SUPERDRY HAVE PARTNERED WITH ELSE, TO PROVIDE A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION TO OUR FACTORIES TO DEAL WITH THEIR CUT WASTE. SUPERDRY FACTORIES CAN NOW COLLECT, SORT AND SELL THIS WASTE TO BE CONVERTED INTO RECYCLED YARN FOR USE IN NEW FABRICS, RATHER THAN THE COMMON PRACTICE OF INCINERATION OR LAND FILL.
Up to 15% of the fabric used to produce garments is usually wasted during production, from either the cutting process or due to defects identified in production that cannot be resolved.
In January 2020, Superdry partnered with The Else Group and two of our largest factories in Turkey (producing T-Shirts, Polos and Sweatshirts) to test this alternative route for pre-consumer cotton and polyester cut waste.
The factories initially segregate the waste by colour and composition. Else then pick it up and transport it to their state-of-the-art facility just outside of Istanbul where they shred it and blend it into 100% recycled fibres.
As recycled fibres are mechanically shredded, they are typically shorter in length, Else therefore combine the recycled fibres with a small amount (about 30%) polyester to help strengthen them. Else then spin theses fibres into coloured yarns in their state of the are spinning facility.
During 2020, Else processed 373 tonnes of fabric waste from two Superdry factories – producing 427 tonnes of yarn, which is enought to make the equivalent of 1.3m Superdry T-Shirts.
Recycled yarns produced from our wastes in 2020, used 90% less energy to produce, saving 5,974 Tonnes CO2e and 2,987 million litres of water, compared to conventional virgin materials.
Our aim is to bring more Turkish factories on board with this process in 2021, and then to create similar partnerships in India and China to help further improve the circularity of our garments across our supply base.
We are working hard to introduce this recycled, sustainable yarn into our style range in 2021 with some exciting recycled styles.