Manufacturing Recycled Uniforms

Monday 22nd of August 2011 12:10:18 AM

As manufacturers and consumers become more aware of the impact of trash on the environment, there is a growing trend to find ways to use old materials in the manufacturing of clothing. But it’s not just old clothes that are being recycled. A variety of materials are being used ranging from office chair seats to old audiotapes.

The materials from the used items are turned into a molecular soup of sorts. Out of this soup comes thread that is then woven into a variety of clothing products. Though the process right now is not being used extensively, that will probably change as time passes. The potential for saving the environment and business costs is enormous once the process is perfected and more widely used. Consumers could find themselves wearing clothing made out of coffee grounds and yarns or employees may one day wear uniforms made from recycled plastic bottles. That may sound farfetched but the fact is that these materials are already being used in clothing. Harris Lui’s Asian textile manufacturing company already incorporates coffee grounds and Coco-Cola uses plastic bottles to make textiles.

Clothing that is not recycled ends up in landfills and that is rapidly becoming a problem as the population grows. In addition, new products not made with recycled materials are resource hogs using large amounts of energy and chemicals to produce. Gregory Unruh is the Director of the Lincoln Center for Ethics in Global Management at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He says that manufacturing recycled clothing not only uses less energy, it also results in a lower level of greenhouse gas emissions. It’s not just clothing either that can be made from recycled materials. Shoes are another common item that are particularly suitable because materials like tires and water bottles can be incorporated into the soles.

Recycling is an idea whose time has come! So next time you are thinking of tossing those printed t-shirts that you’re tired of wearing, just remember that giving them away is a much more responsible way to act.