Guide to Recycled Fabrics
Last week, we talked all about natural fabrics and their importance in clothing. Natural fabrics are sustainable and tend to break down during our lifetime, unlike synthetic materials that can take hundreds of years to decompose.
Today, let’s break down recycled fabrics. Because there is just so much trash and synthetic materials in our world, materials that won’t break down and cannot be sustainably disposed of, recycling them and keeping them in the loop longer is a great solution!
Here is our guide to recycled fabrics and why they’re a great sustainable alternative to natural fibres.
Guide to Recycled Fabrics
1. Recycled Polyester
Polyester is derived from petroleum and is one of the world’s most popular synthetic materials. It’s also one of the most harmful. While the material itself is harmful because it won’t break down in a landfill, the process of making this material is also incredibly harmful to our planet.
Using recycled polyester reduces the need for virgin polyester (because let’s face it, there’s enough polyester clothing in our landfills to clothe everyone), it also minimizes waste, and can lower greenhouse gas emissions.
At the end of the day, it’s still a harmful, synthetic material, but it’s better to recycle it and contune it’s use than let it pollute in a landfill for hundreds of years.
2. Recycled Cotton
While cotton is already a sustainable fabric and material, recycled cotton extends its life further and aids in waste reduction and resource conservation. Recycling cotton uses even fewer resources and emits fewer greenhouse gases than virgin cotton. Which is saying something since natural cotton doesn’t produce a lot. All in all, there are virtually no downsides to recycled cotton.
3. Recycled Nylon
Nylon is similar to polyester and takes a toll on our planet to produce. Recycling nylon diverts waste from our landfills, conserves resources and uses less water in production. It can also be recycled multiple times over.
4. Recycled Denim
Denim is a staple in most wardrobes. But a single pair of jeans can use 7,600 litres of water to produce. That is insane! Recycling denim that has already been produced cuts this down significantly. Not only does recycling denim reduce water waste, but it also cuts down on chemicals used to dye denim, greenhouse gases, and carbon emissions.
There are so many more recycled fabrics on the market, and new ways of recycling clothing are being discovered every day! These 4 are significant because their virgin counterparts can create a less-than-ideal amount of waste and harm to our planet.
Thank you so much for reading and caring about recycled fabrics. Please don’t forget to save and share this post!
