{"id":19222,"date":"2022-11-28T08:39:49","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T08:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/28\/meet-the-brands-revolutionizing-textile-recycling\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T08:39:49","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T08:39:49","slug":"meet-the-brands-revolutionizing-textile-recycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/28\/meet-the-brands-revolutionizing-textile-recycling\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Brands Revolutionizing Textile Recycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The waste created by fast fashion is so staggering in scope that it\u2019s nearly impossible to visualize. That\u2019s prompting innovative brands to chart a new path forward\u2014one that diverts fashion waste from landfill, instead using it to create a more circular, sustainable system.<\/p>\n

Brands such as SuperCircle, For Days and Evrnu are developing new models to educate industry players and shoppers about the benefits of circularity. But the reality is that, without curbing fast fashion production, reducing overall textile waste will be incredibly difficult.<\/p>\n

Between 2000 and 2015, global clothing production doubled, according to a 2017 report<\/a> by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. In the same time frame, the average number of times each item was worn plummeted by 36% as cheaply made garments flooded the market and excess inventory was, in some cases, sent directly to landfill<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Despite greater awareness of the problems fast fashion is creating, production continues to soar as faster fashion websites<\/a> maintain popularity. It comes with a high price: an estimated 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions are generated by the global apparel industry each year, according to a 2020 UNEP report<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a huge movement within retail to take the industry circular\u2014to take accountability for the massive waste problem that\u2019s been created,\u201d said Stuart Ahlum, co-founder and COO of SuperCircle, which launched publicly in May. <\/p>\n

SuperCircle is a b-to-b platform that handles the logistics of recovering, sorting and recycling fibers for brands. The company is building new and better ways of recycling textiles, creating logistical solutions for brands to process used and worn-out garments and educating consumers on what to do with clothes they don\u2019t want anymore.<\/p>\n

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Removing barriers to entry<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Somewhat similar to a traditional recycling facility, SuperCircle helps brands work with consumers to get used clothes into its circular system. It then sorts the garments by material, sending them off to be turned into new clothes or down-cycled into things like insulation or car seats. <\/p>\n

Right now, that kind of system is only happening on a very small scale. Around 85% of textile in the U.S. ends up in landfill, according to the EPA. But that\u2019s likely a low estimate given how much of Americans\u2019 secondhand clothing ends up in makeshift landfills like those in the Chilean desert<\/a> or along the Ghanaian coastline<\/a>. SuperCircle estimates landfill-bound clothing at 97%, and less than 1% of used clothing actually gets turned into new garments, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.<\/p>\n

For tentree, MATE the Label and Thousand Fell, working with SuperCircle gives them access to a burgeoning system that\u2019s too costly to do on their own or has been blocked by issues with recycling minimums and reverse logistics capacity.<\/p>\n

Prior to partnering with SuperCircle, tentree donated excess clothing to charity\u2014but was troubled by how that system can harm local economies and the environment in Africa and Latin America. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot guarantee they will not flood other countries with textile waste that ends up damaging local markets,\u201d Kathleen Buckingham, director of sustainability at tentree, told Adweek. <\/p>\n

Reducing virgin material and production<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Yet, the climate impact of fashion can only be mitigated if less virgin material is used and fewer products are made. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a commonly-held myth that by reusing or recycling more materials, the consumption of virgin resources or new products will automatically go down,\u201d Katrina Caspelich, chief marketing officer for fashion industry watchdog Remake<\/a>, told Adweek. \u201cUnless there are intentional policies in place to prevent it from happening, it is more likely that the consumption of secondhand and new products both go up.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Los Angeles-based For Days, a fashion brand that markets itself as the \u201cfirst closed-loop clothing brand,\u201d about half of its revenue comes from Take Back Bags. The four-year-old company encourages people to fill up a bag with old clothes that they don\u2019t wear anymore, and send it to For Days\u2019 Texas warehouse in return for store credit that it\u2019s dubbed \u201ccloset cash.\u201d <\/p>\n

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For Days\u2019 Take Back Bag offers credit in exchange for used clothing.<\/span>For Days<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The brand will take any old textiles, and about 95% of what comes through the warehouse via Take Back Bags finds a new home\u2014either through resale, recycling or down-cycling. That other 5% is comprised of textile scraps where sorters are unable to determine the material, or things that weren\u2019t meant for the bag, like hangers or other miscellaneous items, said co-founder and CEO Kristy Caylor.<\/p>\n

In addition to its own branded products, For Days works with other brands to help power their recycling programs\u2014similar to SuperCircle. It partners with more than 60 companies including sock brand Bombas, bra brand Harper Wilde and kid and baby-focused brand Maisonette. <\/p>\n

Innovating for higher quality recycled materials<\/strong><\/h4>\n

For Days also works with Evrnu, which is pioneering new chemical recycling technology to create recycled materials that don\u2019t require additional virgin inputs to make a high-quality fabric.<\/p>\n

\u201cMechanical recycling has always yielded a little lower quality product,\u201d explained Evrnu co-founder Stacy Flynn. \u201cYou have to spin it with a high volume of virgin new material. Whereas chemical recycling, if you\u2019re breaking it down to its basic polymer building block, you can basically turn it from a liquid back to a solid. And in that process, you can reorient the polymers and create very high-performing new raw material.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Evrnu is pioneering new chemical recycling technology that would improve the quality of recycled fabrics.<\/span>Evrnu<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Evrnu is still young and requires more funding to scale its tech. Right now, it does a small amount of cotton recycling but aims to have an industrial facility set up in South Carolina by early 2025.<\/p>\n

Still, the idea of a truly circular system goes beyond simply capturing waste to also reduce virgin input and production. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe promise of circularity is \u2018all outputs become inputs in a closed system,\u2019\u201d Lynda Grose, professor of fashion design and critical studies at California College of the Arts, told Adweek. The only inputs should be \u201cvery minimal amounts of raw material to keep things good quality, and energy, of course, and it\u2019s really vastly reduced.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n