On sale at Tesco: the designer collection fashioned from landfill

Tesco today unveiled the first designer supermarket clothing range to be made from recycled fabric.

The budget F&F collection was designed by London eco fashion label From Somewhere, whose fans include Peaches Geldof, actress Emilia Fox and presenter Lauren Laverne.

The range uses recycled, obsolete or waste textile stock, which would otherwise be burned or buried in landfill sites.

"It is a way of managing waste in a creative way, rather than pretending the problem doesn't exist," said Orsola de Castro of From Somewhere. The designs, available in sizes 8 to 18 and starting at £16, were inspired by its signature figure-hugging styles. They include a body con viper dress at £18. The firm has built up a legion of celebrity followers including Livia Firth, who co-owns Eco Age in Chiswick with her Oscar-nominated husband Colin.

Jan Marchant of Tesco said: "The really exciting thing is that it's not just great for the environment, it's great fashion too."

The range follows the school uniforms and fleeces now offered by many retailers made from discarded plastic drink bottles. These are chopped up, melted and turned into yarn.

Coca-Cola staff at the winter Olympics in Vancouver also wore uniforms made from recycled bottles and nine football World Cup sides sponsored by Nike will have kit from the materials.

A recent report found that the rubbish London sends to landfill generates about 520,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.