This article has been published in partnership with #DifferenceMakers.
With the effects of climate change being felt all over the world, more of us are adapting our lifestyles to help save the environment - one small change at a time.
Due to the urgency of the climate crisis, it’s clear that the fashion industry is going to have to evolve to keep up with the times.
According to a recent report from researchers at the University of Princeton, fast fashion is currently responsible for more annual carbon emissions than all global international flights and maritime shipping combined.
The same report found that 35% of all microplastics, which have a devastating effect on marine ecosystems, stem from synthetic fibres found in clothes.
Because of this, tailors and stylists are rejecting fossil fuel-derived materials, and are now seeking greener textiles and sustainable fabrics instead.
To that end, Rhode Island Design School graduate Charlotte McCurdy has pioneered a new type of carbon-negative clothing made from a very unlikely source.
Her solution? Use underwater algae to make stylish and waterproof clothes instead.
McCurdy’s unique raincoat is made from bioplastics derived from a substance leftover from heating the abundant plantlike organisms. This pseudoplastic byproduct is then cooled, making it easier to craft with.
The sewing pattern is then cut into the plastic while it remains in its mould, before being painstakingly assembled into the finished product.
But there’s another advantage to Charlotte’s ingenuity. Algae isn’t just a carbon-neutral resource. It’s actually carbon-negative: meaning that it absorbs chemical toxins from water and the air, which can help to reduce emissions even further.
Commenting on her invention in a 2019 interview with Dezeen magazine, Charlotte stated: “The jacket is carbon-negative because it is made of marine macro-algae that expands our ability to meet our needs with 'present-tense sunlight.’
“This algae plastic is made of carbon that has been drawn from the carbon reservoir of the atmosphere and put into the stock of carbon of our built environment.”
The coat’s fastenings are also fossil-carbon-free, derived from metal snaps and viscose threads made from plant cellulose.
Charlotte has also ensured that her manufacturing process is clean and safe, and her studio runs entirely on renewable electricity.
In an interview with Inverse, the designer commented on why people need to abandon the “doomed” narrative surrounding climate change, and instead take action. She said: “The future will not be the past. It is going to be different.
“Climate change is making sure of that. So it is a question of, ‘How do we embrace change and do the best we can with it?’”
Fortunately, Charlotte is not the only person working to make our world a better place.
Difference Makers is sharing powerful stories of ways in which engineering and technology are saving our planet one step at a time
If you’re someone who is passionate about bettering our environment and would like to discover more of the groundbreaking ideas and technology being used to do so, find out more about Difference Makers here.
Alternatively, you can follow Difference Makers on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter.
For her next project, Charlotte plans on creating a narrative non-fiction book about materials and climate change in order to inform consumers about alternative energy and textiles.
You can follow her journey over on her Instagram page, here.