Mango launches recycled 'second chances' collection

Spanish retailer Mango has released its first-ever sustainable capsule collection made from recycled fibres of garments collected through its ‘Second Chances’ project.

The collection for both men and women features a pair of jeans and a denim jacket made of 20 percent recycled fibres and 80 percent sustainable cotton. Additionally, the process used for dyeing the fabrics saved 85 percent of water.

Launched in 2016, the ‘Second Chances’ project collected over 32 tonnes of garments through 420 containers distributed in all Mango stores in Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, Croatia, the Netherlands, Italy and the UK. For this, Mango collaborated with Koopera, a cooperative association which helps to promote a social and sustainable economy, as well as creating jobs and job placement services.

“The garments collected are classified in order to give them a second life and, depending on their condition, can be converted into yarn, recycled for alternative uses such as sofa stuffing, or burned in order to generate energy,” said Mango.

To fulfill its key aim of increasing the proportion of sustainable fibres in collections, Mango has set itself the targets of using 100 percent sustainable cotton by 2025 and 100 percent controlled-origin cellulose fibres by 2030, as well as increasing the use of recycled polyester to 50 percent by 2025.

The retailer added: “Mango is committed to continuing this initiative and each year will launch a collection featuring recycled fibres that matches the quantity of garments collected in its ‘Second Chance’ containers, used for garment recycling, in order to promote good practices and a model of circular economy.”

The collection is available on Mango’s website, with prices ranging from 49.99 pounds for a pair of jeans and 59.99 pounds for the women’s denim jacket.

Photo credit: Mango