The above posts from me demonstrates the global shift - such as The EU Ecodesign for SustainableProducts Regulation commencing next year and more than 20 Global consumer regulators placing greenwashers on notice( Linkedin Post HERE ) and now.... activist consumers!
“I purchased this from Sainsbury’s at least 10 years ago,” she wrote in the accompanying letter. “It has served me well. However, I have no sustainable options available for what I should do with it.” Beyond repair, it was too damaged to donate to a charity shop, she explained. She couldn’t compost it as it had been blended with polyester, and she couldn’t repurpose it as cleaning cloths, as, being polycotton, it wasn’t absorbent. And, she added, “I don’t want to put it into a textile recycling collection as the likelihood is that it will be shipped overseas or incinerated and not recycled.”
“The only action I can personally take,” she continued, “is to put it into my general waste bin. I don’t want to do this, as in Sheffield all general waste is incinerated as ‘energy recovery’. This isn’t a sustainable option as such processes have been shown to be as damaging to local air pollution as burning coal.” So, she concluded, “as Sainsbury’s is responsible for designing and manufacturing this product, making decisions to use polycotton with no consideration for what could be done once it reaches the end of its life, I have decided to return it to you. I would really love to hear what you decide to do with it.”
Guardian article here
There is a squeeze from all directions, recycling is not a sustainable path. The ONLY way is bio-based innovations, avoiding petrochemical based process and products that leave little to no footprint on the planet!
Another way of thinking, We’ve spent the last two decades watching the global energy sector pivot from fossil fuels to renewables and now it is really starting to ramp up. Now, a similar tectonic shift is happening in textiles. It doesn't happen with the push of a button, it takes expertise, time and money coupled with a global movement of government regulation and initiatives.
This is more than a trend. It's a system-wide transition. Just as fossil fuels are giving way to solar and wind, polyester in textiles is on borrowed time.
Add to My Watchlist
What is My Watchlist?
