From cigarette butt to fashion statement
(Credit:
Cool Hunting)
That hat you see to the right is smokin'. No, it literally is. Chilean fashion designer Alexandra Guerrero made it from recycled cigarette butts.
Through her new company, Mantis, Guerrero combines purified smokes with natural wool to form a raw, textured material that can be woven into garments with a surprisingly appealing modern macrame flair.
Of course, as cute as the finished products may be, it's hard to imagine nonsmokers wearing Guerrero's creations without experiencing a significant ick factor. Still, you have to applaud the designer's creative contribution to the everyday-objects-from-recycled goods oeuvre.
"This project began as an idea for my thesis," she told the blog Cool Hunting. "We always wanted to do sustainable design but we didn't want to do something that was already seen, so we started thinking of a waste that was unnoticed and then we thought of cigarette butts."
The clothes can be purchased via e-mail from the Mantis Web site and range in price from $50 for a hat to $125 for a sweater. Hey, you'd probably pay more for a sweater at Bloomingdales or BCBG. And you wouldn't be helping to clean up the streets.
(Credit:
Cool Hunting)
Leslie Katz, senior editor of CNET's Crave, covers gadgets, games, and most other digital distractions. As a co-host of the CNET News Daily Podcast, she sometimes tries to channel Terry Gross. E-mail Leslie. 
- by Stewrx January 13, 2009 6:55 AM PST
- This is stupid and disgusting! Why waste space on something like this?
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