Employees at Time Cheongdam Avenue store located in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are introducing eco-friendly interior finishing materials made from surplus clothing. (Photo by Hyundai Department Store Group)
[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Handsome is the first in the domestic fashion industry to change the disposal of surplus clothing to an eco-friendly method. Instead of the existing method of incineration, surplus clothing will be upcycled and reintroduced as eco-friendly finishing materials.
Upcycling refers to the process of transforming discarded products beyond simple recycling by adding value through eco-friendly technology, design, or ideas to create new products.
Handsome announced on the 9th that it will introduce and operate a ‘Carbon Zero Project’ from this year to dispose of surplus clothing in an eco-friendly way through the upcycling process.
The ‘Carbon Zero Project’ features surplus clothing to be discarded being molded under high temperature and high pressure by a recycled clothing recycling company to produce eco-friendly interior finishing materials (fiber panels). Handsome has been incinerating about 80,000 surplus clothing items (approximately 60 tons) that are over three years old after new product launches each year as part of brand management.
Handsome expects that by not incinerating surplus clothing through this project, approximately 144 tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced annually. This is equivalent to planting about 20,000 30-year-old pine trees.
The eco-friendly interior finishing materials reborn through upcycling surplus clothing are made from fibers used in clothing, making them harmless to the human body. They also emit almost no formaldehyde, a harmful chemical, making them environmentally friendly. They have low thermal conductivity, providing excellent insulation, and also have high sound absorption effects.
After a pilot disposal of 12 tons of surplus clothing using eco-friendly methods in the second half of last year, Handsome plans to process about 30 tons, roughly half of the annual surplus clothing volume, through the ‘Carbon Zero Project’ this year. The goal is to dispose of all recyclable surplus clothing in an eco-friendly way by 2024.
Handsome plans to repurchase some of the eco-friendly finishing materials produced during last year’s pilot operation and use them as interior finishing materials inside brand stores. The company intends to use eco-friendly finishing materials in fitting rooms at the System, SJSJ, and The Cashmere stores located in ‘The Hyundai Seoul,’ which opens on the 26th. In addition to fitting room finishes, they are also considering using these materials for flooring, walls, and display stands in various brand stores.
A Handsome official said, “Disposing of surplus clothing in an eco-friendly way costs six times more and takes one to two weeks longer than the existing incineration method. As a leading company in the domestic fashion industry, we have taken the initiative to introduce eco-friendly surplus clothing disposal methods to fulfill our social responsibility.”
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