Recycled Cotton

According to ADEME (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency), 5.8 million tonnes of clothing are thrown away each year in Europe. At the same time, cotton is the most widely used textile in the world. This waste therefore represents a massive source of recycled cotton.

Today there are several ways to give cotton a second life: recycling old clothes, exchanges, collections, second-hand sales, etc.

During the manufacturing process, workshops cut up large pieces of fabric depending on the clothes they are going to make. This generates useless offcuts. The cotton offcuts are thus recovered, organised, and then ground back up in a machine to be turned back into fibres. These fibres are then spun and woven, just like normal cotton. These fabrics will then return to the textile production cycle and bring new clothes or accessories to life.

Pros

Although recycled cotton requires energy, it is still much less than standard cotton. It also requires very little water and uses no pesticides.

Cotton recycling can be carried out directly in Europe, which limits the transport of raw materials and drastically reduces the carbon footprint compared to conventional cotton (which generally travels from Asia).

Cons

It is not always possible to recycle cotton, particularly when the recovered clothes are made from a blend of cotton and synthetic fibres.

The cotton offcuts are crushed in a machine, and then the spinning and weaving steps are the same as for any other fabric. Moreover, recycled cotton fibres are shorter than conventional cotton fibres, making the use of this material more complex depending on the items to be made. 

We would be happy to produce your next recycled cotton item. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your future project.