Before The Stitching Starts: A Deeper Look Into How Our Recycled Clothing is Created

As you probably already know, our fabric is made from recycled plastic bottles.  We wanted to take it a step further and share a little bit more information about the process with our wolfpack.

So, the first question is, why recycled bottles?  As a sustainably minded business, our hope is that eventually plastics will be eliminated from the fashion industry so that we can move towards a more plastic free planet.  Plastics can take up to 400 years to biodegrade, and in utilizing plastic bottles for our garments, we are are creating a second life for bottles and off-setting the production of new polyester.  

Let’s start with fabric production first!  When PET– polyethylene terephthalate, the plastic from which water bottles are made– is converted into recycled polyester, it requires much less energy (up to 90% less water!) to be produced than raw or "virgin” polyester. To give you a better understanding of how this process works, below are the steps for how recycled PET fabric is created:

1. Recycled PET bottles are sanitized, dried, and then flattened into small chips.
2. The flattened chips are then heated and sent through a machine that turns them into strings of yarn.
3. This yarn is collected and spun onto large spools.
4. This yarn is then sent to a fluffing machine.
5. Once the yarn has been fluffed, it is dyed and knitted into recycled polyester fabric.

This simple production process breaks down old plastics to create a new material, so that we can create beautiful garments from materials that might otherwise end up in our landfills.

Now that you have a better understanding of how our clothing is created, lets talk about how using recycled PET fabric can help our overall energy consumption. By using recycled polyester fabric, we can our carbon footprint is up to 75% lower than it is in producing virgin polyester. This is a huge estimated percentage for helping to create beautiful clothing while also keeping the environment clean.

Another eco-friendly advantage of creating sustainable garments is the fact that the whole lifespan of this recycled thread is less harmful for the environment. The washing and cleaning of the reprocessed yarn is cleaner for the ecosystem and once the garments are produced, they are again entirely recyclable. Isn’t that amazing? That means from thrown out bottles, to repurposed yarn, to the stitching of our clothing, we are making a positive environmental impact. 

 So go ahead give your closet something to be proud of!