With eight billion pairs of jeans produced globally each year, fashion’s favourite staple contributes significantly to the textile waste problem. According to the World Economic Forum, 73% of worn clothing is incinerated or sent to landfill when discarded. Only 12% is recycled for insulation or mattresses, and less than 1% is used to make new products.
As part of James Cropper’s Rydal range of recycled papers, Rydal Apparel is comprised of 20% post-consumer denim fibre and 80% recycled fibre from sources such as used coffee cups. This not only makes the paper 100% recycled, but also globally recyclable. As a cellulose based product, cotton-based paper can be recycled in standard waste streams, giving the fibre not only a second life, but also a potential third and fourth.
The launch of Rydal Apparel is the latest innovation using James Cropper’s FibreBlend Upcycled Technology. The papermaker’s leading fibre expertise and passion for innovation is behind a number of innovations targeted at global issues. These include CupCycling, the world’s first technology to upcycle used coffee cups, that has so far given new life to more than 150 million cups as premium paper for packaging.
