A stylish way to help save the planet

IF you see yourself as a bit of a fashionista and want to help to reduce agricultural waste, why not check out the Vogue Gone Rogue competition?

Sponsored by the Grampians Central West Waste and Resource Recovery Group, the aim of the contest is to produce a wearable and fabulous item from grain bags.

Fashion designers can create almost anything from clothing and shoes to bags and accessories, with the chance to share in a prize pool valued at $1500.

Grampians Central West WRRG industry officer Stuart Horner said he wishes for competitors to use the plastics in unconventional ways.

“In an ideal world, the competition would inspire someone to come up with a scaled-up and commercially viable re-use of the plastic, to create a market pull for the material, and for it to end up being considered a resource, rather than a waste,” he said.

Grain bags are seen as an ecological problem because they are single-use and are often disposed of without environmental consequence in mind.

A single 100 metre-long bag can weigh up to 150 kilograms and is considered a cheap alternative to storing cereal crops in a silo.

Mr Horner said the bags can meet an “unsavoury end” whether that comes from burial or ignition.

“As anecdote has it, the solution involves a dark night, a splash of diesel and a match. As well as wasting a resource, this can deposit a plume of toxic smoke across valuable agricultural land,” he said.

The Vogue Gone Rogue competition will run until Friday, 10 July with winners announced on Sunday, 2 August to coincide with the opening of Ballarat Ethical Fashion Week.

For more information, visit ballaratethicalfashion.com.au/voguegonerogue.