[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] As consumption trends such as 'meaning out,' which expresses beliefs through consumption, and 'must-environment' beyond eco-friendliness emerge as important trends, products considering the environment and human rights are gaining consumers' choices.
The fashion industry is also seeing companies striving to make the fashion industry sustainable, from 'slow fashion' that is less trend-driven to 'conscious fashion' that considers the environment and human rights throughout the entire production and manufacturing process.
In conscious fashion, recycled materials that create new uses and value through recycling waste such as plastic PET bottles, unused down jackets, and bedding are a hot topic.
Now has released eco-friendly recycled polyester fleece products made from PET bottles this year. Valuing circulation and regeneration, the products are made by recycling 83 discarded PET bottles per jacket during the processing stage.
The North Face also launched an eco fleece collection using recycled fabrics, and its representative product, the Think Green Fleece Jacket, uses 100% recycled fabric made from 50 recycled plastic bottles.
Recycled polyester is used in a variety of items from jackets to shoes and bags. Fj?llr?ven, which has become a hot topic in the U.S. with the hashtag showing the lifestyle of the 10-20 generation, gained attention with its chosen backpack. The brand’s backpack, the R?ven, is made from yarn recycled from 11 PET bottles, and through technology that drastically reduces water and energy used in the manufacturing process, it minimizes environmental damage.
With the onset of cold weather, demand for down is increasing, and the use of recycled down is also notable. Last year, RDS-certified down produced from farms with humane standards that do not involve animal cruelty and comply with animal welfare standards attracted attention, while this year, 'recycled down' is gaining attention as the next-generation down leading sustainable conscious fashion.
A representative example is Black Yak’s New Edge series. Black Yak used recycled down reprocessed from down collected from discarded bedding such as blankets and pillows in some products of the series.
After thorough washing and drying processes, the recycled down has quality equivalent to new products, and the water used for washing is purified and reused as agricultural water. Additionally, an eco-friendly water repellent free of perfluorinated compounds (PFC), a chemical harmful to the environment, was applied.
Patagonia introduced the Silent Down, which uses recycled down reflecting its eco-friendly philosophy. It is a jacket suitable for fall and winter seasons with windproof and water-repellent functions, using polyester taffeta for both the outer and inner fabrics. The product consists of two types: the Men’s Silent Down Jacket and the Men’s Silent Down Shirt Jacket with snap buttons.
K2 has conducted the Recycle Your Down campaign, recycling large amounts of discarded down clothing every year. Customers who bring in down items they no longer wear, regardless of brand, receive discounts when purchasing K2 products, and the collected down will be reborn as new products through an eco-friendly recycling process.
An industry official said, “The fashion industry’s efforts for the next generation inevitably have to be told through the clothes they produce,” adding, “Among them, recycling discarded waste requires more cost and time than existing processes, but investment in research and development (R&D) continues for sustainability.”
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