'Green Dress' Dissolves When Washed

By Staff

Wednesday, December 31, 2008, 12:26

Grab the latest eco-friendly invention, a dress that dissolves when washed. It has hit the fashion world by storm and is a result of "Wonderland" project, a unique collaboration between a pioneering British designer and scientists at the country's leading universities.

The 'green dress' hopes to be a solution for the "Primark effect", the ever-rising quantities of discarded clothing being sent to landfill sites, as reported by the Independent.

Helen Storey, a designer and professor at the London College of Fashion, teamed up with Professor Tony Ryan from the University of Sheffield and Interface, a research center at the University of Ulster, for the unique creation.

The team has constructed plastic dresses made out of a similar material to washing capsules, that disappear on contact with water, with the aim of drawing attention to the problem of waste plastic. "It is about getting different disciplines together to solve a global problem," Professor Storey said.

These plastics are made from biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol. The chemists have varied the movement of plastics when it comes in contact with water, thus dissolving while making interesting patterns. AGENCIES