STORY: This Japanese nail artist has a way of raising awareness about plastic pollution at her fingertips.
:: Chigasaki, Japan
“This is a piece of the artificial lawn that is put in gardens in Japan. There’s always a lot of this lying around.”
Naomi Arimoto searches beaches like this for small pieces of plastic waste which she then molds into nail art.
:: This Earth
Formerly a social worker, Arimoto was forced to give up her career due to a spinal condition.
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She opened a nail salon in her home in 2018.
After taking part in community cleanups along the coast, she was inspired to make upcycled nails.
Prices for a set of upcycled nails start at around $83.
“I hope that by putting these in front of people’s eyes, on their fingertips, they’ll enjoy fashion while also becoming more aware of environmental issues.”
However, Arimoto acknowledges that her work is a just drop in the ocean of plastic pollution.
An estimated 20 million metric tonnes of plastic waste is dumped into the environment each year, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
“I think (plastic waste) is an issue that every single person in the world needs to be aware of, there’s no way to solve it alone.”
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