“Right now in the U.S., consumers dispose of about 80% of their textiles directly into their garbage cans.” WSJ
A new wrinkle in the “upcycling” industry hopes to turn trash to treasure by changing that behavior with new technology. The process involves shredding and liquifying discarded clothing into a pulp, filtering the pulp and converting it to a premium fiber which is then spun into yarn, dyed and woven into fabric. Complicated-yes. And a premium price accompanies that premium product. It’s a high-tech fleecing.
The purported benefits of upcycling include sustainability; redirecting tons of clothing from the landfill to the factory is good for the environment. Possibly, but on that, the jury is still out. What about tackling this behavior another way- by not trashing 80% of our textiles (aka clothes). By not buying a bunch of stuff we don’t want or need and apparently barely even like. By remembering the original sustainable system- “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”.
Don’t be hoodwinked by a hoodie!