When recycled cotton comes to the rescue of organic cotton.

Why is recycled cotton a solution for an eco-responsible wardrobe?


95,000 tons of textiles are thrown away every year in Quebec. We all feel a little guilty and we would like to make better choices for the planet. Are you looking for eco-friendly solutions for your wardrobe? I will tell you how recycled cotton comes to the rescue of organic cotton in the fashion industry. By understanding the 3 types of cotton that are used in your clothing: conventional cotton, organic cotton and recycled cotton; you will be able to make better choices to reduce your ecological footprint. At the same time, you will participate in the circular economy :)


What is Recycled Cotton?


Recycled cotton is an eco-friendly fabric that finds its source in "pre" or post-consumer products. It is part of the circular economy by allowing an outlet for textile waste. That's why recycled cotton is one of the eco-friendly solutions for your wardrobe.


How is recycled cotton made?


The cotton fabric is recovered, shredded and sorted by color. This results in a short fiber that must be mixed with other fibers, often cotton and sometimes polyester, in order to solidify it. Then it is possible to proceed to the spinning to finally knit or weave a new fabric.


Why choose recycled cotton over conventional cotton?

Cotton is by far the most popular natural fiber in the world and is largely used by the fashion industry.


Conventional cotton farming is the dirtiest on the planet. It is estimated that it infects twenty million people a year. Extensive use of chemicals pollutes and impoverishes soils making them sterile in the long term. In addition, the successive treatments that cotton undergoes (in conventional production) are also done using very harmful products. Chlorine is used for bleaching and conventional dyes contain heavy metals.


Why recycled cotton comes to the rescue of organic cotton?

 

Ideally, the fashion industry would only use organic cotton.


To deserve the name organic cotton, a product must result from a production method free of chemicals. Organic cotton growers apply working methods based on the recycling of natural organic materials, crop rotation, and respect for animal welfare. These methods aim to respect the balance of living organisms that inhabit the soil (bacteria, earthworms). The designation “organic cotton” guarantees that the treatments undergone by the cotton after the harvest are free from dangerous products.


As the conventional cotton industry is far from converting to organic cotton, the world is overflowing with textile waste from this industry. So these cotton clothes should be able to be recycled into new clothes when their lifespan is up. This would keep millions of tons of waste out of landfills. And what's more, it would allow the fashion industry to use far less virgin materials, thus reducing the use of water, pesticides and dyeing chemicals.


Why wear recycled cotton clothes?


Beyond the benefits of recycled cotton for the planet, it is also good for us! Although slightly rougher on first touch than organic cotton; the recycled cotton knit softens with each wash and becomes softer and more comfortable to wear. Like all cotton, it is very durable. Its insulating properties keep us warm in winter and cool on hot summer days.


Whether as a MAE turtleneck, MADISON tunic or layering, recycled cotton knits fit any occasion. 

Finally, recycled cotton comes to the rescue of organic cotton to complete outfits in your eco-conscious wardrobe to say goodbye to conventional cotton.

 

 

 

 

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