Recycling news and archive

Woolmark introduces first Recycled Wool specification as part of 60th anniversary

Woolmark has expanded its certification programme to now include a specification for recycled wool, making it the first time in the company’s 60 year history that it will apply its certification to a recycled fibre. The new ‘Recycled Wool’ sub-brand falls under the RW-1 Specification, and marks “a significant step towards a more sustainable...

Business

Textile sorting provider Eslando among Carbon13’s launchpad investments

Investment firm Carbon13 has named six ventures that it will invest in via its accelerator, the Venture Launchpad, including AI-powered textile sorting provider, Eslando. The startup, which aims to tackle textile waste in the industry, offers a solution that utilises AI and digital product passports (DPPs) to encourage brands and waste...

Background

“Sustainable Textiles”: what are next-gen materials, biobased materials and recycled materials? (When is a material truly recycled?)

“About two-thirds of the raw materials used in the fashion industry are synthetic materials. Synthetic materials, also known as artificial or man-made fibers, are basic materials made by humankind in factories. Unlike cotton and wool, for example, these fabrics do not come from nature. But not everyone knows that synthetic fibers come from...

Retail

Crocs expands Takeback Shoe Program across the United States

Footwear brand Crocs has expanded its 'Old Crocs. New Life' shoe takeback program across the nation. Now all Crocs retail and outlet locations in the United States, minus Hawaii and Puerto Rico, feature designated collection boxes where customers can return Crocs footwear in any condition to be upcycled or recycled. Customers can also send back...

Business

Decathlon develops recyclable swimwear with Resortecs

French sporting goods chain Decathlon has teamed up with the Belgian textile recycling company Resortecs to develop a recyclable swimwear collection. The collection addresses the main problem with recycling swimwear to date, which has been that swimwear fabrics usually have high elastane content, but elastane cannot yet be separated from the...

Business |OPINION Featured

Why Earth Day has become largely a marketing gimmick

What do Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and Earth Day have in common? They are all days that highlight something/someone that should go without saying and be celebrated every day of the year - mothers (parents in general), love and our earth. The very existence of such days of remembrance shows that something is amiss - why do mothers need to be...

BusinessFeatured

Chilean artisans and designers create collections with waste from textile landfills

Buenos Aires - Some 44 Chilean designers and artisans are taking part in the Runway Fashion Design challenge, a programme that seeks to reuse garments from textile dumps in the Tarapacá Region, giving them a new life through fashion collections. Runway Fashion Design Tarapacá Circular and Sustainable was created by Johana Fernández, a commercial...

Business

UK Textile Recycling Association calls for regulation, warns of sector’s collapse

The UK’s Textile Recycling Association (TRA) is calling on the government to introduce regulations similar to ones brought to the EU in an attempt to avoid the “imminent collapse of the textile recycling sector”. The trade organisation, which oversees 75 percent of the region’s used textiles collectors and sorters, said that due to “global...

BusinessFeatured

Sustainability in fashion: highlights from January to March 2024

In the first quarter of 2024, much happened again in terms of sustainability efforts in the textile and apparel sector and related industries. For example, there was a lot to read - you should not miss the important reports mentioned below, changes in legislation, interviews conducted by FashionUnited with industry pioneers, as well as...

Podcast

Podcast: Everything you need to know about denim recycling

Curious about the world of denim recycling? Dutch fashion designer Sina Steidinger talks more about recycling denim in this episode of the podcast 'Circular Textile Stories'. The creative (with a degree in fashion design) specialises in circular textile innovation. As such, she has worked on several international projects aimed at giving new...

Business

6 Recycling innovations that could change fashion

The fashion industry's enormous waste problem is pushing governments, particularly in Europe, towards ambitious recycling targets. The problem is that recycling textiles is a highly complex task and technical solutions are still in their infancy. NGOs warn the real problem is over-production, and that tech innovations may just provide cover for...

Fashion

Anthropologie extends denim recycling scheme with Blue Jeans Go Green

Lifestyle retailer Anthropologie has teamed up with Cotton Incorporated's Blue Jeans Go Green program to launch a new denim recycling initiative. From February 5 onwards, Anthropologie customers are invited to bring their used denim to any of Anthropologie's US retail locations. All old denim will then be recycled into insulating material that...