Trash or treasure? Material designer creates fashion products from packaging waste

13 Apr 2023 --- Stella Lee, artist and material designer, has taken to social media to showcase her whimsical shoe designs where instead of using typical leather and rubber materials, she employs leftover packaging from fashion merchandise. 

What began as a spout of quarantine boredom spun out into hundreds of thousands of people watching a video of Lee turning a Gucci box and Chanel packaging into a ballerina-style sneaker. 

Lee speaks to PackagingInsights about her mission to challenge viewers’ perception of their consumption habits. While she acknowledges the functional and storytelling roles fashion packaging plays in consumers’ experience, she also acknowledges that the impact on the global environmental crisis negates the performative purpose. 

What inspired you to use packaging to make shoes?
Lee: Creating the shoes began as a COVID-19 project. I initially used materials available in my apartment – egg cartons, beer boxes and avocado nets – to experiment with their visual compatibility. Soon, delivery packaging became a part of my creative process, as online shopping and grocery delivery services during lockdown led to an accumulation of packaging that I could repurpose. Additionally, I tapped into my collection of hoarded packaging and hang tags, as I have always valued packaging for the experience it adds to a purchase or gift beyond the product itself.

A version of Lee’s shoe from the Gucci box went viral on the popular app TikTok.Is fashion packaging wasteful or necessary?
Lee: Fashion packaging encompasses both wastefulness and necessity. Packaging serves as a tangible representation of a brand’s identity and story, elevating the product’s perceived value through luxurious materials, meticulous attention to detail, and unique designs. However, it is essential to recognize that this dreamscape created by fashion brands through branding and packaging often comes at a cost, such as excessive use of materials, production of single-use packaging and promoting a culture of overconsumption.

Initially, my project was a material exploration, but as I created more shoes, I was confronted by my complicity in the consumer-driven fashion world. It forced me to engage in an honest dialogue about my motivations for purchasing, the emotional allure of shopping and my awareness of the environmental impact. 

While I acknowledge that brands may not need excessive packaging, I also recognize my participation in this cycle as a consumer. Reflecting on why I hoarded hang tags and packaging revealed my desire to purchase my way into a sense of value, status, security and escape. 

This introspection led me back to the question: is it necessary for brands to use oversized boxes, excessive bubble wrap and paper fillers to sell their brand in light of our planet’s current state? I believe not. The environmental cost of extravagant packaging outweighs any perceived benefits, considering the urgency of our ecological challenges.

What solutions could fashion packagers implement to improve environmental sustainability? Shoes made by Lee from leftover Tiffany and Co. packaging.
Lee: To truly make fashion packaging more sustainable requires a holistic approach that goes beyond superficial changes. While altering product packaging is a step, it is not enough. The entire fashion industry, including all stakeholders, must come together as a team to address the root causes of overconsumption and the unsustainable business model based on selling dreams, escapism and status. 

This may entail eliminating shopping bags, digitizing information typically printed on hang tags or transitioning to biodegradable packaging materials. However, these implementations are just the fruit of deeper systemic changes needed at the fashion industry’s core. 

Authentic sustainability in fashion can only be achieved when brands take a stakeholder-centric stance and embrace innovative solutions that prioritize the health of our planet over short-term goals. As for consumers, it’s important to be mindful of fashion brands’ marketing strategies and question the value and impact of their packaging.

What other items do you make from packaging waste? 
Lee: As a material and textile designer, my fascination lies in the exploration and manipulation of different materials. Footwear, with its complex combination of materials and intricate engineering, provides a canvas for me to experiment with textures, colors, patterns and structures in a way that few other design disciplines do. The challenge of working with a limited surface area while maintaining functionality and aesthetic appeal is what truly excites me.

Lee’s “microgreen shoe” is an expansion of her packaging shoe series to show the intersection of fashion, packaging and the environment. Through my experiences, including my internship at Nike and workshop with Helen Kirkum, I have come to view shoes not as mere products but as vehicles for material transformations. They are a medium through which I can repurpose discarded items and reimagine the possibilities of design. My “microgreen shoe” series is an extension of the packaging series. While there have been remarkable advances in developing novel biomaterials, a significant gap between consumers and companies needs to be bridged. Through more of these projects, I would love to open up discussions about the intersection of fashion, materials, and the environment.

What message are you hoping to spread through your upcycled packaging methods?
Lee: As an ordinary citizen, I grapple with the complex and broken relationship between fashion and the planet. Although I do not identify as an activist, I am deeply committed to making sense of the urgent environmental challenges we face and inspiring change through my work. While making one more shoe may not single-handedly change the planet, I invite viewers to reflect on their place within this tension and join me in confronting the uncomfortable realities we must face. 

By Sabine Waldeck