Gowns made from plastic waste, newspapers and rice sacks - Philippine dress maker is in demand for birthdays, weddings and beauty pageants
- A dress maker in the Philippines turns waste materials into birthday, wedding and pageant gowns, using everything from newspapers to plastic wrap to rice sacks
- ‘It’s important to recycle or utilise used materials so we can help our Earth,’ says one client of Nora Buenviaje, who’s been reusing waste for seven years
Nora Buenviaje has been making dresses out of waste materials for the past seven years. She says wearing clothes made from such items as recycled newspapers, plastic wrapping and rice sacks can be both economical and fashionable.
“The bubble wraps from delivery packages are nice looking and make for a good design, especially the black and white wraps,” she says. White wraps were good for making fairy or wedding gowns, she said.
The dresses sell for between US$30 to US$50 and are used for everything from debuts – a coming-of-age party for a woman’s 18th birthday – to weddings.
In Asia, there is plenty of waste material for Buenviaje to work with.
“It’s important to recycle or utilise used materials so we can help our Earth,” says Buenviaje client Lalaine Alcalde.
The recycled material used for each dress depends on what her clients are looking for, says Buenviaje, who lives in Cainta, about 15km (10 miles) east of Manila.
Her gowns are sometimes used in beauty contests and pageants, she also says. “I get delighted whenever they win, the designs are simple but they still win.”
Buenviaje hopes in-person fashion shows and competitions that were halted during the pandemic will soon resume.
She also aims to organise fashion events herself to showcase and inspire others to create clothing out of recycled materials.
