Challenge 5: Circular Materials
Industry Lead: Kukri Sports
The sports and wider apparel industry is heavily dependent on non-renewable synthetic materials, and yet little consideration is given to the post-use and potential second life of these garments.
While progress has been made in developing bio-material alternatives to synthetics, these will take time to fully evolve, penetrate mainstream apparel and sportswear pipelines and achieve consumer acceptance. Meanwhile, materials repurposing and business innovation opportunities are not being fully exploited in the UK.
The waste management industry faces a twofold environmental challenge, characterised not only by the continual production of oil-derived synthetics, but the use of mixed synthetic (recyclable) and natural (biodegradable) materials in the fashion industry; this dramatically complicates the recycling processes needed to create usable recycled materials.
In the meantime, synthetic and blended textiles continue to be produced without any forward planning for recycling or repurposing, with little connection between producers of synthetics and industrial waste management functions. The separation of synthetic polyester from feed stock (raw waste material) offers multiple re- and upcycling opportunities.