Dress from trash: The simple upcycled outfit made from used plastic bottles that Megan wore.
KOTA KINABALU: A sparkly dress made out of used plastic bottles caught the attention of those who attended an immunodeficiency virus (HIV) awareness talk here recently.
The used plastic bottles were collected from the beach near a resort in the city.
Sabah AIDS Support Services Association (Kasih) committee member Megan Steven wore the dress during the event.
She said it was to highlight that people living with HIV do care about other things apart from their medical condition.
She added the dress was in fact the brainchild of one of her HIV-positive team members who was also keen to adopt a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle.
“This member had earlier noticed the amount of trash, especially plastic bottles at the beach and thought, why not make a dress from these discarded bottles,” she said.
Considering the public awareness it could spark, she said they then decided to proceed with the idea.
Megan said she and two other members went to the beach and collected two gunny sacks of bottles, which were cleaned and cut into the desired shapes for the dress.
The whole process of cleaning and cutting the bottles took about three months, while the designing and tailoring took just around a week, she added.
She added it was their way of showing that people with HIV wished to contribute to society.
“After the dress was completed, I wore it to the HIV awareness programme themed ‘Let Communities Lead’ which I co-organised in conjunction with the World AIDS Day on Dec 3,” Megan said.
She said the crowd clapped and cheered when she donned the dress, with many of them asking what it was made of.
“This dress not only caught the attention of the people due to its look but also sparked an interest and better awareness on recycling and upcycling,” she said.
Megan said she hopes wearing the dress designed and inspired by her HIV-positive members would create a deeper appreciation of recycling and taking care of the environment.
She added there was still very little awareness of HIV and AIDS.
