Renowned New York fashion designer Italio Fabrini has found a creative new use for so-called flushable wipes that are creating a huge clogging and disposal problem for septic system cleaners nationwide. Fabrini made a big splash at a recent Fashion Week press conference by announcing recycled wipes will be repurposed in a new collection of environmentally friendly wedding attire called Something Borrowed.
“It’s a play on the old adage that a bride should wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue,” Fabrini explains. “The wipes could be considered to cover two of those four bases, as something old and something borrowed.
“And at the same time, brides can take pride that they’re doing their part for the environment on their big day,” Fabrini continues. To ensure that wedding guests are aware of their commitment to being earth-friendly, each dress will come with a stunning faux emerald brooch in the shape of the triangular triple-arrow recycling symbol that can be worn as an accent pin or pendant.
Dresses in a variety of styles and lengths — as well as flowing trains — will be made strictly with 100 percent post-consumer fiber wipes material carefully sourced from wastewater-related industries, including septic pumpers. Contractors from throughout the U.S. will collect wipes from septic tanks in 250-gallon shipping totes. The wipes will then be cleaned, sanitized and whitened using a proprietary process and then converted into bolts of fabric. No virgin cotton will have to be sourced for the eco-friendly gowns, Fabrini says.
A spokesman for the National Association of Wastewater Technicians hailed the recycling effort as “one of the best ideas we’ve seen yet to deal with a pesky issue confronting pumpers.”
“Every time a contractor has to open a tank and retrieve a big wad from a clogged inlet pipe, he will now be happy knowing that a beautiful bride will one day be walking down the aisle on her wedding day wearing those wipes,” says Bill Williams, NAWT officer.
NAWT already has plans in the works to recognize members who choose to participate in the green effort. Each time a pumper ships a container of soiled wipes, he or she will receive a handsome die-cut sticker in the shape of a wedding dress that can be displayed on the vacuum tank of their truck, letting customers know they support the planet.
