Cigarette butts that become elegant clothes

DRESSED WITH CIGARETTE BUTTs

Every day, every minute, every second, millions and millions of them end up on the ground, on the streets and on the sidewalks but even on the beaches: they are the deadly cigarette butts.

MANTIS CLOTHING

Good manners and a minimum of civic sense aside, there is another way to avoid the widespread waste of cigarette butts: recycling. And transforming cigarette butts into other things, even into clothing, as the young Chilean designer Alexandra Guerrero did. It happens that One of the most widespread wastes in the world is incredibly transformed into a unique piece of clothing.Alexandra's project began as a graduate thesis, then evolved into an idea to protect the environment. While searching for an idea for her thesis, Alexandra noticed the remarkable presence of cigarette butts on the sidewalks of her city, Santiago de Chile. The fashion designer discovered that the cigarette butts, sterilized and sanitized, could be transformed into fibers. The filters are then first purified, washed in a solvent, sterilized again, and dried. After the sanitization process, the cigarette butts are dyed and spun with sheep's wool. Each piece designed by Guerrero, under the Mantis brand, contains 10 percent purified cigarette butts and 90 percent sheep's wool.

Image source: Mantis 

ALSO READ: Beaches polluted by cigarette butts: are you ready to stop throwing cigarette butts in the sand?

THE COLLECTION THAT RECYCLES CIGARETTE BUTTS

Alexandra's collection, as you can see in the images in the gallery, is very varied and includes several garments and accessories with a vintage style that is very reminiscent of the knitting works of ours grandmothers. Each head requires about a thousand cigarette butts and is entirely handmade. And that's not all: in full non-wasteful philosophy, the liquid resulting from the sterilization process of the cigarette butts is donated to a laboratory that carries out research on insecticides. In short, the work carried out by MantisGuerrero's design company seems to have all the credentials to expand. Once again, recycling is confirmed as an important element for sustainable living.

GOOD PRACTICES AGAINST CIGARETTE BUTTS DISMISSAL

• Gianni: the Sicilian retiree who collects cigarette butts on Palermo's beaches. And pays one euro per butt.
• Beaches polluted by cigarette butts: are you ready to stop throwing cigarette butts in the sand?
• Cigarette butts on the ground: fines start tomorrow. And they'll be hefty.
• Gianni: the Sicilian retiree who collects cigarette butts on Palermo's beaches. And pays one euro per butt.