Recycling clothes – an insight into your wardrobe
Insight into Jenny’s wardrobe:
– But Jenny, you hardly ever wear that nice shirt you bought! We both thought it would become your favourite clothing item.
What happens to your old clothes?
How much clothing do you buy and throw away per year? How do your clothes affect the environment? What happens to the clothes you hand in for recycling? How can the recycling process become more efficient in the future? ReThink gives you the answers.
Did you know that Swedes buy an average of 13 kilos of clothes per person each year? Eight kilos of this go straight into household waste. In Sweden, 72,000 tons of clothes are thrown away and burned yearly.
IN WHAT WAY DOES CLOTHING MANUFACTURING AFFECT OUR ONLY PLANET?
We manufacture twice as much clothing today as 15 years ago. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions from global textile production are 1.2 billion tonnes annually – more than the combined emissions of all air and sea traffic.
In addition, we have the manufacturing of clothes made of synthetic fibres. These fibres are produced artificially in chemical compounds from natural materials or oil. Oil is the base of synthetic fibres, and today it accounts for 64 per cent, approximately 54 million tons, of the world’s clothing production. Polyester, polyamide/nylon, acrylic and fleece are synthetic materials made from oil.
Cotton accounts for 24 per cent of the world’s production of clothing. Cotton is a demanding plant that needs large amounts of water and heat. To produce one kilogram of cotton, up to 28,000 litres of water is required. That’s as much as 24 full bathtubs of water for one t-shirt. Cotton cultivation often takes place in countries where there is already a shortage of fresh water. On average, it also takes around 0.5-1 kilo of chemicals to produce one kilo of cotton.
WHAT CAN YOU DO INSTEAD OF THROWING AWAY YOUR CLOTHES?
Take care of the clothes you already have. Do not wash and dry them too often, as they will last longer. Global goals:
- Remake: redesign your clothes, so they become like new. If you can’t sew, you may be able to ask someone or deliver your clothes to a tailor.
- Mending: repair clothes that need a little touch from being well-worn.
- Exchange: swap with someone, and you both get something new. Your friend’s shirt might be exactly the new garment you want and vice versa.
- Sell: drop off your clothes to stores that sell used clothes for you.
- Recycle: take your clothes to a recycling station or to shops that offer to accept old clothes.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CLOTHES YOU HAND IN?
Whether you drop off your clothes at recycling stations or charity stores, the routine is about the same. Your clothes are sorted into three main areas.
CLOTHES THAT can be sold at second-hand shops in your country or Europe. Red Cross, The Salvation Army and The Blue Cross are examples of second-hand and charity shops.
CLOTHES THAT can be sold in, for example, Africa and Asia. The clothes are transported in large bales, and, among other things, market traders come and buy the clothes they think they can sell in the local market.
CLOTHES THAT are broken, dirty or don’t fit to be sold. These clothes are incinerated or become rags, padding or insulation.
WILL A T-SHIRT YOU TURN IN BECOME A NEW T-SHIRT?
It is not very likely that the clothes you hand in for recycling today will turn into a new garments. Currently, there is no adequate technology to enable the recycling of textiles.
The word “recycle” is usually used as a general name for all types of collections of materials to be reused in one way or another. Recycling is done in two ways, upcycling and downcycling. Downcycling is when the finished product becomes less valuable than the original item.
Upcycling means that the new product from recycled materials is equivalent in quality. So, for example, we make new paper from old paper, new aluminium from ageing, and so on. Downcycling means the opposite: the new product becomes worse than the original. So, for example, clothes become stuffing, rags, and insulation, such as downcycling.
Today there needs to be an effective and suitable recycling method for clothes. But, unfortunately, upcycling through mechanically recycled textiles is still done in a small percentage.
HOW WILL WE BE ABLE TO RECYCLE CLOTHES IN THE FUTURE?
Mechanical recycling means that the fabric is cut and shredded into smaller parts. The pieces of fabric are then carded to release the fibres from the material. Unfortunately, today’s technology destroys the quality of the fibres, making it difficult to spin new threads, but most of it becomes stuffing and other downcycled products. Work is being done in many places in Sweden and other countries to find practical solutions to end the material cycle through mechanical recycling. Ending the material cycle means that we should be able to recycle the fibres and spin new threads that become new fabrics from unusable textiles.
In addition to mechanical recycling, there is research into chemically recycling clothes. This means that we start from the origin of the material and then produce new artificial fibres. For example, the fibres in cotton fabrics are dissolved with the help of chemicals. If it is polyester, the material is dissolved with other chemicals. In both cases, a pulp is produced from which we can make new artificial fibres. A challenge in succeeding with this process is the material mixtures and the need to separate the different materials from each other.
Researchers have achieved good results in the laboratory by developing regenerated textiles from recycled cotton. Cotton mainly consists of cellulose. Researchers have even succeeded in separating natural and oil-based fabrics from each other. By dividing the origin of the raw materials from each other, we can create techniques to produce artificial fibres. Much research is invested, especially in chemical recycling, and several initiatives believe that they will soon have a solution for the circular textile production of the future.
REFLECT FOR A MOMENT
- How many clothes do you have in your wardrobe that you don’t use?
- How much clothing have you considered unnecessary or a “bad” purchase?
- What do you do with clothes that have become too small or torn?
- Can you start doing something different when buying, using or recycling your clothes?
- If you have any good tips to share with us, write us at info@re-think.nu or dm us through Instagram @Re-think_nu
