Rethink Fabrics, a Seattle, US-based manufacturer of high quality garments exclusively from recycled polyester innovations, is developing a plan to collect “plastic shirts” and recycle them into new shirts.
For the last few years, environment-loving consumers have embraced the idea of recycling used plastic bottles to make something wearable, and thus keep bottles from going into landfills and oceans.
However, the polyester shirts made from recycled plastic cannot be again sent for recycling along with other regular plastic items, which has given rise to another problem with respect to disposal of plastic shirts.
Rethink Fabrics is now working with other US retailers to start a programme in early 2013 to again recycle the plastic garments into new garments.
Ms. Stacy Flynn, Global Director of Sustainable Development for Rethink, told fibre2fashion, “At Rethink, we understand that there are finite natural resources that are quickly being depleted. To constantly seek to improve our messaging and positive impact, Rethink is in the process of implementing a system that allows Rethink core garments to be recycled at the end of their lifecycle.”
Mentioning the pre-requisites for the garments made from plastic bottles to be recyclable once again, she says, “It is essential that all components must be 100 percent polyester, should be water based or dissolvable at the end of the garment's life.”
Revealing Rethink's plans and production target for the year 2012, she avers, “Our main aim is to finalize our garment recycling programme. Of course, we will be continuing to divert millions of plastic bottles from oceans and landfills and transforming them into products that make their way into people's closets. Our production target for this year is in the range of 500,000-750,000 units of our signature T-shirt made from used plastic bottles.”
“In addition, we plan to begin running Fair Trade programme in Guatemala, which aims to give back to the community in the form of higher wages or collective social projects within the region. We are currently in the final stages of having our factory in Guatemala Fair Trade certified, which will make Rethink the first recycled apparel manufacturer to become Fair Trade certified,” she concludes.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India
20240830145952.gif)
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "UBM China (Shanghai)")
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
