Monday, April 26, 2021
Fishing nets are turned into hats
Outdoor industry relies on recycled fashion
Hardly any other industry is as fast-paced and consumer-oriented as the fashion industry. That is at the expense of the environment. Do creative recycling ideas help on the way to more sustainability?
Whether bags made from truck tarpaulins or trousers made from old tires: manufacturers of outdoor clothing are increasingly relying on the principle of circular economy, in which waste is further processed and reused as a raw material for products. The outdoor manufacturer Vaude from Tettnang on Lake Constance wants to bring trekking pants made from recycled polyamide onto the market in 2022. This plastic, supplied by the chemical company BASF, comes from old tires in an intermediate step. At the US outdoor fashion company Patagonia, hats are made from recycled fishing nets, and jackets are also to be made from them in the future.
Make new from old – this is the motto of the Swiss bag and accessory manufacturer Freitag. The company from Zurich, for example, has colorful bags made of truck tarpaulin in its range. “If you want to deliver sustainable concepts today, you have to come full circle,” says a company spokeswoman with a view to the principle of the circular economy. Since 2014, Freitag has had a clothing line made from hemp and linen, which, according to the company, including the label and shirt buttons, is completely biodegradable.
The outdoor company Jack Wolfskin also relies on the most sustainable use of resources. “We are working hard to create a cycle in our production process in which waste can be turned back into raw materials,” says a spokeswoman. According to this, recycled plastic bottles are used in the collections. For example, a backpack line in which all plastics are made from recycled materials is particularly sustainable – the upholstery, for example, is made from algae foam, a renewable raw material.
The General Association of the German Textile and Fashion Industry generally recognizes a shift in consumer awareness towards clothing made from recycled material. A “decade of the textile recycling economy” has begun, it says from the branch mouthpiece.
Such ideas are well received in waste management. Any initiative that helps to close material cycles is good, says a spokesman for the BDE waste management association. Such projects and products should not remain exceptional. “We also have to see that this is designed to be permanent – continuously and for all substances, flows or, if possible, all materials.” In general, a minimum use quota of recycled raw materials makes sense – also in the fashion industry.
“Not unproblematic”
He sees the industry as having an obligation to make progress in the use of such substances. “Ultimately, it is always a question of product policy – which material does the manufacturer use? Is it recyclable or even recycled material? He can only decide that on his own.” Part of the ideal circular economy is “that disposal is already taken into account with the product idea”.
The textile association emphasizes: “You have to distinguish between the valuable textile industry that develops solutions for the circular economy and” fast fashion “.” In the former, there are numerous efforts to use raw materials as long and as often as possible. With “Fast Fashion” is meant the relatively cheap clothing of large fashion chains, which is a thorn in the side of environmentalists – because this business model leads to people buying a lot more clothes than before and thus polluting the environment.
Environmentalists generally find initiatives in the outdoor industry to re-use materials positive. Indra Enterlein from Nabu points out, however, that chemical recycling is not without problems in the textile industry. “Here, low-quality raw materials are produced with a high expenditure of energy, which are mixed with” fresh “fossil raw materials in order to then manufacture plastic textiles.” It is questionable whether such a high expenditure makes sense with such fast-moving products as textiles.
With regard to the fashion industry as a whole, Enterlein is concerned: “The textile sector is one of the most polluting industries we have.” High-quality materials that are easy to recycle are still rarely used. Ultimately, it helps to do without: “The solution can only be: simply less. If you completely cover yourself up every season, wear the textile two or three times, then it is simply not environmentally friendly per se. Even if it is made of recycled material . “
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