Mono-Materials

If you check the label of the garment you are wearing right now, there is a great chance that the fabric is vowed or knitted with a blend of different fibres, for example a mix of cotton and polyester. This is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to textile recycling, to find ways to separate fibre blends so the different fibres can be recycled in their different systems. A t-shirt composed by 99% cotton and 1% spandex cannot today be recycled, instead it often ends up as landfill or being burnt in a thermal power station.

This is why we at Tierra became interested in mono-materials, materials that only consist of one material or fibre, instead of a blend. It is easier to recycle a garment made out of one single material, as opposed to separating several materials and then recycle them separately.

One example where we have chosen to use a mono-material is in the shell set Flon with recycled polyester and polyester membrane. We have chosen fabric, trims and threads made out of the same material: polyester. The zip runner is made of metal, but to separate metal from polyester is fairly easy. Usually, a shell garment consists of different materials, which obstructs recycling. In addition, Flon has fluorocarbon free impregnation.

Remember that a garment’s length of life is one of the most important factors when it comes to garments’ environmental footprint. So, before it’s time to recycle, we hope that your garment has been used, taken care of, been used, repaired, re-used and finally when no other option remains, it can be recycled.

Very few garments are being recycled today. But there are many initiatives and companies working on solutions and processes to develop more effective ways to recycle textile fibres from worn out garments. The garment that we at Tierra design and develop today, will be worn out in about ten years’ time and it is hard to say what the processes for textile recycling looks like then. But no matter what, products using as few materials as possible will be easier to recycle.

› Flon Rain Jacket W
› Flon Rain Jacket M
› Flon Rain Pant W
› Flon Rain Pant M