DID YOU KNOW:
Blended Fibres Cotton/Nylon/Polyester cannot be recycled into new clothing?
They can be shredded into shoddy but more likely sent to landfill or incinerated.
100% Cotton:
Can be recycled into new clothing. Most often it is blended with virgin cotton or polyester. However only a handful of companies worldwide can produce 100% recycled cotton.
100% Polyester
Can be recycled into new clothing via chemical recycling.
The process isn't environmentally friendly, neither is producing virgin polyester!
The Problem with Blended Fabrics
Unfortunately most clothing is made from blended materials.
It's cheaper to do it this way but it makes recycling difficult. If you do own clothing made from different fibres then you need to take it to a specialist recycler to ensure it's turned into shoddy. If not, Its going to land fill..
Recycled and Virgin Fibre Blend
50% virgin cotton and 50% recycled cotton
Mixing virgin and recycled fibres which are the same fibres is ok. you will see this often with 50% virgin cotton and 50% recycled cotton. Most companies do not have the skill or technology to produce 100% recycled cotton so virgin cotton is added to strengthen the fibres. The mix can still be recycled at the end of its life.
100% Recycled Cotton
100% recycled cotton is the most sustainable new fabric however there are drawbacks. Manufacturing is very expensive and the weakness of recycled cotton can create imperfections within the fabric making production very challenging.
So Lets use what we already have.
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