We think about recycling plastic, cardboard, and glass all the time, but cotton gets less attention.
Cotton production is environmentally intensive, notably on water supplies, and is the most popular fabric for clothes globally. Cotton manufacturing is responsible for the extinction of virtually an entire sea! Cotton production has also resulted in the usage of polluting pesticides and chemicals to protect crops and land clearing.
More and more habitats are being irreversibly destroyed as global consumerism rises, exacerbated by the rise of fast fashion. Something needs to change.
As consumers, we can take several steps to limit the quantity of cotton we use in our daily lives. Buying fewer, higher-quality garments and cotton products, buying secondhand, or repurposing are all options. Another option is to purchase things manufactured from organic cotton that has been grown without the use of harmful pesticides or chemicals. The third option is to buy goods manufactured from recycled cotton.
Converting a cotton fabric into cotton fibre that can be reused in textile products is all about recycled cotton. This permits the item to be repurposed for a new function, keeping it from landfills and incinerators.
How is recycled cotton made?
Cotton that has been recycled comes from industry or consumer waste. Items are first segregated by type and colour, then shredded into smaller bits by a machine before processing further into the crude fibre. It can then be spun back into yarn and given a new life as a different product.
Shredding the fabric into its simplest forms is a difficult procedure. This degrades the new fibre’s quality, making it shorter and more difficult to spin. As a result, the new threads are mixed with existing virgin materials, such as plastic or cotton, to increase their strength and make them reusable.
Is recycled cotton more eco-friendly than organic and conventional cotton?
Organic cotton cultivation does not utilise synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilisers or pesticides. While it is better than traditional methods, it does not address that cotton growing is highly water-intensive and still harms the environment.
Conclusion
Because of the emphasis on circularity and the minimal use of virgin materials, we at daks are proponents of recycled cotton. Recycling is a shift from a linear economy (make, use, dispose of) to a circular economy, in which raw materials used to make commodities are reused as often as feasible. That’s why we have a trade-in programme for our phone cases.
We created a line of extremely sustainable clothes of 70% recycled cotton and 30% virgin organic cotton by blending recycled cotton with high-quality organic cotton and using cutting-edge dyeing technology.