Recycling news and archive

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...

BusinessFeatured

Fashion and sustainability in 2023

FashionUnited has been summarising the fashion industry's efforts towards greater sustainability month by month for five years now. Reason enough to take a look back over the years before drawing conclusions for 2023. While 2019 was characterised by individual efforts, such as the development of recyclable and more environmentally friendly...

Business

Fashion and sustainability in December 2023

Towards the end of the year, the fashion industry stepped up its sustainability efforts once again: These were discussed at the COP28 climate conference, among others, but various studies also scrutinised supposedly sustainable initiatives such as biomass and textile collections for recycling purposes. Textile-to-textile recycling received a...

FashionPress Release

YKK’s New DynaPel Water-Repellant Zipper Wins Best Product in ISPO Textrends Competition

The ISPO Textrends judges have selected YKK's DynaPel™ water-repellent zipper as the Best Product in the accessories category. The competition, held twice a year in conjunction with the ISPO trade show, recognizes the most innovative performance textiles, components, and apparel. Designed to be compatible with garment recycling systems, the...

Business

Bangladesh Apparel Exchange and Fashion for Good to advance chemical textile recycling

Last week, non-profit Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) organised a roadshow in collaboration with global sustainability initiative Fashion for Good to pave the way for chemical recycling of textiles in the country. It was supported by two tech start-ups, Circ and Infinited Fiber Company, which specialise in chemical textile-to-textile...

Background |Long read

How (not) sustainable is the fashion industry?

Fashion and 'sustainability' don't actually go together. A garment is usually made in such a way that it quickly goes out of fashion. In the fashion industry there is not only stylistic obsolescence, but also technical obsolescence. Some clothing is of such low quality that it tears, pills or loses its colour after a few wears and washes. Ideal...

Fashion Featured

Stella McCartney unveils first garment made using biological recycling

British fashion designer Stella McCartney unveiled a parka jacket in partnership with US biological recycling company Protein Evolution at COP28 crafted using artificial intelligence and biology to produce raw ingredients of polyester from plastic waste instead of fossil fuels. The collaboration is the world’s first garment made using biological...