Have you ever seen a dress or shirt covered in sparkly little dots? Those glittering dots are known as sequins. These are colourful and attractive, and people have enjoyed using them for decades to beautify clothes and accessory items in a unique way. But here’s something you may not know: The majority of sequins are made of plastic. This plastic can take more than 100 years to decompose in nature! They can remain in our environment for a very long time, and that is not good for our planet and the animals that live upon it.”
The wonderful thing about biodegradable fabric is that it’s just as shiny and pretty as traditional sequins. You won’t even notice a change! The difference between biodegradable sequins and regular sequins is that biodegradable sequins are made of a special material which is entirely eco-friendly. When we no longer need them, they disintegrate into natural ingredients that won't harm animals or plants. Isn’t that great? Yes, we can look fabulous AND be good to Mother Earth!
So why are biodegradable sequins so special? The details of how cellulose is produced from log trees is proprietary. Since the cellulose is derived from plants, it's something we can continuously grow. This is in sharp contrast to plastic, which derives from finite fossil fuels. Carefully harvesting our planet and using things like cellulose.
Finally, the thing that makes biodegradable sequins so great is that they don’t require all kinds of nasty chemicals to create them. Traditional sequins are manufactured by coating plastic sheets with metallic coatings. It can be detrimental to the environment and the living organisms. Biodegradable sequins, however, are crafted by heating up cellulose, then pressing it into tiny glimmering discs. This process is a lot less messy and better for our planet. It allows us to keep our air and water clean and produce beautiful products!
Sustainable sequins: One particularly famous designer, Stella McCartney, used biodegradable clothing for a spectacular gown she designed for the 2019 Met Gala. The Met Gala is a huge opportunity for celebs to rock their most fashionable looks, and hers was a showstopper! It showed that ecologically sustainable fashion can be just as beautiful and extravagant as anything else.
Sequins made from biodegradable fabric are not used solely by designer brands — the fantastic news. Bornature is striving to bring access to this eco-friendly material to everyone. They already developed a gorgeous line of biodegradable sequin patches. You'll be able to apply these patches to revive an old piece of clothing or a tired-looking accessory. Here is the best part: They can also be heat pressed on your backpack or jacket for a fun new recycled look!
Biodegradable sequin fabric is not only better for the environment, but for the people that work with it as well. Bornature partners with suppliers that pay fair wages and treat their workers well. It means that whenever you wear clothes or accessories using biodegradable sequins, you know that they’re ethically produced, and that the people who produced them are treated well.