RECYCLED POLYESTER

“EVERY YEAR 8 MILLION TONS OF PLASTIC END UP IN OUR OCEANS, IMPACTING OUR ENVIRONMENT. THIS PLASTIC IS TAKEN OUT AND GIVEN A NEW LIFE IN THE FORM OF LUXURY CLOTHING”

Zak Johnson - Founder

WHY RPET FABRICS?

Despite growing public awareness of the problem, the rate at which our societies produce plastic waste is not relenting, and there is so much already out there. That’s why we believe we need to rethink how we view plastic waste; a material resource, not just pollution.

Not only is our specific RPET extremely durable it is also ideal for clothing applications as we have engineered it to be water repellant, sweat wicking and stain repellant.

THE BENEFITS OF RPET

Producing RPET uses over 50% less energy than PET fabrics
Around a third less CO2 is produced in comparison to PET production
Using rPET reduces our dependance on petroleum and other natural resources as a raw material for PET
Full 360 circular clothing model - we recycle all clothing that is brought back to us which then go into further clothing applications closing the loop.

WHY DO WE NEED TO USE PLASTIC?

Sadly, plastic for now is here to stay with 8 Million tons of plastic ending up In our oceans every year. It will be many years before the problem of waste plastic and how we deal with it is addressed. Until then we have decided to take responsibility for as much as we can as a business while plastic still is not being properly recycled. As better uses for recycled plastic emerge, our practices will change.

ENERGY USED

RPET Fabrics use far less energy to produce the fabrics compared to other virgin textiles.

Material / Fibre	Energy use in MJ per KG of fibre
RPET (Recycled Polyester)	66
Polypropylene (Virgin)	115
Polyester (Virgin)	125
Nylon (Virgin)	250

WHAT ABOUT MICROFIBRES?

It is an absolute fact that microfibres pollute the entire planet’s waterways. A groundbreaking 2011 study found that microfibers made up 85% of human-made debris on shorelines around the world. Approx 1 - 1.5 grams of microfibres are released into the water system when washing a new micro fibre releasing garment. Which then enters the ecosystem and ultimately the planets food chain which could have devastating results for the planets survival.

HOW WE REDUCE MICROFIBRES

Firstly we produce RPET fabrics that are bonded with a tighter weave and release less microfibres when washed.
We also have a range that consists of 70% of our garments needing traditionally less washing such as outerwear.
We encourage the use of a microfibre catcher when washing your clothing like those from Guppy Friend. This can then be disposed of in a responsible way away from our water system.
We have a buy back scheme on our clothing.

THE PROCESS TO MAKE RPET

Plastic is collected from a number of sources including beach cleans, ocean cleans and post consumer waste streams. We then wash and chip the plastic into plastic flake before putting it through a process to create fibre and yarn. This yarn is spun into our unique fabrics.