Recycling
| Like so many other items in our consumer-based society, clothing—be it worn out our just out of style—ends up in a landfill. Now the fashion world is beginning to embrace a new trend: recycled clothing. |
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You may have heard about a new trend that is making waves in the fashion world, referred to as “recycled clothing.” Now, this isn’t referring to clothing that has already been worn by someone else—but clothing that is made from fabrics that come from some other source, and can be made from non-traditional materials
. The clothing industry, like many industries, has enormous amounts of waste product that may end up in landfills.Ecologically-minded business owners started noticing this wasteful trend and decided to do something about it—to take the so-called waste and repurpose it. This new philosophy regarding clothing manufacturing is gaining traction, and many new companies are being created around the idea of sustainable clothing production.
Recycled Fabrics
Clothing companies that want to increase the sustainability of their practices will often create less waste, increasing efficiency, but then take that inevitable "waste" and re-use it for another worthy purpose. Patagonia, for example, is an outdoor lifestyle company that creates high quality clothing. Since their inception in the early 1980s, they have been searching for ways to change the wasteful practices of the industry, especially since they are an outdoors company and are conscious of the impact we make on nature. As part of their "Footprint Chronicles" they trace each individual product they offer along its production line. They promote fair labor practices, environmental responsibility, and safe working conditions. Excess polyester created in other industries is taken in and recycled into their fleece products. |
| Teeki yoga pants are made from recycled plastic bottles |
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Non-traditional Clothing Materials
Some clothing companies are turning away from traditional materials and sourcing items like plastic bottles that would otherwise end up in a landfill, or worse, polluting a natural landscape somewhere. Teeki is a yoga-lifestyle clothing company that creates beautifully designed leggings and workout wear from recycled plastic bottles. This makes a huge impact, as consumers are steered away from buying "virgin" fabrics and supporting an eco-conscious clothing company.Local Recycled Fabrics
Often going hand-in-hand with eco-conscious practices, many practices become beneficial to the country as a whole. Many of the eco-friendly clothing companies will also build their factories in the USA, choosing not to out-source to cheaper Asian countries where labor is cheap (and unsafe for the workers) and environmental practices questionable. By keeping it in the USA, these companies are providing jobs for Americans as well as decreasing their carbon footprint by ordering parts for their clothing (zippers, thread, strings, etc.) from in or near-state.
The Impact Recycled Clothing Makes
Another ecologically-friendly company, Dirtball Clothing also creates fashionable and comfortable clothes made from plastic bottles. On their website, they lay out the impact that their production process makes. Every 10 minutes, 2 million plastic bottles are used (and become "waste") - every year, over 1 billion plastic bottles end up in landfills. Since plastic is a petroleum product, saving 3 billion bottles from ending up in a landfill saves over half a million barrels of oil, and eliminating 400,000 tons of harmful emissions from the atmosphere. Using post-consumer cotton also saves the soil from being leached with pesticides.There are so many reasons to support companies that use recycled materials to make their clothing. It should not just be a trend, it should be the new lifestyle that educated people make. Since these clothes are fashionable and comfortable, there are no sacrifices that have to be made on behalf of the customer, either. It's truly a win-win situation. The information for this article was provided by the professionals at King Recycling & Waste Disposal Inc., who offer recycling services in Toronto.
Top Image - en.wikipedia.org via Ryan Jude Novelline
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