RECYCLING IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Recycling is the set of techniques aimed at recovering end-of-life products and reintroducing them into the production cycle of new products. In theory, recycling is possible in the fashion industry, but in practice it is very complicated to implement.

Indeed, the increasing use of chemical materials and the decline in the quality of clothing represent a real challenge. Nowadays, a large number of clothing items are made from artificial and synthetic materials using extremely polluting industrial processes, such as polyester. Also, more and more clothing is made with several colours and from two (or more) different materials, cotton and polyester or wool and acrylic for example, which makes them almost impossible to recycle since they have to be frayed by colour and the fibres separated. Furthermore, the poor quality of the fibres does not encourage investment in this process. In fact, since the cost of the operation is often too high, it is very little used although the number of clothes deposited in skips has exploded in recent years.

At Luz, we have chosen to bet on the sustainability of our products. We produce our collections in two quality materials: organic cotton and econyl, a material made from nylon threads from recycled fishing nets. The organic cotton we use is GOTS certified. Therefore, it does not contain any dangerous products, neither for our customers nor for the environment (such as aromatic or halogenated solvents, chlorophenol, detergents, formaldehyde, GMOs, fungicides, biocides, or heavy metals). In addition, the colors are easy to separate from each other in the event that our swimsuits have to be recycled (although our goal is to produce quality pieces that will last over time). On the other hand, econyl is a material created from fishing nets found in the oceans that are recycled to create this innovative and more environmentally friendly material.

Recycling is a key issue in the textile industry since 600,000 tonnes of clothing are put on sale each year on the French market according to the Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEM), which ultimately creates an impressive amount of waste.

Indeed, by owning more clothes, consumers are getting rid of more fabrics each year. And, just like production, fashion consumption is unevenly distributed. The majority of consumption takes place in China, the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom (although it is growing rapidly in developing countries). However, the capacity of recycling and material recovery companies in these countries is no longer sufficient. The waste is then mostly incinerated or sent to poorer regions of the world, thus becoming open dumps and destroying local crafts among other things. Open dumps are also one of the sources of water pollution, a recurring problem in the textile industry.

On the other hand, brands do not always sell all their products, which leads to the loss of about a third of the clothes produced that will never be sold (which represents 600,000 pieces in France according to Sloweare). At Luz, these practices are contrary to our values, which is why we always offer you jerseys from our old collections online and in store, in order to sell off stocks. In addition, we have decided to launch our new active wear collection with Ulule. Indeed, Ulule is a crowdfunding platform with in-kind rewards, which allows us to bring our original, innovative and creative project to life. We are therefore striving to always find more tools that are consistent with our eco-responsible approach.

Despite all the constraints linked to recycling, it is positive because it helps people in difficulty, saves space at home, reduces the cost of raw materials, and offers sustainable and stable jobs.

Indeed, clothes in good condition are repaired if necessary and then sent to second-hand stores, resold to the general public or donated. Fabrics that are no longer wearable (end-of-life household linen, for example) can be cut up and transformed into rags, then used for industrial wiping. Finally, the "waste" is frayed by color, transformed into new fibers resold to textile manufacturers.

Article written by Marie-Lou Haran