By international standards, Switzerland can be proud of a high PET recycling quota of more than 80%. The trade organization PET Recycling Switzerland wants more and, with this in mind, engaged top Swiss photographers. The project “PET is fashion” attracted much attention way beyond the country’s borders.Next to major efforts in saving raw materials with novel concepts such as the Cappello design and thin-wall technology, the reuse of PET enjoys highest priority in the agendas of many companies and organizations. The trade association PET Recycling Switzerland was founded in 1990 and devotes itself to the collection of used PET beverage bottles. It has meanwhile established a disposal network covering the whole of Switzerland.
PET Recycling Switzerland increased the recycling rate of PET to 81% within the last 20 years. A good result also by international standards and placing Switzerland ahead of countries where a deposit is charged per bottle. This success is due to an optimal cooperation between beverage industry, retail trade and end users.
PET Recycling Switzerland won some of the best Swiss fashion photographers for an idea: Sven Bänziger, Hans Feurer, Anoush & Aimée, Diana Scheunemann and Walter Pfeiffer, to name but a few. They drew attention to the PET bottle within the framework of project “PET is fashion”. PET Recycling Switzerland worded the task very openly in order not to restrict the creativity.
The only condition was that the PET bottle was placed in the focus like in a fashion shooting – either to play the leading role or as a natural part of the photo scenery. This resulted in the most varied pictures reflecting the entirely personal style of each photographer, from the delicate body of a women to the Swiss mountain landscape. The only common denominator is the PET bottle.
The pictures are to make it clear that PET is by now firmly established also in the fashion scene. Although the collected and recycled PET bottles serve primarily to make new bottles, their material is increasingly used also for the production of new high-tech polyester fabrics, for example for cocktail dresses or snowboard jackets. The clothing industry thus sets an example for the protection of the environment. In Switzerland alone, 139,000 tons of greenhouse gases (mostly CO2) and 36 million litres of crude oil were saved last year thanks to PET recycling.
