Patagonia Looks to Make Recycled Clothes a Fashion Norm

One of the world's most popular outdoor wear companies created a line entirely out of recycled materials.

Patagonia's new collection called re\\\collection includes chic jackets, shirts, pants, pullovers and more all from materials that would otherwise be in a landfill.

Fashionable Meets Sustainable

[Image source: Patagonia]

For more outdoorsy types, Patagonia's collection keeps you comfortably warm while supporting the environment in a fashionable way. Miles Johnson, creative director of product design for Patagonia, told Business Insider:

"We are constantly looking at opportunities to use recycled fabrics if they make sense to what we are trying to achieve. You can’t do everything with recycling, but you can keep trying things out to do more with them and make them stronger and more versatile. We have to work harder to make these things happen. Having an idea of how to do things better and make long-lasting, durable clothing is just a small part of it."

Wool from recycled plastic bottles

[Image source: Patagonia]

"We sold our first recycled polyester garment in 1993, and it was an enormous breakthrough. To divert plastic bottles from the waste stream and turn them into fabric was unheard of at the time. It wasn’t an overnight success; the first fabric we saw wasn’t even worthy of a tote bag, let alone something you’d want to put next to your skin. However, with diligence and valuable partnerships, we were able to introduce recycled polyester into our soft Synchilla® fleece pullover. This was the beginning of a journey to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and reduce our carbon footprint, though the term “carbon footprint” didn’t come into our lexicon until the mid-1990s."

re\\\collection

[Image source: Patagonia]

Now, their re\\\collection line is expanding Patagonia's efforts to produce sustainable clothing in a dazzling way. Following using 100 percent recycled products for their popular Bivy jackets, re\\\collection takes resourcefulness to a new level. The new clothes are constructed from 100 percent recycled polyester, 100 percent recycled wool, 80 percent recycled zippers, as well as 85 percent recycled polyester labels, and 50 percent recycled buttons.

[Image source: Patagonia]

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Implementing sustainable practices isn't always easy, especially in the realm of fashion. Patagonia said it will continue to improve upon its sourcing with hopes that recycled materials becomes a market norm.

Via: Patagonia