Ocean pollution is becoming an increasingly disturbing problem. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, plastic waste makes up an estimated 80% of marine pollution. Approximately 10 million metric tons of plastic waste enters the oceans each year, killing seabirds, fish and marine mammals. Over time, the discarded plastic breaks down into smaller pieces called microplastics that absorb a range of chemicals floating in the marine environment, including pesticides and toxic metals. These chemical-laden particles are ingested by fish and shellfish and then passed to humans through the consumption of seafood.

To date, SEAQUAL INITIATIVE has cleaned more than 600 tons of waste from our oceans and more than 200 tons of marine litter has been transformed into reclaimed marine plastic. This incredible growing accomplishment was made possible through the collaborative efforts of more than 60 countries and the partnerships from an increasing number of brands, manufacturers and retail stores worldwide.

InsideOut Performance Fabrics®, a brand of Valdese Weavers, is one of these proud partners and is working with SEAQUAL INITIATIVE to manufacture performance fabrics that are made with the upcycled marine plastic they’ve collected from ocean floors and beaches. These residential, commercial and contract grade fabrics are the first of their kind.

InsideOut Performance Fabrics® is collaborating with artist Mel Chin and the Hickory Museum of Art (HMA) in Hickory, N.C., to produce an exhibition creating awareness of the problem and potential solutions. Chin is an internationally recognized North Carolina-based artist and recipient of a 2019 MacArthur Fellowship. He is renowned for the broad range of approaches in his art, including works that require multi-disciplinary, collaborative teamwork and works that enlist science as an aesthetic component to communicate complex ideas.

SEA to SEE is a unique installation at the Hickory Museum of Art on loan from the collection of The Mint Museum’s exhibition themed Connecting the World: The Panama Canal at 100.

Local companies are putting action behind awareness and leading the way in addressing ocean pollution by using post-consumer recycled yarn, thus transforming a problem into a solution. This is a perfect example of industry, community and the arts joining together to solve an environmental problem and provide new context for why Western North Carolina is considered “The Furniture Capital of the World.”

The SEA to SEE exhibit will be on display at the Hickory Museum of Art (HMA) until the end of January 2023.

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