• by Larissa Faw , June 19, 2014

Pharrell Williams now has two Lions to add to his trophy collection. In addition to the Grand Prix in Cyber for his "24 Hours of Happy" campaign, the entertainer received the Grand Prix in Product Design for co-creating jeans made from ocean plastic.

The Product Design award recognizes physical products that aid the communication of a brand ethos as well as their use to positively impact and improve people’s lives.

And transforming plastic bottles into denim jeans impressed the judges. Around 100 million tons of plastic is produced each year, and about 10% ends up in the oceans. To put some of that discarded plastic to good use, clothing brand G-Star teamed with Williams and his company Bionic Yarn, which uses recycled plastic bottles to make yarn and fabric, to introduce the RAW for the Oceans collection.

This line of denim was designed to serve two benefits: help rid the ocean of garbage and enable people to express their concerns about ocean pollution by wearing it. 

The denim collection was developed with the belief that the problem of using the oceans as a dumping for waste can only be solved if it becomes interesting for people to engage with the issue. At the same time, the apparel needed to be fashion-forward and comfortable. 

The first collection contained 33% percent of reclaimed plastic, and each additional collection will increase this percentage of plastic reclaimed from the sea.

Amsterdam-based FHV BBDO and Part of a Bigger Plan were also honored for their roles in devising a campaign to promote RAW for the Oceans collection.

More information about the campaign is available here.