Each year, over 11 million metric tonnes of plastic waste enter our oceans. While most conversations around pollution point fingers at bottles, bags, or single-use straws, we often overlook one of the biggest culprits: our clothes.
This year’s World Environment Day calls us to End Plastic Pollution. But what if part of the problem is in our wardrobes?
To explore this, we created Shoreline Revival—a fashion editorial that examines the relationship between what we wear and what we discard. Shot on a quiet weekday morning at Punggol Beach in Singapore, the series features four looks by designer and circular fashion advocate Raye Padit, founder of The Fashion Pulpit, Circular Fashion Hub and Peyar Rework, crafted entirely from upcycled textile waste.
The Plastic We Don’t See
Contemporary fashion is threaded with plastic. Over 60% of textiles today are made from synthetic fibres, created through chemical processes using raw materials like petroleum or coal. You’ll likely recognise names like polyester, nylon, and acrylic in your wardrobe. Each time we wash these garments, they shed microplastics—tiny fibres that flow into waterways, infiltrate marine ecosystems, and eventually make their way back to us through the food we eat and the water we drink.
But synthetic waste isn’t just invisible. It’s showing up tangled on coastlines and buried in sand—like the debris choking the beaches of Accra, Ghana, as documented by The Or Foundation. Fashion’s footprint is no longer just a metaphor—it’s literal.
A Mermaid Among the Wreckage
In Shoreline Revival, model Tessa Burton moves dreamily around the coastline. Emerging from the waves, resting on sun-bleached rocks, weaving through litter and washed-up debris, she wears garments made from what we discard.
Each outfit, hand-constructed from remnants and rejects, tells a different story. One cropped top crawls with ghostly strips of translucent plastic, drifting as she walks with the tide. Another ensemble is raw and shredded—mirroring the problem we’re trying to mend, crafted from garments we no longer want. One dress features layered ruffles of synthetic fabrics, crowned with sequins—those tiny, shiny pieces that take hundreds of years to decompose. Another is stitched together from hundreds of fabric offcuts, a chaotic patchwork made beautiful again.
Makeup artist Kristina Nabatnikova created a luminous, iridescent look on Tessa that grew more dramatic throughout the shoot—a rainbow of colours reminiscent of an oil slick shimmering on water.
We chose to deliberately leave some of the plastic and debris in the imagery. As much as fashion photography is about creating beauty, it should also reflect reality. We didn’t want the imagery to hide the problem.
Raye Padit: Designing with Responsibility
Singapore-based creative entrepreneur Raye Padit’s work is an act of resistance. Through The Fashion Pulpit, he launched Singapore’s first clothes-swapping retail concept. Through his upcycling label, Peyar Rework, he pushes the boundaries of what waste can become. By reclaiming synthetic scraps and discarded garments, Raye challenges a system that too easily throws things away—and, in doing so, reimagines what it means to create.
These aren’t just outfits. They’re statements and reminders.
The Tide Is Turning. Are We?
If we’re serious about ending plastic pollution, we need to start with what’s closest to our skin: our clothes. Just like the single-use plastics littering our streets and shorelines, the fibres we wear are part of the problem.
Fashion isn’t only about identity or expression. It’s about materials—where they come from, where they go, and who they affect along the way.
While the industry must urgently reduce its reliance on synthetic fabrics, there are steps within our control:
Buy less
Millions of tonnes of clothing end up as textile waste each year. Often, we shop not out of need, but to fill a feeling—boredom, rejection, uncertainty. Before you add to cart, pause and check in with your intention. What are you really trying to satisfy?
Choose well
While some categories like swim and activewear still require synthetics, most everyday garments don’t. Natural fibres like cotton and linen don’t shed microplastics—and they breathe better too. Your skin will thank you.
Support upcycled and circular design
More brands than ever are creating beautiful pieces from textile waste, surplus stock, and unwanted materials. Seek them out.
Read your labels
Awareness is everything. After you feel a fabric, read its composition. It not only builds your understanding of materials but empowers more conscious choices. Some natural blends may feel soft and organic, but be mostly synthetic—so it pays to look twice.
Shoreline Revival is our call to reimagine fashion’s current—to see both the damage and the potential it holds. This editorial is a reflection of harm, but also of hope. Because with enough imagination, creativity, and care, waste can become something extraordinary.
CREDITS:
Creative direction & photography: Susannah Jaffer
Model: Tessa Burton
Hair & Makeup: Kristina Nabatnikova
Design: Raye Padit — The Fashion Pulpit / Peyar Rework
