by Sam Palmer
Nadym, Russia. Photo Source: Evgenii Mitroshin
Not so long ago, a traveler who was serious about keeping warm near the North Pole would have been wise to follow the example of the Inuit people, who wore Caribou anoraks with sealskin long johns. Today, a traveler intent on staying warm would likely be dressed in breathable, waterproof shells insulated with lightweight yet ultrawarm synthetic fibers.
The high-tech, composite materials that make up modern-day outdoor garments are some of the most complex and sophisticated textiles in history. Even if you are just venturing out to walk the dog in Boston, you are most likely wearing a jacket of remarkable sophistication, including at least two and possibly four layers of different materials bonded together to ensure that you stay warm and dry with a minimum of bulk and stiffness.
Which is all pretty neat, and certainly more convenient than procuring a caribou every time you need a new jacket! But there is a downside to these wonder-garments: they create a whole lot of high-tech waste. And they take a whole lot of energy, chemicals, and water to produce. And to make matters worse, they can’t be composted, because they are synthetic, and it’s almost impossible to recycle them, because it’s almost impossible to separate all the materials that have been blended together to make them.
Tote patterns cut from post consumer jacket. Photo Source: ReFleece
Six years ago, my wife and I founded a company called ReFleece to create a solution to this problem. As former surfboard designer for Patagonia, I knew how much the company struggled to balance environmental responsibility with their customers’ need for high performance products. I began partnering with them to collect used and damaged garments, turning them into tote bags, electronics cases, and other products. It’s a great “second life” for products that delays their inevitable demise, and also offsets the energy that would be needed to create those products from virgin materials.
Color sorted post consumer jacket. Photo Source: ReFleece
However, our ultimate goal must be to create less waste in the first place. Many of the jackets, snowpants, and other garments that end up being disposed are actually perfectly good and could have been worn again. So earlier this year, I launched ReWear, an online thrift store for outdoor clothing. It’s a place where folks looking for high-end technical gear – or just a sturdy coat for watching your kid’s soccer game – can find an affordable solution without incurring the carbon cost of producing a new garment. And where someone looking for a responsible next step for some old gear can make a little cash – or donate the proceeds – and ensure that it has more years of use ahead of it.
Kids jacket on ReWear. Photo Source: ReFleece
A very cool bonus of selling your own gear on this site is that several excellent environmental non-profits – like Climable – are partnering with us. A person who posts their old gear on the site can choose to donate any amount of the proceeds to one of our nonprofit partners, and that donation will then be sent automatically as soon as the item is sold, and the seller will receive a tax deduction for the donation.
A few facts about textile waste:
- The EPA estimates that in 2017, of the 16.9 million tons of textile waste generated in the United States, only 15.2% was recycled, which resulted in 11.2 million tons of textile waste ending up in landfills
- The clothing industry accounts for 10% of the world's carbon emissions
- The supply chain requires 10X more energy to produce one ton of textiles than does the production of one ton of glass
- By choosing used over new, you reduce your carbon footprint by 60-70%. This is because you are eliminating the harmful carbon emitted when producing a new garment.