Call us: +44 (0) 208 459 3260

[email protected]

GET A QUOTE
GET A QUOTE

Recycling versus Compostable in the textile industry: Know your basics

recycling-versus-compostable-in-the-textile-industry

As fashion trends are changing so rapidly, people are buying more quickly and frequently. fashion has become the downfall of clothing mass-production around the world leading to millions of clothes thrown away yearly.

The textile industry is currently overflowing with clothing, in 2017 it was discovered that 92 million tons of textiles waste is created each year and the equivalent to a rubbish truck full of clothes ends up on a landfills

Recycling and composting are two methods to dispose of fabrics and garments in people’s wardrobes. Final customers are now more than ever aware of those issues and ready to invest an extra pound to allow brands and manufacturers to provide ethical solutions.

Now, what option is good for your business? Recycled or compostable? And does recycled mean compostable?

What can be recycled? Natural fibres and even polyester:

For natural textiles:

When sorting fabrics and textiles, there are two ways to do so, materials and colour sorting means that the fabric doesn’t need to be re-dyed and this means you are saving energy and avoiding pollutants.

Material sorting means shredding and pulling fibres and incorporating other materials to create a new material entirely. The yarn is then cleaned and mixed through a carding process. The yarn is then re-spun and ready to be woven or knitted into a new garment.

For nylon and polyesters:

When looking into recycling or composting Polyester-based textiles, garments are shredded and granulated for using as polyester chips. This is then melted, and new fibers are created to use in new polyester textiles.

Are all textiles compostable?

Natural textiles that can easily biodegrade include materials such as cotton, silk, wool, cashmere, wool, bamboo, jute, and hemp. Similar to recycling, buttons, clips, zips are extracted from the clothing before repurposing or composting the fabric.

Fabrics like organic cotton, linen, hemp, lyocell, peace silk and bamboo are among the few that are completely biodegradable.

This means that when manufacturers are looking to compost recycled fabric, it will not necessarily be compostable.

In conclusion if you are going with recycled fabric, be sure you are not introducing a product that will end up not being compostable or sustainable with a long term usage. It’s also important to consider the cost when looking to recycle textiles. Fabrics like jute and cotton will be much cheaper to compost and will last longer in the process.

Recycling versus Compostable in the textile industry: Know your basics

If you want to know which materials, you can decompose look at this chart
fiber-focus-cotton
Materials &Techniques

Fibre Focus: Cotton

Choosing a fibre from a design perspective can be challenging enough, but the fibre that a fabric is made from also has numerous environmental and social impacts. It can be difficult to work out the best option when selecting a fibre.
May 20, 2019
green-businesses
Materials &Techniques

Green Businesses

It seems today the trending topic in the business world is ‘going green’. These moves by big businesses to try and cut carbon emissions, use greener energy, and improve their effect on the environment, are all a positive movement towards a greener future. However, at a time when ‘green’ is in, we want to know how many of these claims are ‘greenwashing’, painting businesses in a positive light whereas in reality their practices are far from sustainable.
July 23, 2019
fiber-focus-linen
Materials &Techniques

Fibre Focus: Flax (linen)

Choosing a fibre from a design perspective can be challenging enough, but the fibre that a fabric is made from has numerous environmental and social impacts. It can be difficult to work out the best option when selecting a fibre. Introducing Fibre Focus, our fabric blog that breaks down the various impacts of a fibre from an environmental, social justice and design standpoint. It is important to also consider any potential impacts a fibre might have if it were to become more popular.
January 11, 2019
Supreme-Creations-x-Chefs-in-Schools
Work/ Partnerships

Supreme Creations x Chefs in Schools

Chefs in schools is a charitable initiative that aims to improve the health of children through better school food and education. While writing the School Food Plan, Henry Dimbleby (a governor at his children’s state primary, Gayhurst Community School in Hackney) posted a tweet asking whether anyone would be interested in taking over the school kitchen.
January 27, 2021
fiber-focus-bannana
Materials &Techniques

Fibre Focus: Banana

Choosing a fibre from a design perspective can be challenging enough, but the fibre that a fabric is made from also has numerous environmental and social impacts. It can be difficult to work out the best option when selecting a fibre. Introducing Fibre Focus, our fabric blog that breaks down the various impacts of a fibre from an environmental, social justice and design standpoint. It is important to also consider any potential impacts a fibre might have if it were to become more popular.
April 4, 2019
10-Ways-to-Use-Your-Reusable-Tote-Bag
Sustainability & Supply Chain

10 Ways to Use Your Reusable Tote Bag

Use your tote bag to easily transport your food and drink to work. Tote bags are superior in strength compared to plastic and paper bags so you can make sure your lunch always arrives at work in one piece. If you are, however having a clumsy day, spillages can be removed easily by simply putting your tote in the washing machine – another reason totes are better than plastic and paper.
April 2, 2019
inks-and-dyes-used-in-the-textile-industry
Materials &Techniques

Inks And Dyes Used In The Textile Industry: Why Choosing Water Based Inks And Dyes Is A Necessity

Colour is a catalyst in sales success within the fashion industry. The first thing consumers notice about a piece of clothing before the fabric or size is the colour of the garment. The brightness or shade of clothing as well as how it might suit their complexion and their personal preferences. However, colour dyes in clothing is known to be harmful to the environment and the people in the surrounding areas close to factories.
June 8, 2021
simple-patterns-to-print-on-your-tote-bags
Materials &Techniques

Simple patterns to print on your tote bags

A spot repeat pattern is can give surprisingly varied prints when small changes are made. Small dots give a traditional and uniform appearance. Patterns like this are great for conventional and classic designs, or for printed inner linings. Use a half-drop repeat for a more directional print. Dense coloured spots on a white background give fabric a fresh look that is perfect for all purposes – from kitchen to cosmetics.
April 29, 2019
design-for-tote-bags-by-supreme-creations
Materials &Techniques

Designs for Tote Bags

A tote bag’s design should be eye-catching and unique, but also be easy to pair with a variety of outfits. Black and white is a classic colourway for almost any textile product, which drew me to it. To make sure that the bag stands out amidst the black and white, geometric patterns are very interesting to bring a ‘pop’ that makes a tote bag different to others.
April 17, 2018
econyl-products
Materials &Techniques

Let’s Talk About Econyl

Anthropogenic pollution is becoming a serious and unavoidable issue. Our “throw away” culture is without doubt causing profound environmental degradation and if we are to stem the impacts we are having on the natural world, we must consume and produce more responsibly.
December 20, 2018
fiber-focus-hemp
Materials &Techniques

Fibre Focus Hemp

Choosing a fibre from a design perspective can be challenging enough, but the fibre that a fabric is made from also has numerous environmental and social impacts. It can be difficult to work out the best option when selecting a fibre.
December 20, 2018
decoding-sustainability-jargon
Sustainability & Supply Chain

Decoding Sustainability Jargon

At Supreme Creations we know that sustainability can be confusing. There is a lot of jargon thrown about, and it’s hard to know what the hell anyone is on about. We thought it would be helpful to make a glossary of these new sustainability terms, and define them in an easy, simple way so that you may use this as a reference point when talking, reading, or thinking about sustainability.
November 27, 2020

More news

inks-and-dyes-used-in-the-textile-industry
Materials &Techniques

Inks And Dyes Used In The Textile Industry: Why Choosing Water Based Inks And Dyes Is A Necessity

Colour is a catalyst in sales success within the fashion industry. The first thing consumers notice about a piece of clothing before the fabric or size is the colour of the garment. The brightness or shade of clothing as well as how it might suit their complexion and their personal preferences. However, colour dyes in clothing is known to be harmful to the environment and the people in the surrounding areas close to factories.
June 8, 2021
Supreme-Creations-x-Chefs-in-Schools
Work/ Partnerships

Supreme Creations x Chefs in Schools

Chefs in schools is a charitable initiative that aims to improve the health of children through better school food and education. While writing the School Food Plan, Henry Dimbleby (a governor at his children’s state primary, Gayhurst Community School in Hackney) posted a tweet asking whether anyone would be interested in taking over the school kitchen.
January 27, 2021
decoding-sustainability-jargon
Sustainability & Supply Chain

Decoding Sustainability Jargon

At Supreme Creations we know that sustainability can be confusing. There is a lot of jargon thrown about, and it’s hard to know what the hell anyone is on about. We thought it would be helpful to make a glossary of these new sustainability terms, and define them in an easy, simple way so that you may use this as a reference point when talking, reading, or thinking about sustainability.
November 27, 2020
green-businesses
Materials &Techniques

Green Businesses

It seems today the trending topic in the business world is ‘going green’. These moves by big businesses to try and cut carbon emissions, use greener energy, and improve their effect on the environment, are all a positive movement towards a greener future. However, at a time when ‘green’ is in, we want to know how many of these claims are ‘greenwashing’, painting businesses in a positive light whereas in reality their practices are far from sustainable.
July 23, 2019
fiber-focus-cotton
Materials &Techniques

Fibre Focus: Cotton

Choosing a fibre from a design perspective can be challenging enough, but the fibre that a fabric is made from also has numerous environmental and social impacts. It can be difficult to work out the best option when selecting a fibre.
May 20, 2019
simple-patterns-to-print-on-your-tote-bags
Materials &Techniques

Simple patterns to print on your tote bags

A spot repeat pattern is can give surprisingly varied prints when small changes are made. Small dots give a traditional and uniform appearance. Patterns like this are great for conventional and classic designs, or for printed inner linings. Use a half-drop repeat for a more directional print. Dense coloured spots on a white background give fabric a fresh look that is perfect for all purposes – from kitchen to cosmetics.
April 29, 2019
Load More
Selected static block was removed or unpublished

GET A QUOTE & SAMPLE

Fill out the form, and we’ll send you an initial quote within two hours (Mon-Fri 09:00-17:30)

Continue browsing
Finalise your Quote