebrated two years of sustainable innovation in the fashion design industry.
Pigeon Island roots its design philosophy on two environmental pillars – the first being marine conservation and empowerment and secondly, creating fashion products from plastic waste. The brand, inspired by its namesake marine national park in the northeast of Sri Lanka, has given itself the mandate to build awareness and educate society on co-existing, conserving, and preserving marine ecosystems and sea life.
The plastic-to-fabric programme of the Pigeon Island brand is one of the most quantifiable plastic recycling programmes, where it is possible to measure the exact amount of waste converted to create the product. Seven plastic bottles are recycled to make a pair of Pigeon Island shorts and 10 plastic bottles are recycled to make a polo t-shirt.
For every piece sold from the brand’s collections – a line of marine-inspired swimsuits and tropical wear depicting sharks, turtles, and other sea creatures – a portion of the profits will be donated towards efforts to end plastic pollution and protect the seas around the brand’s namesake, Pigeon Island National Park in Nilaveli.
“Pigeon Island is a brand that stands for conservation and each piece in our collection is creatively designed to not only increase awareness about the importance of marine preservation but also to encourage people to act towards saving endangered species,” said Pigeon Island Tropical Wear Founder Ajai Vir Singh.