Recycled materials

Recycled materials are a sustainable alternative to traditional materials because they are produced from waste materials instead of raw materials and because they use less energy and chemicals for their processing, thus having less impact on the environment.

Furthermore, as in the case of synthetics, which are produced from plastic bottles and other plastic waste, their processing is often associated with the collection of waste dispersed in the environment.

This is the case, for example, of ECONYL® regenerated nylon, made from waste such as fishing nets from the oceans and aquaculture, fabric scraps from mills and carpets destined for landfill. Once collected, the waste is cleaned, and processing begins to recover the nylon. Through an innovative purification process, the waste is regenerated back to its original quality. The regenerated nylon is spun again to produce our garments.

Thanks to this circular recycling process, that turns waste into a new resource, the impact on global warming could be reduced by 80 percent, compared to ordinary nylon produced from oil. For every 10,000 tons of raw material needed to produce ECONYL® yarn, 70,000 barrels of crude oil and 57,100 tons of CO2 emissions are saved.

Source:  https://unsplash.com/photos/YmyD-gq6x1A

This is in fact one of the main problems concerning synthetical fibres, they are usually derived from petroleum – and we know fossil fuels are the main contributors to global warming.  They also are not biodegradable; if they are dispersed in the environment, they remain there for centuries.

In recent years recycled fibres became more and more popular, for instance, recycled polyester has increased from 9 to 14 %, between 2008 to 2019. Traditional polyester production has a lower environmental impact than natural fibres production in terms of water and land; however, the energy required to produce polyester makes it a high-impact process. If the industry grows as predicted, by 2050 it could use more than 26% of the carbon budget, associated with a 2-degree pathway.

Also, in the case of recycled polyester there is a significantly lower environmental impact than conventional one: 90 % less toxic substances, 60 % less energy and 40 % fewer emissions. It comes mainly from PET plastic bottles but can also be produced using other post-consumer plastics such as ocean waste or polyester fabrics and clothing, or from pre-consumer processing residues such as industrial fabric scraps.

Most polyester is recycled mechanically. However, with new technologies being developed, the market share of chemically recycled polyester is expected to grow in the coming years.