Monique Collignon graduated from the Rotterdam fashion academy and mainly designed for third parties like Adidas in the eighties. In 1990, the Dutch designer founded her own label, which has both a haute couture and a ready-to- wear collection. In 2011, the latter became ‘the conscious collection’, a nickname it owes to its eco-friendly fabrics. Let’s take a closer look at the most important of the bunch, namely: Waste2Wear®.

Waste2Wear® is a fabric that’s entirely made from recycled PET bottles. For instance: one Collignon dress takes no less than 30 bottles out of the environment.

Collignon is inspired by the idea that ‘waste is only waste if you don’t do anything with it’. Waste2Wear® is made in Collignon’s own socially and ecologically responsible factory in Shanghai, Vision Textiles, which transforms plastic bottles into polyester yarn. This recycled yarn can either be used on its own or blended with natural yarns to produce a 100% eco-friendly fabric. Each step of the Waste2Wear® process is closely monitored by international organizations like Interlek, OEKO-TEX and BSCI.

Moreover, Collignon is involved in another initiative, Waste2Weave®, for which she teamed up with TARA years ago. TARA is an Indian organization that teaches women how to weave. In return for their work, these women get fair wages and an education. So Collignon’s mission can be summarized as: saving women from poverty and saving nature from plastic.