Industry News

Sustainable Apparel--To Do Something Good

Update time : 2020-08-27 18:25:10

We have been manufacturing apparel more 10 years.
We want to change, to do something that is good for human being, something is good for future, something that is good for environment. We are very lucky and happy find this thing, to focus on Eco-friendly apparel, sustainable apparel. Let more and more people recognize the importance of sustainability, to educate more and more people to wear eco-friendly apparel. What is eco-friendly apparel? Let us learn something.

The most important part of apparel is fabric, so we take account the fiber and dyeing as critical aspect.

The Eco-friendly fiber

The “eco-friendly” fibers, which means that their production process has a low impact on the environment and meets at least half of the below criteria:

We are focusing on active wear, the fabric we use most are recycled polyester, recycled nylon and sustainable bamboo. So we take the a little more time to talk about them.

Recycled Polyester

Recycled polyester, often called rPet, is made from recycled plastic bottles. It is a great way to divert plastic from our landfills. The production of recycled polyester requires far fewer resources than that of new fibers
and generates fewer CO2 emissions.
There are 2 ways to recycle polyester: For mechanical recycling, plastic is melted to make new yarn. This process can only be done a few times before the fiber loses its quality. Chemical recycling involves breaking down the plastic molecules and reforming them into yarn. This process maintains the quality of the original fiber and allows the material to be recycled infinitely, but it is more expensive.
Recycled polyester is definitely a sustainable option for our wardrobe. However, we need to be aware that it is still non-biodegradable and takes years to disappear once thrown away.

Recycled Nylon

Recycled Nylon has the same benefits as recycled polyester: It diverts waste from landfills and its production uses much fewer resources than virgin nylon (including water, energy and fuel).
A large part of the recycled nylon produced comes from old fishing nets. This is a great solution to divert garbage from the ocean. It also comes from nylon carpets, tights, etc.
Recycling nylon is still more expensive than new nylon, but it has many environmental advantages.
A lot of research is currently being conducted to improve the quality and reduce the costs of the recycling process.

Sustainable Bamboo

Bamboo is a very sustainable plant: it grows quickly, easily, and does not require fertilizer, pesticides, or replanting. GMOs are generally not used. Bamboo improves the soil quality, helps to rebuild eroded soil and prevents soil erosion. Bamboo plantations also reduce greenhouse gases. Clothes made with bamboo are 100% biodegradable.
The main environmental issue with bamboo fiber, as mentioned in the relevant section, lies in the process of transforming the plant into a textile, which normally involves harmful chemicals.
However, manufacturers such as Monocel® have developed a process which does without chemical additives as well as recycling the solution and the water involved in the process.
There is also a “mechanical” process to make bamboo clothing, often called bamboo linen. The process does not involve chemicals and is 100% eco-friendly. However, worldwide production of bamboo linen is very limited because of its cost.

DYEDS
A dye is a natural or synthetic colouring substance which is used for dyeing or printing of textile, paper, leather and other materials so that the colour of the dyed or printed materials is not faded
by washing, heat, light, or in other external conditions to which the material is commonly exposed.
The ideal dyes is nature dyes, but the costing is very high and the color fastness is not good.The synethetic dyes are comment industrial environment pollutants during their synthesis and later during dyeing. So we tend to suggest to use Low-impact reactive dyes, the Oeko-tex standard 100 conform this society requirement, which guarantee that the dyes contain very low harmful substance, guarantee the fabric is safe and trust.

Another safe dyes is digit printing, which can make the color very bright and beautiful, eco-friendly to environment, but the cost is higher than the traditional printing.

Protecting our planet for future generation is our responsibility, we will source and use the reliable fabric supplier, try to make every procedure to be sustainable and eco-friendly to our environment.

If you have any question or suggestion, welcome you write email to helen@ocean-ten.com to discuss with us, we are happy to talk this topic together.

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