What do vinyl sheet protectors, yoga mats, and plastic beads have to do with a dress that would turn heads at any gathering? Plenty it seems, thanks to plastics recycling and the artistry of students at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). The NPE2015 show, to be held from March 23-27, 2015, at the Orange County Convention Centre in Orlando, Florida, will highlight products made from recycled, reused, or repurposed plastics.

One such item is the dress (see photo) that models will display in the Pursuing Zero Waste Fashion Show at the opening ceremony of NPE2015. SCAD students designed the garments and accessories in a partnership with the producer of the triennial NPE show, SPI, the US plastics trade association. The fashion show will be sponsored by Green Dot, maker of Terratek bioplastics.

After the fashion show, the SCAD creations will be on display in the Zero Waste Zone, a special sector of the exhibit floor in the South Hall of the OCCC devoted to the plastics industry’s mandate to reduce, reuse, or recycle its materials.

In addition to the garments created from used plastics, the fashion show will also include a design created with 3D printing technology by a SCAD student using bioplastics from Green Dot. It will be one of 13 outfits shown, as well as a number of dazzling accessories also created with reused plastics.

“We found the students at SCAD to be not only talented and creative but also very involved with environmental issues,” said Brad Williams, director of marketing and sales for SPI. “Their designs are vivid demonstrations that recycled plastics can gain new lives in many forms—both as purely utilitarian goods and as objects of beauty. The Pursuing Zero Waste Fashion Show at NPE2015 will add a new dimension to our industry mandate to reduce, reuse, and recycle the valuable materials that make up our products.”