Research

With around 95% of corporate clothing currently going to landfill, there is a strong push to overcome the barriers to reuse and recycling. Many organisations have been unsuccessful in their attempts to find a sustainable way to dispose of end-of-life (EoL) clothing, because:

• There are security and corporate image risks associated with reuse of branded clothing
• It’s difficult to recycle garments with blended or treated fibres typical of corporatewear
• Re-processors who accept corporatewear are hard to find
• Few garments are designed with ease of disassembly in mind.

These problems are often compounded by lack of understanding across the supply chain and issues such as taxation and unclear labelling. There are very few labels concerned with EoL and, until now, there has been little regard for this issue within the industry.

The following pages feature reports highlighting all these matters, discussing and trialling potential solutions. We’ve had significant input from industry that has emphasised the need for more research into these areas, and further work is required for continued improvement. Please contact us on info@uniformreuse.co.uk if you would like to be involved in this important area.

For tools to help achieve reuse and recycling of corporatewear, and an interactive map of responsible suppliers and EoL management operators, see our Resources pages.