Blog Post

Recycled Cotton – Bags and other Merchandise

Aug 14, 2023

Sustainable or Not?

Recycled cotton tote bags have become a feature recently as a promotional product. Recycled cotton is nothing new – possibly the oldest of the recycled materials – but we do not see it used very much. Why is that? What is it? And is it a sustainable product?

Cotton as a natural material.

Cotton, recycled or not, is a natural product made from the cotton plant. As such, all cotton fabrics will biodegrade naturally. Cotton can get a bad press in the sustainability stakes because it is crop grown in hot climates and requires large quantities of water and uses large quantities of pesticides as well. Usually compared to a polyester material is still favours well since it is not a plastic and gives off no micro plastics during the cleaning process.

The alternative to standard cotton is organic cotton sold under the GOTS label. Organic cotton is the same basic plant, but a variant which grows with less water and uses less pesticides. The issue is that only a small quantity of cotton is organic and is more expensive than a standard cotton.

What is Recycled Cotton?

Recycled cotton can be generally defined as converting cotton fabric into cotton fibre that can be reused. Recycled cotton is also commonly referred to as regenerated cotton, reclaimed cotton, or ‘shoddy’.

Textile recycling is generated from two primary sources:

• Pre-consumer: includes scraps created by yarn and fabric by-products

• Post-consumer: includes garments, upholstery, towels, household items to be repurposed

The reference above to recycled cotton being an old phenomena refers to the 19th century practise of collecting old garments via the ‘rag and bone’ man. A practise driven by poverty and need rather than sustainability and ESG policies!

Today, the largest volume of recycled cotton sources is produced through pre-consumer waste, such as cutting scraps. Post-consumer waste is more difficult to sort through due to various colour shades, fabric blends, and it is generally a more labour-intensive process.

The majority of recycled cotton is re-claimed through mechanical recycling. First, fabrics and materials are sorted by colour. After sorting, the fabrics are run through a machine that shreds the fabric into yarn and further into raw fibre. This process is mechanically harsh damaging the fibres in the process. The quality of recycled fibre will never have quality values equal to the original fibre. Specifically, fibre length and length uniformity will be impacted, which will limit the end-use application. The recycled fibre is often used in conjunction with other fibres reducing the possibility of the fibre going through multiple recycles.

Benefits & Problems with Recycled Cotton Fibres

Benefits

• Recycled cotton can find new life in many different low-grade products such as insulation, mop heads, rags, and stuffing – although it is not as good as virgin cotton fibre

• The process of recycling can divert many products from landfills. According to the Council for Textile Recycling, annual textile waste is estimated to equal 25 billion pounds in weight.

• The amount of energy, water, and dye use is reduced by using a product that has already been processed.

• The CO2 and fossil fuel emission savings can be partially offset by using existing materials. However, the collection, processing, and shipping of cotton scraps or clothing can reduce or neutralize some of these savings.

Issues

• Cotton must be blended with other fibres to be made into new yarn for strength and durability, and therefore cannot continuously be recycled.

• The content of recycled cotton will depend on the end-use application. Any amount of recycled product will impact the yarn and fabric properties such as evenness, strength, and uniformity.

• Recycled yarn cost is generally higher than standard, virgin cotton yarn costs, and could possibly be cost-prohibitive.

Pavilion is not a great fan of recycled cotton believing organic cottons are a better option. But like all things environmental this is a judgement and things are never black and white. SO if you do want a recycled cotton tote bag, please do get in touch and we can discuss the options.

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