FROM WASTE TO PRODUCT
The first and foremost step in the upcycling process is to treat the ocean wastes. Waste clean-up programmes that we undertake clean waste from oceans including PP, PET, PA, glass, metal, rubber, glass and other materials. As per our estimates, 600 grams and 1 kilo of marine litter has been cleaned from our ocean. These then gets turned into flakes, thereafter pellets and get sent to the factory in Spain. The pellets get bound into yarn which go into the making of our recycled clothing.
WHY UPCYCLED PLASTIC YARN?
The use of upcycled plastic yarn to create recycled medical clothing for the healthcare industry brings together two positive practices – Doing good for nature and the people who do good. Healthcare workers spend long hours working across various hospital and dispensaries making it necessary that the clothing they wear is comfortable, durable and can be worn over long periods of time. We create clothing that comes from fibre generated from cleaned, processed, prepared waste plastic that will otherwise end up in landfills. Approximately 7-9 bottles go into the making of every piece of medical clothing, keeping them away from affecting the environment, thereby giving us another opportunity for their reuse.
FIBRE MADE FROM UPCYCLED MARINE PLASTIC
The clothing industry is the world’s largest, continuously discharging waste into water bodies, and polluting our landfills. The sourcing, crop production, weaving of the fibre and their conversion into garments need plenty of water during production and contribute to different forms of waste pollution, including soil degradation.
Instead of utilizing our finite natural resources, we seek to use available discarded materials, converting them into sustainable fibre. This helps reduce the environmental impact of clothing manufacture with better strength and durability and not compromising on its integrity.
Instead of utilizing our finite natural resources, we seek to use available discarded materials, converting them into sustainable fibre. This helps reduce the environmental impact of clothing manufacture with better strength and durability and not compromising on its integrity.
This composition of the clothing allows us to upcycle as much of the plastic waste recovered from the oceans as possible, while offering a premium fiber that can replace virgin polyester in any application. During weaving of higher percentage clothes, we need to be more selective of the marine waste used resulting in less of the recovered marine waste being upcycled. These are instead sent to the landfill or incinerated.
Ocean clean-up programs and plastic waste collectors work with Upcycled Medical Clothing to clean all kinds of waste from the ocean including; PET, PP, PA, metal, rubber, glass and other materials. Upcycled Medical estimates that for every kilo of Upcycled Medical Yarn, between 600 grams and 1 kilo of marine litter has been cleaned from our oceans.
Yes, the yarn used in production of Upcycled Medical clothing can be recycled
The fibre is weaved and dyed in Europe, and then processed for cutting and construction to be distributed across the world.