Processing Plastic For Fashion Accessories With Hot Textile Technique

Abstract

Plastic bag type PE (Polyethylene) is one of plastic bag type that is used by local people of Indonesia every day. It is usually used to wrap food, snack, drink or vegetable in market. It is used merely as a temporary carrier from stall, store or market to home then is littered after use. There are not too many people take this condition into their concern. Researcher therefore, is interested in looking for opportunity to process PE plastic bag so that it won‘t merely become a temporary carrier that has a short life cycle. Researcher will process PE plastic bag using Do-It-Yourself (manual) way to make it become an alternative material using hot textile technique, where the purpose of doing it this way is to dig up potential of one of PE plastic‘s main characters, thermoplastic. Do-It-Yourself or D.I.Y, according to Nancy Pardo‘s definition in an article of The New Era of Do-It-Yourself Manufacturing (2011), is one of alternative ways to repurpose tools or material to meet the user‘s needs where in the production process involves and relies on the user‘s skill. In this research, researcher attempts to develop fashion accessories, adjust it with the alternative material. Repurposing processed PE plastic bag to meet the needs and skill of the researcher is one of the ways to repurpose PE plastic bag. By doing it D.I.Y (manual) way, using simple technique and tools, it is expected that it will become a model many other people can develop in the future. Then, it is possible to extend PE plastic bag life cycle.

Keywords: Alternative Material, D.I.Y, Plastic, Product Life Cycle, Repurpose