Tamworth clothing company combines recycling and subcultures

• Apr. 13 by Natalie Adcock (0)

It is unusual for a business nowadays to have such a firm base of environmental concerns, but for a business to be founded on environmental issues and subcultures is almost unheard of.

Missfit Creations uses recycled materials and their clothing line Tribute2, with influence coming from some of the most famous icons of the 80’s, Glam Rock superstars, Punk legends and the Divos & Divas across the ages.

The company shows that you can be green and look like Cherly Cole or Boy George at the same time.

Reusing materials

Founder and main designer of Missfit Creations, Debbie Murphy is a firm believe in the motto that there is nothing new, only what has been before. She says:

‘Growing up in the late 70’s early 80’s there were many subcultures within fashion. To be able to dress accordingly we scoured jumble sales, raided granny’s wardrobe and toured charity shops. I had platform shoes, 60’s twin sets, US parkas and frilly dress shirts along with the obligatory band t-shirts.

I think particularly the punk movement inspires us to customise our clothes and revamp our look, clothes are distressed, dyed and reinvented and therefore punk clothing is environmentally aware even if not intentionally so.’

Based in Tamworth, Missfit Creations uses sources all from the West Midlands to get their materials. Debbie says:

‘I customise and take apart second hand clothing for re-use from charity shops, car boots, jumble sales as well as friends and family. I utilise all kinds of everyday objects in both clothing ranges and have used everything from plug chains to old belt buckles and bag straps to odd earrings and laddered tights.

I have made many enquiries locally about the possibility of collecting waste fabrics or offcut materials from clothing manufacturers for use in my designs. Unfortunately I have had little or no success as being such a small business they tend to only trade with larger companies who can take regular amounts in bigger quantities. For me this would defeat the object as I manufacture ‘one-offs’.’

The fashion industry

Debbie has much to say about the fashion industry, believing that more designers could use recycled materials. She says:

‘It’s a shame that in fashion design there can be such fierce competition and rivalry as I think that this prevents fellow designers from sharing fabrics and indeed sources of recycled materials for fear of losing originality.’

Missfit’s message

Debbie’s personal commitment to the local environmental community is mainly through online support as she follows and has joined communities like Birmingham Friends of the Earth. She says that the websites Envirowise and Waste Matters keeps her up to date with local recycling news.

Overall, Debbie says that she wants to pass her message and skills on to future generations. She says:

‘If we were better equipped to find and use the materials available to us we could make a bigger difference. So many clothes are discarded if a seam rips or a zip breaks and fashions thrown away when they are no longer in vogue.

If more emphasis were put on dressmaking and less on creating new designs in schools and colleges we could maybe return to more economical ‘mend and make do’ fashion, encouraging recycling and individuality.’